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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Teacher's Facebook

84 replies

adognamedhog · 01/08/2018 20:04

My friend told me that there is a picture of my DD on her teacher's personal Facebook site. I checked her profile and there are photos of DD and others (without any security settings) taken at school sporting events with their school name on their sports tops. There is nothing wrong with the photos other than that the head keeps saying that, for security reasons, pictures of children are not to be posted on social media (and because of their clothing the vhilfren can be easily identified) and I'm not that keen on my DDs picture being posted without my permission. Other staff, including the deputy head, have liked the posts. Aibu that this annoys me and that I want it taken down? Any suggestions for raising it without it looking like I'm spying on the teacher?

OP posts:
RoboJesus · 01/08/2018 20:49

That's a safeguarding issue. They can be fired or even charged for it. Definitely report it!

MyOtherProfile · 01/08/2018 20:51

Don't message the teacher directly. This needs to go through appropriate channels. I'm really shocked by this. I'm a teacher and we have all always been given strict instructions about Facebook. We all have our accounts as locked down as possible and none of us use our actual names.

There are really strict rules about photos of children and having other teachers acknowledge and like them is seriously odd. Please do as suggested, screen shot everything, send to the head and to the chair of govs and say it was brought to your attention by another concerned parent.

purpledreamcatching · 01/08/2018 20:54

I'm a teacher, I can't believe any teacher would be so stupid, it's ridiculous!

SoozC · 01/08/2018 20:54

This almost certainly violates the safeguarding and probably photography/IT policies in the school. I've taught for ten years and it's never been okay for me to a) have photos of children on a personal phone or camera (although these could be from a school item) and b) post photos of children on social media (or even have them on a personal computer or even a USB stick).

This needs to be reported. Screenshot, as pp have said, contact teacher and ask them to remove and I'd be emailing the head with screenshots and making them aware. Terrible the deputy has not pulled this teacher up on it. The head needs to know because this must surely go against policy.

Original poster
adognamedhog · 01/08/2018 20:56

Thanks guys. I'll screenshot it and send it in.

OP posts:
Clairetree1 · 01/08/2018 20:58

this is a very serious breach of professional standards

screen shots, and contact the head and chair of governors, they need to report this as a data breach, and they will have something like 3 days to do it. They must do this, then the breach will be investigated externally.

We are not allowed to take photos on personal cameras or phones, only on the school camera, and the photos must not leave the site or be published anywhere without parental consent.

She could have placed any one of those children in serious danger if they are at risk of abduction or similar

criminal negligence.

AdaColeman · 01/08/2018 21:06

Contact the Head and the Board of Governors for their policy on this.

I'd say it was unacceptable and unprofessional.

Ekphrasis · 01/08/2018 21:08

Wow - we were all told to become hidden in fb and many younger teachers have changed their names so they can't be found for this precise reason. Not allowed to write anything about work on our walls.

Not allowed to have any photos in our own cameras of children. Not even supposed to on our password protected memory sticks, though we sometimes do as there aren't enough hours in the day to do all the work at school.

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 01/08/2018 21:08

That’s appalling! I’m not even allowed to name the school I work in let alone have any photos of the school or it’s pupils! My Facebook just says I work for x local council.

Clairetree1 · 01/08/2018 21:09

Contact the Head and the Board of Governors for their policy on this

no, don't ask for their policy .. TELL them they need to report this as a data breach.

Its far too big an issue to be contained within a school, and they will be breaking the law to try to

Rosieposy4 · 01/08/2018 21:11

Def not ok, and breaching the new GDPR as well. Lets just call it naive but this is so far off not ok.

Mindchilder · 01/08/2018 21:13

Where have the photos come from? Did the teacher take them or are they from the school twitter/website?

clary · 01/08/2018 21:19

When I was a teacher I was very careful never even to post anything about the school at all (tho some did) even very cagey or positive posts. Certainly no pictures, agree with others op, you need to alert the. HT.

