Backlash halts cyber app plans
An elite Waikato school is looking at installing an app on its students’ phones that would give teachers the ability to block some apps and monitor social media the students access.
St Peter’s School, in Cambridge, announced in its April newsletter that it planned to roll out the Family Zone app, first to boarders and progressively throughout the rest of the school. Its focus was ensuring students in its care were safe online, the school said.
But after a backlash from parents and students, including a petition with more than 200 signatures and multiple complaints, the roll-out has been delayed from term two until at least term three.
A member of the school community said they felt it was a breach of privacy because for boarders such a move meant the school could restrict students’ access to apps at all hours of the day.
Another raised concerns about whether the school would be tracking their child.
The app would be required to be installed on any devices students brought into the school and would be monitored only while they were in the school’s care.
A St Peter’s spokesperson said the school still believed it was a vital tool in keeping students safe in the classroom and the boarding house, but it would not implement the app’s use until the school had time to address any concerns.
“For those in our boarding care we are in the role of parent during their time at school and it is essential that we manage any inappropriate use of devices.”
The app would, for example, help to stop boarding students gaming at night, but did not allow the school to view students’ personal messages, data or content. Instead, it would just monitor the sites visited.
All personal information collected from students would be done fairly and not intrude to an unreasonable extent upon the personal affairs of the individual concerned, in accordance with the Privacy Act, the spokesperson said.
Katrina Casey, the Ministry of Education’s deputy secretary sector enablement and support, said schools developed their own policies that best met the needs of their students and communities, which could include use of social media during school hours.
“We expect schools to communicate very clearly with parents what their school policies are and to consult with their school communities when they update or change them,” Casey said.
“We haven’t been made aware of other schools that have decided to use the Family Zone app after consultation with their communities.”
A spokesperson for the Officer of the Privacy Commissioner said it had in the past had inquiries about two other schools using Family Zone or a similar app and was aware of others who made them a condition of their learning environment.
While it is up to a school to decide on its own policies which parents and students have to agree to in order for a child to be enrolled there, the commissioner’s office expected a privacy impact assessment to be completed if it related to using a new piece of technology to collect the personal information of its students,
“If a student or parent is concerned about the app, they could make a complaint to the school’s privacy officer. Depending on the school’s policies, there may be flexibility if a child or parent is reluctant to use the app.”