Shocked to have been secretly recorded at work.

[Whataninvasionofprivacy]

I work as a TA in school, and last week at the end of a lesson, the teacher called me over and indicated (behind the kid’s backs) to the class cupboard. She then whispered “Will you turn off the iPad?” I wasn’t sure what she was on about, but she then whispered that she’d just recorded the entire lesson, but didn’t want the kids to know. She had been told to do this by a senior staff member.

Am I being ridiculous to feel annoyed by this? I’m sure I should have been told beforehand. Also what about parents who don’t normally consent, they had no choice in this case.

@GranPepper
I can promise you absolutely and unequivocally that every single word is absolutely true. I have a massive issue with lying due to my ex husband’s behaviour over a ten year period, a whole other story, so no!!! I absolutely would not make anything up. I have absolutely no reason to do that. My post is a very honest and open one and there is not a single thing in it which isn’t 100% honest. I would like to address and explain every point, as honestly not being believed is a huge deal for me.

The cupcake was brought in for me by a child’s mum. The child had had a bad accident, and was unable to play out for many weeks and needed lots of help in school. I had been tasked with helping her. After school they had gone to buy cakes and she’d asked if she could buy one for me and brought it into school with a can of lemonade also. As I know it is a rule that we cannot accept gifts normally, I had asked SLT if this was ok, as it was a thank you. I was told that unfortunately, because it wasn’t an end of term or Christmas gift, I could not accept it. To say I was shocked was an understatement tbh! I handed it back at the end of the day with the drink, and explained to the shocked mum. Yet the teacher I worked with would often get doughnuts brought in for her and other homemade treats. She was mortified and embarrassed that I had been told to return it.

With regard to the toast, I was actually made aware of this very recently by another TA. She told me that when teachers go to get toast. they do not pay. She told me she had now seen this three times with different teachers. I have not witnessed it, but she is my friend and has no reason to say this.
As for dinner portions, what can I say other than yes what I say is absolutely the truth. I sit eating on the same table as teachers and it is VERY MUCH A THING!!! Our dinners are noticeably smaller. This is not a figment of my imagination, it’s right there to see. They have actually even commented on it themselves. I don’t think this is something that management have insisted on. I think it’s the whole ethos of how we are treated differently which filters through the whole school.

The fact that you doubted this was/is true has actually made me realise what appalling treatment we accept from management. So poor that is comes across as something which can’t be true.

It may be hard to believe, but I love my job and I stay for the children. Trust me, a lot of them have terrible lives, no idea where next meal is coming from, no hearing at home, never seen the sea. I’ve worked with many since they were 5 years old. They have no constant in their lives. This is why I stay! However, this latest incident has really made me question myself.

I think this is a bit irrelevant to the OP as it doesn’t sound like Iris was used in her case but others have mentioned it as something that is frequently used in schools.

Quoting from the Iris website:

”In the GDPR there are 6 lawful bases for the processing of data……The majority of schools using Iris Connect select the basis of Public Task so we have used this basis within our templates and examples.

Do I need Consent/Permission to Record?

Many organisations already have permission in place…..the ICO states that no single basis is better or more important than others - which basis is most appropriate to use will depend on your purpose.

Therefore, particularly in an education context Public Task is often used”.

So maybe you would say this is not “advice” but maybe it is a reasonably strong suggestion that Public Task is appropriate as no others bases are specifically mentioned?

I see no need for any of us to go down the road of teachers are more important than TAs, LSAs, mentors, slt, cleaners, uncle Tom Cobbly and all! I find that rabbit hole tiring and depressing... everyone has different yet valuable roles in the life of a school.
I think op, that you and like minded others need to look at how the rather unpleasant ethos at your school can be addressed. This could be done in a positive way under the guise of staff wellbeing for example. I do think this thread is going round in circles now!

Right. "trust me .. a lot of them have terrible lives, no idea where their next meal is coming from .. never seen the sea .. no constant in their lives". I expect the teachers/senior leadership team will be aware of pupils' issues and will have made any required mandatory disclosures. And you, who appears to be relatively articulate, can't apparently ask for a wee bit more dinner on your plate, an extra spoonful so you have the same portion of the teacher sitting at your table paying the same amount as you are? I have supported you about your point around covert recording and I am not withdrawing what I've said about that. However, you are not a teacher, senior school leader or social worker and maybe you could concentrate on the job you're paid to do and let others with other roles do theirs. If you want more responsibility, you can apply to train in a different role. I say this in a kindly manner

@RockyRogue1001

And why am I not being truthful? Because you think things like this don’t happen in schools up and down the country. I stand by absolutely every single word I have written. What on earth would I possibly gain from making up lies about a school scenario? Who actually does stuff like that and why?????

