17 June 2009
What happened?
A group of students recorded a member of staff on a mobile while they set him up with silly questions and misbehaved behind his back. The video was then posted on YouTube.
What should I do if this happens to me?
- Make a note of the video-sharing website address (the exact page) and 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 published the video in the first place, they should be asked to remove it from the video-sharing site.
- If the student(s) refuses to remove the video, the senior manager (or you) should contact the video-sharing site to ask them to investigate whether the site's terms of service have been violated and to take the appropriate action.
YouTube's Community Guidelines, for example, state: "When a video gets flagged as inappropriate, we review the video to determine whether it violates our Terms of Use”.
To report abuse on YouTube, you need to create a free account, log in, then click the ‘Flag' link under the video. You should also go to YouTube's Abuse and Policy Centre where you can choose from a number of options related to inappropriate content, abusive users, video takedowns and privacy issues.
- 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.