17 June 2009
What happened?
A newly-qualified secondary school teacher published her holiday photos on her Facebook page. They included pictures of her sunbathing and drinking with friends in a bar. She had set her Facebook profile to ‘public' and one of her students found her profile and viewed the photos. The student passed the link on to their friends and soon, a number of students had seen the pictures. A parent also saw them and contacted the school to complain about them being inappropriate.
What should I do if this happens to me?
- First of all, prevent this from happening by setting your social networking profile to private so that only your chosen friends can see any photos you publish on it.
- Think before you post any photos of yourself (or comments) on the internet - ask yourself if you'd be comfortable with your students and their parents, your colleagues or your manager seeing them?
- Ask your friends to think before they tag you in a photo - especially if their social networking profile is ‘public'.
- Keep your professional and personal life separate - it's recommended that you don't become ‘friends' with any of your current or former students on your social networking site.
- Remember your role within the school community and that you should always consider how your conduct could affect your professional reputation and the reputation of your school.
If you're a member of a teaching union, you could get their advice about professional conduct.
- If your students or someone else come across information or images of you on the internet that they shouldn't, speak to a senior manager (eg head teacher) immediately.
- 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.