@GranPepper

I am honestly totally bewildered by your reply. I had to check twice that you had actually sent it, as I cannot make any sense of it.

You are telling me I am not a teacher or senior leader nor social worker, and maybe I should concentrate on the job I’m paid to do and let others get on with theirs. Literally bears no resemblance to anything. As for telling me I can train in a different role if I want more responsibility. I have never stated I want that. Very confused by this!

I am on half term. If you read (I appreciate there’s a lot of replies) you will see that this happened just before we broke up. Hence I have not been able to address it. I have spoken with ACAS and ICO and have sent screenshots of the time I called and length of call to the admin team to prove that this is absolutely 100% genuine.

26/10/2024 00:25 it was written 25 minutes into Saturday so I think it's safe to assume OP was talking about the Friday the 25th.

I think maybe you missed the bit in the thread where a senior privacy lawyer asked the rather poignant question around what underlying law filming children for teacher training as a "public task" would be grounded in. Which doesn't appear to have been answered anywhere?

I was just replying to the poster who said that the website did not advise the use of public task. I think I quoted that poster in my reply.

I can see that now.
I was just responding to what the poster had written.

I was going to ask mnhq to delete my posts, but they already have

Ah sorry - I see that now!

I apologise if you were upset by my post. This certainly was not my intention. I have been very supportive of you saying (correctly) people should not be covertly filmed. You shouldn't be and neither should the children. I suggested in a previous post you find out who the Data Protection Officer in your organisation and your union is you are in one. I genuinely wish you every success in resolving this matter because privacy issues are important to protect. Where I started to feel uneasy was you were bringing other things that appear to be annoying you into the conversation (free toast for teachers; teachers getting gifts while you are not allowed to accept a cupcake; being given smaller lunch portions but paying the same amount; not being allowed to park in areas teachers park in, in the car park etc). This started to feel to me that you might have underlying simmering resentment towards the teacher/s and/or senior school leaders. I was just trying to point out people have different roles and responsibilities in the school and perhaps people are well served by focussing on their own role. It was not my intention to make you feel bad. Best regards

Thank you and apology accepted @GranPepper. I think what I was trying to convey (and maybe I did it badly) was that generally we are treated very differently in lots of unnecessary ways. I completely accept we are not teachers, and tbh I truthfully would not want to be one, because the stress is enormous. I have no resentment towards the teachers at all. I’m very good friends with many of them. The cake thing and dinner thing are admittedly ridiculous. I think many of us kind of just accept things sometimes and it’s only when an issue arises that you start looking at everything else that’s not fair etc. Maybe it’s important to raise the smaller issues so they don’t lead on to bigger ones.

Anyway, I will be back next week and can hopefully get answers. I don’t want to get anyone into trouble and cause unrest, but I do want to get to the bottom of it.

Best wishes

@Whataninvasionofprivacy in the future, I would be going into school and switching off the ipad and making sure it stayed off. they would not get the chance to do it again. the teacher who whispered to you was obviously also uncomfortable having a recording being made so I dont understand why she switched it on in the first place. even if it means putting a pile of books in front of it.

I know I keep wobbling on about the same thing but bring up those 'little' things at your TA meeting when you have a member of slt present. They are not so little really but part of an unhealthy work culture. Good luck!

@allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld
She was asked by SLT to record the lesson.

Thank you @DizzyDandilion Im definitely going to start mentioning these things. I think they run away with you and you just don’t realise and then kind of just accept it.

This is right.
It would also be sensible to join a Union if you are not already in one (as seems to be the case since you have not mentioned Union support).
I wonder if you could discuss the position with your local safeguarding officer, though to me the worst aspect of this is the poor attitude/behaviour of your "management" team.
I doubt if ACAS would be interested.

Oh. Have you established why SLT asked for this recording to happen? Was it a child causing havoc in lessons they needed evidence on to move them to a more appropriate school? (if so, you should still have been told)

I haven’t yet as we are still on holiday. She said a senior member had requested it and I can only assume for training as there can’t really be another reason. The teacher involved only works three days so I’m thinking it’s unfair to raise it whilst she is off and maybe I need to wait until she’s back in school.

I’m not in a union, but probably should be.
ACAS didn’t want to know really, quite flaky tbh.