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Original poster

Teacher sharing images on SM

165 replies

glitterelf · 13/11/2021 11:26

Morning I've stumbled across images of children including my own on Twitter from a teachers personal Twitter account and I feel a little uneasy about this. Does anyone know the rules and regs around this ? The school itself does have its own account so I'm not sure why it wasn't posted through that account. I know that there are several children who most definitely should not have their pictures posted ever and I cannot see anything in the schools policies about SM. TIA

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Original poster
glitterelf · 16/11/2021 16:47

@Newnamemsz most schools from what I've seen will state use on their social media pages not just on social media. I'm still waiting for a response from the school which suggests that all is not right.

OP posts:
TizerorFizz · 16/11/2021 17:51

The relevant words in that agreement are OUR use. That’s the school. It’s not an individual teacher.

Newnamemsz · 16/11/2021 18:16

The school includes all the staff

ldontWanna · 16/11/2021 18:39

@Newnamemsz

The school includes all the staff
So cleaners, lunch ladies, office staff, Caretaker? All ok to post pics of the kids on their personal accounts?
Newnamemsz · 16/11/2021 18:51

I very much doubt that cleaners, dinner ladies, caretakers etc have access to school devices to be able to take photographs of children.

Original poster
glitterelf · 16/11/2021 18:55

@Newnamemsz

The school includes all the staff
Don't be silly.That would mean anyone working within the school so where is the line drawn ? Schools often have volunteers often parents would you be happy with a parent volunteer going into school taking pictures of your child and uploading them to their personal social media ?

You yourself have spoken about teachers safeguarding themselves would say this particular teacher has safeguarded herself ?

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Original poster
glitterelf · 16/11/2021 18:56

@Newnamemsz

I very much doubt that cleaners, dinner ladies, caretakers etc have access to school devices to be able to take photographs of children.
No but I'm certain they have access to devices and I do not know if this teacher used a school device or a personal device.
OP posts:
TizerorFizz · 16/11/2021 19:10

That’s what the school should be investigating. I would like to think that most teachers take data protection seriously and understand it.

Newnamemsz · 16/11/2021 19:40

Glitterelf if they do have access to devices in school and use them to photograph children then there is a safeguarding problem.

Newnamemsz · 16/11/2021 19:45

I would say on the information you have provided we can't judge the teacher.
We need to know if she has been authorised by the school to post photographs on that account.
We need to know whether she used her personal device or the school's.
We need to know what the school's photography policy is.
At this time all we know is that you haven't given the school permission so no one should photograph your child.

Original poster
glitterelf · 16/11/2021 19:57

@Newnamemsz

I would say on the information you have provided we can't judge the teacher. We need to know if she has been authorised by the school to post photographs on that account. We need to know whether she used her personal device or the school's. We need to know what the school's photography policy is. At this time all we know is that you haven't given the school permission so no one should photograph your child.
Well considering the fact that the post has been deleted and it's a personal account I think we can judge in this instance. I've had no response to my concern which actually speaks volumes. Whether it's a personal device or not remains to be seen however I'm sure no matter what I'll be told it was a school device even if that's not the truth. Ultimately as you say they didn't have permission anyway so that's a data breech.
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Beetlebum1981 · 16/11/2021 20:11

As a teacher I'm not even allowed to take pictures of children in school on my phone for school use. I don't think posting pictures of your class on a private account is acceptable. If you have safeguarding concerns then you can report to the directly to the safeguarding lead at your local council.

Newnamemsz · 17/11/2021 05:33

No glitterelf we can't judge from that. You complained ...the teacher removed it because you have let them know you didn't give permission for your child to be be photographed, when they obviously believed you had. They dealt with the issue as soon as this was brought to their attention as no one likes upsetting parents.

Newnamemsz · 17/11/2021 05:35

If anyone in the school uses a personal device to photograph children then it is a safeguarding issue.