Also her settings should be closed down - all you could see on my FB was my profile picture. yy a lot of staff had an alias that didn't use their surname eg first name middle name or a nickname so kids couldn't search them.

brizzledrizzle · 01/08/2018 21:27

My friend told me that there is a picture of my DD on her teacher's personal Facebook site. I checked her profile and there are photos of DD and others (without any security settings) taken at school sporting events with their school name on their sports tops.

That would be a sacking offence at many schools.
It's absolutely not OK and I'd be writing to the chair of governors and/or OFSTED.

admission · 01/08/2018 21:30

This is a very serious breach of safeguarding. Either this teacher does not understand basic safeguarding training or the school as a whole has a massive issue over safeguarding. As the deputy head is liking the facebook posts I can only assume that it is the later.
The issue is not necessarily directly this breach of safeguarding but the fact that it indicates that that the school as a whole is not taking their safeguarding responsibilities seriously.
What you need to do is send in writing a written complaint to the Chair of Governors but also copy it to the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer). This will be somebody in the social services department of the LA. In the circumstances I do not believe that you can just raise it with the teacher and headteacher as this is just too serious to be kept "in-house". The LADO will be responsible for arranging what will be a far- reaching investigation with all sorts of ramifications for the teachers involved and the school.
I do have to say that this is likely to become serious and messy for you as it will become obvious that somebody has made the complaint whose child is on the photographs.

RomanyRoots · 01/08/2018 21:39

If the deputy and other teachers commented then I'd contact chair of governors, her colleagues should have told her, they might have done privately, but you don't know that.
If they haven't acted then they condone this and the problem of safeguarding could be prevalent throughout the school.

zen1 · 01/08/2018 21:41

Agree with contacting the Chair of Governors. This is a huge safeguarding breach.

cookiesandchocolate · 01/08/2018 21:42

I am shocked that this has happened. Not on at all and I cannot believe a teacher and senior staff would think this is okay.

I think more safeguarding training needs to be done. Contact governors or the head.

MrStarkIDontFeelSoGood · 01/08/2018 21:44

My friends wife is a SLT at her school and has done this repeatedly on her Twitter. I'm always slightly agog at it and wonder if the parents know but

  1. Don't know her well enough to ask if she has permission to use on her PERSONAL Twitter
  1. Reporting a concern a school I'm not involved in and have no connection to feels malicious and "poison pen" particularly as I don't much like her as a person

I'd be furious if she was my child's teacher though, particularly as she also posts personal thoughts on Twitter and frequently doesn't cover herself in glory (nothing offensive just Hmm) above and below pictures of other people's kids

AJPTaylor · 01/08/2018 21:53

Well, all my teacher friends that are on fb have unsearchable/obscure versions of their names. But then they are north of 40.
I would message her directly but raise it with school if other teachers have liked it!

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 01/08/2018 22:14

mrstark I’d report tbh. You don’t know if any of these kids are at risk and if they are her actions are extremely dangerous.

Teaformeplz · 01/08/2018 22:17

Schools are massively cracking down on safeguarding issues. The teacher could and IMO should lose their job for this. Teachers are not even supposed to be easily found on Facebook, they are advised to use a different name, hence why I don't have an account at all to prevent issues such as this. (I'm a teacher)

MyOtherProfile · 01/08/2018 23:08

Contact the Head and the Board of Governors for their policy on this.
Good point to check out the policy. 8t probably ought to be available on the school website.

MidniteScribbler · 01/08/2018 23:21

I once got hauled into the Prins office because a parent had seen that I had a child from school on my facebook account (they had seen it as a friend of a friend who was tagged). It was my own son getting an award.

But absolutely not on to put photos of students on a personal facebook page (unless you gave birth to said child!).

FourAlarmFire · 01/08/2018 23:27

This would be a very serious disciplinary issue. If you don’t want the teacher to lose their job an alternative would be to message them and ask them to take the photos down immediately, and then ask the Head to remind all staff not to do it without actually naming names.