17 June 2009
What happened?
A secondary school student created a website that consisted of a teacher survey on which other students could vote for who they considered to be the worst teacher in the school.
What should I do if this happens to me?
- Make a note of the website address and print off or take a screen shot of the page(s) as evidence.
- Report the incident to a senior manager (eg head teacher) and the e-safety co-ordinator at your school - they should conduct a prompt investigation. It is recommended that you make the report in writing and copy in your trade union representative.
- If the investigation finds that a student (or a group of students) is involved in the incident, they should be disciplined in line with the school's disciplinary procedures in areas such as anti-bullying and acceptable use of ICT equipment.
- School guidelines should be followed in terms of informing the student's parents.
- If the investigation determines who set up the website in the first place, they should be asked to remove it.
- If the student(s) refuses to remove the website, the senior manager (or you) should ask the school's technical support staff to help determine which company is hosting the website.
- The senior manager (or you) should contact the website host to ask them to investigate whether the site's terms of service have been violated and to take the appropriate action.
- If the comments have been posted on an existing ratings website, such as www.ratemyteachers.com, the senior manager (or you) should contact them directly.
- If the student's posting or behaviour is considered to be threatening and/or intimidating, the senior management should - with your consent - report the matter to the police.
- Your senior management team should offer you adequate emotional and practical support during the process. If they don't, contact your teaching union for assistance. You can find contact details for the UK teaching unions here.