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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Does your school have a Facebook group

19 replies

2012blues · 01/02/2012 16:20

Our PTA are considering setting up a Facebook group for fundraising ideas etc.

Would there be any issues if it was a private group? Does your school have one?

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redskyatnight · 01/02/2012 16:45

Our school PTA has one which is just a normal public group. Our main issues are getting parents to look at it . So it's mainly used as a noticeboard for events and there's not a lot of discussion.

Original poster

2012blues · 01/02/2012 16:52

Are the parents members of the group, or is it just a public noticeboard

OP posts:

redskyatnight · 01/02/2012 16:59

Parents are members of the group.

Glubs · 01/02/2012 19:43

We have one. It's a closed group so not available for public consumption. It's mainly PTA notices but also a forum for Thank You's and information as well as stuff for sale/swap etc. No one uses it for abuse or complaint. We have 100 parents at the school and about half are a member of the FB group. Let me know if you need any
more info.

Hulababy · 01/02/2012 19:52

DD's school doesn't and neither does the school I work at.

I have created extra web pages for my year group as an extension from the main website, so that we can have additional photographs and videos (I update weekly at least for all 3 classes), class news, etc. And I have set up a Twitter feed for key news as well. But FB just didn't feel appropriate for me.

Ineedacleaneriamalazyslattern · 01/02/2012 19:52

Our PTA wanted to set one up as a closed group but our local council have quite strict policies on it and encouraged us to use their blogging facility that they host.
We haven't done it as yet it's still in the planning stages and we will use it as a noticeboard facility and as it's not Facebook we are allowed to link it from the main school website.
One of their reasons was to do with moderating it securely re comments and even a closed group it is hard to monitor who joins it as it's hard to limit it to only school parents as wider family and people living in the community may have an interest etc. I have a whole pamphlet from the council outlining what they have against it.

frasersmummy · 01/02/2012 19:53

our pta have a very under utilised facebook page..

The school is not allowed to link to it from their webpage as school rules say no facebook links at all

dont think its a closed group

canihavesome · 01/02/2012 20:04

Ours has one which has been closed down and restarted dozens of times due to mindless ranting of a few parents who see it as a substitute for seeing the teacher or head

cabbageandbeans · 24/02/2012 20:12

I need to know about this! CAN YOU ALL HELP? If you have one at your school - do you have the schools permission to do so or can it be setup without their knowledge or agreement. I suspect that when I ask the head he will refuse us to have one butI think it could be useful if moderated well and users are agreeable to follow certain rules (eg. no slagging off!)
Glubs Am particularly interested in your experience. Did you have to get school permission to set this up? IF anyone has experience please help - I want to set up a closed group - not open to the community or wider family - only parents or carers, I don't know how I will know that they are parents though!!!!

Cheers All!

GobHoblin · 24/02/2012 23:16

My daughters school dont even update their website, i cant imagine a facebook group! Its now almost march and their site still has the teachers listed for last years year groups! I do think it might be useful though.

startail · 24/02/2012 23:36

No, we thought about it and decided against.
We are a primary PTA. Several of us aren't on FB ourselves and/or don't want to encourage under age DCs.

mrz · 25/02/2012 09:25

I think most schools feel that way startail and distance themselves from facebook.

Feenie · 25/02/2012 10:59

Same here - we deal with so many issues from Facebook (and one Moshi Monsters bullying case ) that we also distance ourselves. It would make it harder to discourage children not to use Facebook if parents had a group themselves.

cabbageandbeans · 26/02/2012 12:14

I hadn't thought about it being an encouragement to the pupils. My dd is only 5 so not in that realm of parenting dilemmas. Oh dear. was so hoping it was a good idea!

mrz · 26/02/2012 14:57

cabbageandbeans I have a 6 year old in my class who has her own facebook account and so has her younger sister...

Groovee · 26/02/2012 18:27

We have a PTA page for our school but no children are allowed on it and they got removed after CYOPS advised the school. But it's handy for the PTA to let us know everything.

cabbageandbeans · 26/02/2012 20:59

My plan was that it would be only for parents/carers of the children attending the school not wider family and certainly not the kids themselves! I can not believe children have FB accounts mrz! I am in shock! I won't be allowing that until, well...... who knows but I hope a LONG time!

cabbageandbeans · 26/02/2012 21:00

In fact - just the people who would be interested in what the PTA would be doing (you wouldn't get kids at a PTA meeting now, would you?!!)

MiraNova · 27/02/2012 11:20

We have one at our primary school - only recently set up, and restricted to parents only. Class reps are admins and responsible for adding parents (and will be for removing parents when their child leaves). We use it to talk about fundraising events, and also for general chat about local things.

We've not had any negative comments yet, but think they would be promptly removed by the admins, and the poster referred to the Head. School is aware, and has some reservations, but I think trust the PTA to manage it properly.

Agree DC under 13 should not be on Facebook at all, but think it wise for parents to know how to use it, so if when their DC are older and do decide to use it, then they can advise them on using it safely. My teenage DCs told me recently that Facebook is becoming 'uncool', because so many parents are using it now!

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