Teacher posting pictures of students on Instagram - AIBU?

[Chocolatecake01]

AIBU to be annoyed that my daughter’s PE teacher has posted a picture on Instagram stories with my daughter and other students visible in the background ??

The main part of the photo is of another teacher but you can see girls in the background playing netball… their faces aren’t 100% clear but I could pick my daughter out immediately (a friend is friends with the teacher and sent me the photo as she also recognized my daughter). The instagram account is private but AiBU to think it’s inappropriate ?

What is your concern?

YANBU. It's a safeguarding no-no

YANBU. Taking pictures of each other and having their phones out during school hours/in the presence of children is iffy enough. The fact that she wasn't careful enough to make sure no children were visible just adds to the issue.

You need to contact the school's DSL and ask them to ask her to remove it immediately.

Breach of GDPR law at the least and safeguarding breach too. In Scotland this could see teacher struck off, unless you signed consent at start of year allowing picture sharing on schools social media stream. If teachers personal Instagram then it needs reported. Take screenshots.

Is this on the school's page? If it is their personal account it is not ok. Most schools ask permission from parents for kids photos to go on website, school Facebook pages etc. But never on personal ones. That might be a breach. Check with school.

It’s not GDPR breach at all it is a safeguarding breach though

Don't think that's OK. We have made a huge effort to keep our daughters pic off all social media so I would be really annoyed, especially if its on a personal page

If it is on their personal Instagram and not the schools

Contact the school. How come you've seen it? Why are you following the PE teacher's private account?

It depends if it’s on the teachers personal account or not. If it’s on the teachers personal account that’s a huge safeguarding error. If it’s on the schools account and you’ve agreed for your child to be photographed/filmed then it’s not a breach.

They should be fired

Thanks for all the replies - it’s on a personal and private account. I don’t follow the teacher but we have a mutual friend who saw it and sent me a screen shot.

It’s stupid and inappropriate but not intentional I think. Have a look at schools social media policies and mobile phone policy.

In the meantime can your mutual friend inform them that children are in the background of their photo and ask them to remove it?

@hoppityscotch not if it’s on the schools social media and they’ve signed consent for their child’s picture to be shared by the school.

Safeguarding issue not to mention completely inappropriate. I would ask the school to ask the teacher to remove it

@Chocolatecake01 teacher here and they shouldn’t be sharing even the interior of the school on a private account- let alone anything with pupils faces visible. This is a safeguarding breach. You should notify the school ASAP.

I'm a teacher, and that's definitely inappropriate.

What do you want to happen next OP?

Just the pic removed? Ask your friend to message teacher and point out that kids are not only visible,but recognisable, and suggest she removes it. Any teacher worth their salt would do so promptly.

However , if you do want to bring it to the attention of the school, screenshot and do so. The teacher obviously needs some reminders of safe guarding, social media use policy and tech use in school.

Hyperbole of the week goes to:

They should be fired

This. The teacher is completely out of order doing this. Stupid.

It sounds as if it was a selfie? So, the issue really (given that the students in the background weren't actually the subject of the photo) is that the teacher was using her phone, to take photos of herself, during a lesson.
Our school has no particular rules about photos of the interior of the school, but obviously it does about photos of students.
I'm deputy safeguarding lead- the teacher would be spoken to (obviously) but I doubt it would go any further as she hasn't published photos of the kids publicly. She's posted a photo of herself with some kids in the background. She'd be asked why she thought it was a good idea obviously, and also what she was doing having another parent on her Instagram. (OP says it was her friend who took the screenshot) Our teachers can use phones (and often need to, for admin purposes, so using her phone in lesson time isn't necessarily taboo, but selfies are!)

I think it’s a difficult one (unless you’ve removed consent for your child to be in any photos of course).

Many schools will do a newsletter, school website or have a SM page with photos of children in, all of which can be taken off by someone and used inappropriately and so I’m not sure how this is any different.

My boss puts photos and videos of the students up on her SM but the parents are aware and I think many follow her too.

If you are not happy with your child on SM then definitely tell them to remove it and remove consent for her photos to be used.

This will not be a sacking offence if she previously had permission though.

I would be contacting the head teacher.

its a bit ridiculous the teacher thinks this is okay….!

im a teacher and would never dream of doing this!!

I would do this on a schools social media page, but this would be only if the children have permission.

I’d like to think it’s an accident, and she meant to do it on the schools page??? But I doubt this is the case as so many teachers surprise me with what ridiculousness they get up to!!!

Children in your daughter's class may be under child protection and therefore not permitted to be on social media for their protection.
Imagine if a child had needed to move schools and areas and then the very person seeing that photo through being friends of friends with someone?
Teachers know this - it's part of their training.
Children also have a right to privacy and some don't want their day to day life plastered everywhere especially in their netball uniform.
Please report this teacher to the school head.