UhOhOops · 17/11/2021 06:49

@Smartiepants79

That’s extremely strange. Could be a sackable offence. What on earth was she thinking.
Gross misconduct. Stupid, stupid mistake by a deputy head. Formal complaint ASAP, escalate as necessary.
Original poster
glitterelf · 17/11/2021 07:38

@Newnamemsz

No glitterelf we can't judge from that. You complained ...the teacher removed it because you have let them know you didn't give permission for your child to be be photographed, when they obviously believed you had. They dealt with the issue as soon as this was brought to their attention as no one likes upsetting parents.
Just to be clear there were two images one with no children in and the other with children if it was ok for that account to be used why were both deleted ? As I said before I won't post any links or anything identifiable on here to protect the children and the teacher.
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TizerorFizz · 17/11/2021 07:40

Yesterday @Newnamemsz thought safeguarding was about safeguarding the reputation of teachers! Seems she had done some reading in the meantime!

The issues which must be investigated are the photography of children where that’s not allowed and publishing photos on an unauthorised site which then leads to questions about how data images are stored and shared in school. Is this a safeguarding breach and is it a breach of data protection laws? Possibly both. So possibly gross misconduct. At the moment the school should be investigating the complaint and it should be an official one.

If you don’t hear anything op, I would contact the chair of governors now. Plus whoever runs the Trust if it’s an academy.

Newnamemsz · 17/11/2021 07:52

Yesterday TizerorFizz didn't know that employers had a duty to safeguard their employees and in the case of teachers the Government has published a number of documents re keeping teachers safe.

Newnamemsz · 17/11/2021 07:55

Since there is no law against posting photographs that don't include children why do you think the teacher deleted it?

Newnamemsz · 17/11/2021 08:03

@TizerorFizz

Yesterday *@Newnamemsz* thought safeguarding was about safeguarding the reputation of teachers! Seems she had done some reading in the meantime!

The issues which must be investigated are the photography of children where that’s not allowed and publishing photos on an unauthorised site which then leads to questions about how data images are stored and shared in school. Is this a safeguarding breach and is it a breach of data protection laws? Possibly both. So possibly gross misconduct. At the moment the school should be investigating the complaint and it should be an official one.

If you don’t hear anything op, I would contact the chair of governors now. Plus whoever runs the Trust if it’s an academy.

Yesterday TizerorFizz wasn't aware that employers have a duty of care towards their employees and in the case of teachers the Government has published a number of documents about this and providing advice about safeguarding teachers online. One of the common pieces of advice is not to use full names. No I haven't read anything because as I said here the issue is whether parental permission for photographs was given and whether staff are using personal devices in school.
TizerorFizz · 17/11/2021 08:05

@Newnamemsz
Of course I did but it’s not remotely relevant here! In this particular discussion. This discussion is about children and they are rightly the main focus of safeguarding legislation. Fortunately I have read and understood all policies surrounding safeguarding and data protection! The OP was never, ever, asking about the protection of a member of staff so it’s irrelevant for this thread.

Original poster
glitterelf · 17/11/2021 08:08

@Newnamemsz

Since there is no law against posting photographs that don't include children why do you think the teacher deleted it?
Because it's it's a personal account and the picture was taken on school property within school hours and the possibility it was a personal device that was used.
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Newnamemsz · 17/11/2021 08:11

As I've said repeatedly the issue is whether a personal or school device was used and neither you nor anyone on this thread knows the answer to that (or is likely to find out).

MyOtherProfile · 17/11/2021 08:11

I'm really shocked by this. And perhaps more shocked by posters who thought it was ok!

There are very strict safeguarding rules about who can post where. A teacher posting photos of children on an account that isn't the school account has massively crossed the line.

Either they used their own device to take photos of children, which is an absolute no, or they used a school device which they had used to take photos, to access their own social media and post the photos. Again this is an absolute no.

I hope you get a response from the school soon.

MyOtherProfile · 17/11/2021 08:12

It's more than that, @Newnamemsz as I've explained in my post.

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