Social

Media
Policy

ChewValleySchool
June2012

SocialMediaPolicy

Rationale
Thewidespreadavailabilityanduseofsocialmediaapplicationsbringopportunitiestounderstand,
engage,andcommunicateinnewandexcitingways.Itisimportantthatweareabletousethese
technologiesandserviceseffectivelyandflexibly.However,itisalsoimportanttoensurethatwe
balancethiswithourdutiestoourschool,thecommunity,ourlegalresponsibilitiesandour
reputation.
Forexample,ouruseofsocialnetworkingapplicationshasimplicationsforourdutytosafeguard
children,youngpeopleandvulnerableadults.
Thepolicyrequirementsinthisdocumentaimtoprovidethisbalancetosupportinnovationwhilst
providingaframeworkofgoodpractice.Theyapplytoallmembersofstaffattheschool.
Thepurposeofthepolicyisto:

Protecttheschoolfromlegalrisks
Ensurethatthereputationoftheschool,itsstaffandgovernorsisprotected
Safeguardallchildren
Ensurethatanyusersareableclearlytodistinguishwhereinformationprovidedviasocial
mediaislegitimatelyrepresentativeoftheschool

Definitions and Scope

Socialnetworkingapplicationsinclude,butarenotlimitedto:Blogs,Onlinediscussionforums,
Collaborativespaces,Mediasharingservices,Microbloggingapplications,andonlinegaming
environments.ExamplesincludeTwitter,Facebook,WindowsLiveMessenger,YouTube,Flickr,Xbox
Live,Blogger,Tumblr,Last.fm,andcommentstreamsonpublicwebsitessuchasnewspapersite.
Manyoftheprinciplesofthispolicyalsoapplytoothertypesofonlinepresencesuchasvirtual
worlds.
Allmembersofstaffshouldbearinmindthatinformationtheysharethroughsocialnetworking
applications,eveniftheyareonprivatespaces,arestillsubjecttocopyright,dataprotectionand
FreedomofInformationlegislation,theSafeguardingVulnerableGroupsAct2006andother
legislation.TheymustalsooperateinlinewiththeschoolsEqualities,ChildProtectionandICT
AcceptableUsePolicies.
Withinthispolicythereisadistinctionbetweenuseofschoolsanctionedsocialmediafor
professionaleducationalpurposes,andpersonaluseofsocialmedia

Use of Social Media in practice

1. Personal use of social media

Schoolstaffwillnotinvite,acceptorengageincommunicationswithparentsorchildren
fromtheschoolcommunityinanypersonalsocialmediawhilstinemploymentatChew
ValleySchool

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SocialMediaPolicy

Anycommunicationreceivedfromchildrenonanypersonalsocialmediasitesmustbe
reportedtothedesignatedpersonforChildProtection(DeputyHeadteacherPastoral)
Ifanymemberofstaffisawareofanyinappropriatecommunicationsinvolvinganychildin
anysocialmedia,thesemustimmediatelybereportedasabove
Membersoftheschoolstaffarestronglyadvisedtosetallprivacysettingstothehighest
possiblelevelsonallpersonalsocialmediaaccounts
Allemailcommunicationbetweenstaffandmembersoftheschoolcommunityonschool
businessmustbemadefromanofficialschoolemailaccount
Staffshouldnotusepersonalemailaccountsormobilephonestomakecontactwith
membersoftheschoolcommunityonschoolbusiness,norshouldanysuchcontactbe
accepted,exceptincircumstancesgivenpriorapprovalbytheHeadteacher.
Staffareadvisedtoavoidpostsorcommentsthatrefertospecific,individualmattersrelated
totheschoolandmembersofitscommunityonanysocialmediaaccounts
Staffarealsoadvisedtoconsiderthereputationoftheschoolinanypostsorcomments
relatedtotheschoolonanysocialmediaaccounts
Staffshouldnotacceptanycurrentpupilofanyageoranyexpupiloftheschoolunderthe
ageof18asafriend,follower,subscriberorsimilaronanypersonalsocialmediaaccount

2. Schoolsanctioned use of social media

Therearemanylegitimateusesofsocialmediawithinthecurriculumandtosupportstudent
learning.Forexample,theschoolhasanofficialTwitteraccount(@ChewValleySch),andseveralA
levelcoursesrequiretheuseofblogsforassessment.Therearealsomanypossibilitiesforusing
socialmediatoenhanceanddevelopstudentslearning.
Whenusingsocialmediaforeducationalpurposes,thefollowingpracticesmustbeobserved:

Staffshouldsetupadistinctanddedicatedsocialmediasiteoraccountforeducational
purposes.Thisshouldbeentirelyseparatefromanypersonalsocialmediaaccountsheldby
thatmemberofstaff,andideallyshouldbelinkedtoanofficialschoolemailaccount.
TheURLandidentityofthesiteshouldbenotifiedtotheappropriateHeadofFacultyor
memberoftheSMTbeforeaccessispermittedforstudents
Thecontentofanyschoolsanctionedsocialmediasiteshouldbesolelyprofessionaland
shouldreflectwellontheschool.
Staffmustnotpublishphotographsofchildrenwithoutthewrittenconsentofparents/
carers,identifybynameanychildrenfeaturedinphotographs,orallowpersonally
identifyinginformationtobepublishedonschoolsocialmediaaccounts
Caremustbetakenthatanylinkstoexternalsitesfromtheaccountareappropriateand
safe
Anyinappropriatecommentsonorabuseofschoolsanctionedsocialmediashould
immediatelyberemovedandreportedtoamemberofSMT
Staffshouldnotengagewithanydirectmessagingofstudentsthroughsocialmediawhere
themessageisnotpublic
AllsocialmediaaccountscreatedforeducationalpurposesshouldincludealinkintheAbout
orInfopagetotheICTAcceptableUsePolicyontheschoolwebsite.Thiswillindicatethat
theaccountisofficiallysanctionedbyChewValleySchool.
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SocialMediaPolicy
PolicyReviewed:June2012
Nextreviewdate:June2014

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