WhatsApp group etiquette

[noextrawork]

Hi, can I explore what people’s view are about a class WhatsApp group’s etiquette (group amongst parents) in terms of 1-2 disruptive parents in the group. These are folk who share very strong / unwelcome / politicised views and create an uncomfortable atmosphere. A couple of other parents have left the group as not to be part of the toxic “debates” (amongst a very small minority of group members) which is a loss for the group. Has anyone experienced this sort of dynamic in your groups? These folk have been kindly asked to keep the conversation around the intended topics (birthdays etc) but this hasn’t changed the tone.

I wouldn't tolerate it. I hate WA groups but tolerate them for necessary information,(scouts, etc). I wouldn't have any time for personal views or anything unrelated to the topic of the group chat.

I would avoid them. They get very cliquey. Leave. The school will text or inform you of anything important.

Ours isn't like that at all- it's very calm, boring, full of lost jumpers and PE days. There are some very basic rules posted in the group description that everyone has been asked to abide by (be polite, stick to the topic, if you have a grievance take it to the school).

Seems like the rules are unusual, but the parent who set it up had previously had bad experiences, and setting ground rules has been really helpful.

WhatsApp groups used to bitch about the school are to be avoided like the plague. Leave the group, job done. The more people who leave, the more of a message it sends out that other parents won't tolerate such nastiness. Set up your own group for sharing of party details etc.

Our school won't have anything to do with WhatsApp. If ever the parents, ask we always say they are welcome to set up their own and invite whoever they like but school are not going to be associated with it.

Our WhatsApp group is just for checking what day PE is, or when is non uniform day. We don’t do any “chatting”. Just leave the group.

I’d leave it. If I lose a jumper or someone wants to ask my child to a birthday party then I would deal with the consequences of that. I couldn’t be in a group where people were asking about lost jumpers and then other players were saying ‘l haven’t seen it’ never mind one were people were being twats.

I would make a comment say. A reminder that this group is to share a hook information and not fit political or divisive comments. We don't want to remove anyone from the group so this is a gentle reminder thanks all for your understanding

Agree - theses groups are totally unnecessary. If there is anything you need to know, the school will let you know

When I was a school governor we discouraged them. We didn’t pass any school information via a WhatsApp group. Information parents need will be supplied direct from the school

If parents can’t remember when PE is, an inset day or non uniform day - get a calendar!

Yes, or at the very least ask a member of staff at drop off/pick up.

No parent 'needs' a WhatsApp group for anything school related. If they want one for social arrangements, out of school, that's fine but it should be set up by the parents (nothing to do with the school) and kept purely for that reason. Any grievances with the school, staff or other pupils is absolutely not what class WhatsApp groups should be for. They're honestly more hassle than they're worth when they get used for such purposes.

I am very lucky: I HATE whatsapp groups with a passion, but I've had a good experience with the parents ones so far (only some timid intents of self-promotion obviously ignored, and a very cringe dad who sometimes shares inspirational videos).
I would blatantly ignore the histrionics. But if it came to the point of affecting me, I'd have no qualms about leaving the group.

I'm a primary teacher and appreciate my child's very quiet, completely inoffensive WhatsApp group. It is useful occasionally and is like a phone book for contacting numbers for people if you need to chase a party invitation or something. I have no idea if the class I teach has a group but it has never caused me an issue if it does.

Our Whatsapp group us very bland and uncontroversial. Whole class party invites, lost uniform, trip reminders. For me it's a little bit too restrained - there's lots of chat behind the scenes but I never know what is really going in or what people think as I'm not part of the "in" group.