ATL

Education staff worried about dangers of social networking - ATL

Nearly a quarter of education staff say they or a colleague have been told by their employer (or a colleague) to remove something from their social networking profiles or accounts, says a new survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) in conjunction with Teacher Support Network.

In addition, over 40 per cent of respondents, in the survey of 630 teachers, lecturers, support staff and school leaders across the UK, voiced concerns that information about them on social networking sites may be used in disciplinary action. Staff were also worried about the improper use of the sites for cyberbullying.

The use of social networking sites has risen dramatically in the past few years. Indeed, 57 per cent of respondents said they have a profile on Facebook, 35 per cent had an account on Friends Reunited, and Twitter and the MSN Network were both used by 10 per cent.

A female primary school teacher, said: "I have heard of colleagues in other schools being told to remove status updates which may reflect negatively on the school or headteacher."

A female member of support staff in a state secondary school, said: "I would hesitate to post anything about myself on a public domain website where it would be up for the scrutiny of current or potential employers, students, etc. This does not mean that I have anything to hide; however, I prefer to maintain my private sphere."

Nearly 90 per cent of staff use their accounts or profiles purely for personal use. However, nearly a quarter of respondents say that their schools or colleges use other online tools, such as wikis, blogs, Flickr or YouTube to support teaching and learning.

A male head of department in an FE institution commented: "A number of colleagues use social networking sites to keep in touch with learners as it is an environment with which many learners are already familiar. However, we do stress the need to keep personal and work very separate (ie two separate accounts)."

Education establishments are regulating the use of social networking sites, with over 40 per cent of respondents reporting that their workplace or local authority has a policy on the use of social networks. Of these, over 50 per cent banned their use outright in the workplace.

There were also reports of a darker side to social networking, with 94 respondents saying that they knew of colleagues that had had a group set up to discuss or post abusive messages about them. A male head of department in a state secondary school said: "My identity was stolen by pupils on Facebook and used to send messages as 'me' to other pupils. Messages by two pupils were anonymously posted about me on a music website that alleged illegal activity with pupils."

One head of department for an independent school described his experiences with cyberbullying as the "worst week of my teaching life." A head of department in a secondary school, went further, to say: "I was filmed during a lesson about 2 weeks ago and a student has told me that this video was posted on YouTube. It caused me a lot of stress and I know that it affected my teaching over the course of 2 weeks. So much so that I have lost confidence, been upset, emotional and worried about being a source of ridicule amongst the students. I am also worried about the response from management if the video reached them. I know that the episode of cyberbullying has had a very negative impact on me."

A female teacher in a secondary school, said: "A colleague I work closely with was the subject of a Facebook 'hate site' and at the time there was no school policy to deal with it. I've recently experienced abuse and a threat via email. The school policy was not used, as far as I can tell, and is still in draft form. It's never been presented to staff."

A female teacher at a state secondary school, said: "A male colleague had a page set up about him by two female admirers. They were in Y10 and received no sanction at all, just a talking to. Girls can be highly manipulative and develop crushes that could lead to false allegations for that male teacher.

"The situation I found myself in was being told a photo had been posted about me. With no access to the accounts, I had no way to get the photo removed. I feel that I am openly ridiculed by students because they have a 'secret' joke about me that I can't stop. It is a horrible situation and has really put me off working in my current school." 

ATL general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted, said:  "Social networking sites can be a wonderful resource for learning, as well as personal enrichment through keeping in contact with friends. Education staff, however, need to be aware of the possible dangers of these sites. There have been some horrendous incidents of cyberbullying reported in this survey, which have made peoples' lives miserable. Bullying is no less serious whether it is done face to face or via a social networking site. Schools and colleges need to have clear policies to deal with it, and make sure that pupils will face appropriate punishment if they engage in any form of bullying – cyber or otherwise."

Julian Stanley, Teacher Support Network Chief Executive, said: ""Social networking sites have been an integral part of many people's lives. As a result, what was once a note passed among pupils in the classroom is now posted on the internet for all to see.

"We have seen a marked increase in calls and emails from teachers who have experienced abuse from colleagues, parents or pupils online. Schools are seriously lagging behind in implementing policies that could prevent this kind of bullying.

"Whilst new technologies such as social networking sites can provide opportunities to improve communication within a school community and help raise educational standards when used well, cyberbullying must be combatted to prevent the tremendous damage it can cause on the well-being of both teachers and pupils – and to standards of education for all.

"It's crucial that schools adopt meaningful and effective policies to address the problem and root out cyberbullying."

Ends

For further information please contact the ATL press office on 0161 827 7646 during the annual conference and otherwise on 0207 782 1589 or visit our website www.atl.org.uk.

Notes:

Case studies and survey findings in detail are available here.

ATL surveyed 630 teachers, lecturers, support staff and school leaders in state, independent schools and FE colleges throughout the UK from 4 to 15 March 2010.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers' Annual Conference is taking place at Manchester Central, Manchester from Monday 29 to Wednesday 31 March 2010.

Notes to editors

1. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is an independent, registered trade union and professional association, representing approximately 160,000 teachers, headteachers, lecturers and support staff in maintained and independent nurseries, schools, sixth form, tertiary and further education colleges in the United Kingdom.

2. ATL exists to help members, as their careers develop, through first rate research, advice, information and legal advice.

3. ATL is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) and Education International (EI). ATL is not affiliated to any political party and seeks to work constructively with all the main political parties.