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.

Acas isn't all bad but I have a friend who used to work for them and left due to bullying behaviour by a colleague. I suggest you join a union. I used to be a senior union rep in the private sector. Unions can't solve all the world's problems but they can be useful at an individual level

Tbh I have no idea how to go about union stuff. I will have to ask at work. Do you pay or is it free please?

Around £10 pm usually. You have a couple of options as a TA. Unison union. NEU if E&W. My relative is in EIS but that's for Scottish teachers. I'd probs investigate Unison first if I was a TA but that's only what I think. An old colleague I urged to join union many times got into a bit of a fankle at work and he had not joined union. He would have got a better outcome if he had

As much as OP hopes I'm not a teacher because I genuinely care more about improving teaching and learning than the technicalities of who is caught on camera, I have to say that any issue like this where you feel you can't have a reasonable conversation and a sensible outcome with management needs to go through that union.

As I alluded to previously, mentioning these things usually gets SLT to do the right thing lest the union become involved. I once started a new school mid year, agreed new objectives, passed performance management targets and got a letter saying congratulations on passing, I'd be remaining on the same pay point. I said I assumed an error and asked if I needed to speak to a rep and they fixed it that day. They'd tried it with loads of other people (the savings would probably have paid an additional salary).

The only thing to be aware of is they can usually only help if you were a member at the time of the issue, so might not be able to deal with previous problems, but might prevent future ones.

Yes. That's why to join union before issue arises. Some unions give telephone advice if you join after the issue but outcomes are nowhere near as good because the union won't generally give you official representation. Union officials have dealt with many issues before and know the script so their representation can be vital to get a good resolution

So, what was the outcome of the discussion about this issue, on return to work?