Ofsted wants to snoop on children’s Facebook to spot failing schools

OFSTED is considering snooping on pupils’ social media pages to detect whether their school’s standards are sliding.

The details emerged in the watchdog’s ‘innovation plan’, which said it was looking into using ‘real time data’ from the web to ‘predict and prevent decline in school performance’.

Experts said this could mean tracking the Twitter and Facebook accounts of pupils and parents to detect any signs of dissatisfaction.

But head teachers fear the move could lead to inspectors giving undue credence to ‘unsubstantiated gossip or downright falsehood’.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: ‘Social media is a place where people go to express their frustrations, not provide measured constructive feedback.’

Ofsted said it would seek schools’ views as part of a consultation and only view pages that are publicly available. A spokesman said it was too soon to say if the proposal would be used.