Schools urged to protect teachers from social media abuse

SCHOOLS must protect teachers from bullying on social media websites by children and parents, the Government has said.

One in three teachers has reported “derogatory comments” posted about them on social media websites by both parents and children.

Guidance published by the Department for Education says that schools should “make clear” that cyber-bullying of teachers is unacceptable.

It says schools should consider contacting the police if teachers are subjected to abuse that is threatening, sexist or sexual in nature, or may be considered a hate crime.

The guidance states: “Schools should also make clear that it is not acceptable for pupils, parents or colleagues to

‘It is not acceptable for pupils, parents or colleagues to denigrate and bully school staff via social media’

denigrate and bully school staff via social media in the same way that it is unacceptable to do so face to face.

“Schools should encourage all members of the school community including parents to use social media responsibly. Parents have a right to raise concerns about the education of their child, but they should do so in an appropriate manner.”

Teachers who are targeted by parents should as a “first action” invite them to a meeting to raise their concerns and ask them to remove the comments. If they refuse to do so, they can escalate the complaint.

Staff are being warned that they should “never respond or retaliate” to cyber-bullying incidents and should instead take “screen prints of messages or web pages” that record the date and time. Staff are also advised not to make friends with pupils on Facebook and other social media sites and to avoid giving out personal contact details.

The guidance states: “If the comments are threatening or abusive, sexist, of a sexual nature or constitute a hate crime, you or a representative from the school may consider contacting the local police. Online harassment is a crime.” A survey by Nasuwt, the union, found that just over half of teachers abused by pupils online have faced “insulting comments about my character/ appearance”, while 44 per cent have faced criticism of their performance. One in seven subject to abuse referred it to the police.

The report found that even when abuse was reported no action was taken in 45 per cent of cases, and 38 per cent of teachers said they had been driven off social media entirely.

Chris Keates, the general secretary of the Nasuwt, said: “On a day-to-day basis, teachers are getting no support despite being subjected to appalling levels of online abuse.

“Most worryingly it appears that rather than setting a good example to their children, even some parents think it is acceptable to abuse and threaten teachers online.

“This has to stop. Being a victim of online abuse can be a very traumatic experience, which can potentially ruin lives and careers. The Government needs to act to put more safeguards in place to protect teachers and ensure our classrooms remain a safe and secure environment for all.”

Digital Awareness UK, a charity working to combat cyber-bullying in schools, recently highlighted one case in which a student set up a fake dating profile to target a female member of staff.

The boy used photos of a man to create fake profiles on Facebook and Tinder to flirt with his female teacher. She sent messages back, thinking she was speaking to an adult, and he asked her out on a date.

As she sat alone at a table, having been “stood up”, the boy secretly photographed her. The pictures were then shared widely around the school.