Social Media and Student Privacy

I am sure you are aware that schools need to follow the Privacy Act.

The key to the Privacy Act is that schools must look after their students’ information and not release it to third parties unless they have been given clear permission. This is an extra hassle for schools to monitor what has been shared and it is often even more difficult to remove information once it has been shared.

Do you know how to remove a photo from Facebook or Twitter?

This is super important for me as a parent that my child's photo isn't shared on Social Media whether this happended by accident or not. Yet we know that social media is an important channel to engage with your community.

Facebook has become integrated deeply into the fabric of everyday society and communication. Many schools have realised Facebook is a powerful way to reach their audience. Facebook presents as a quick and easy way to engage parents, broadcast news, and information, and build an audience around the school itself. 

As effective and powerful as Facebook is, and with all the positivity and school spirit it creates, we need to keep in mind that it is a public platform and therefore holds the risk of disgruntled community members popping up and having a say. It's for this reason, we feel some ‘house rules’ would be a good idea.

Imagine that Facebook is like a playground, where your school can regularly connect with people and build strong relationships. As you know not everyone plays fair on the playground and Facebook is no different. Each Page has its bullies posting undesirable or abusive comments and therefore publishing a Code of Conduct that will clearly state the purpose of your Facebook Page and identify inappropriate content that can (and probably should) be removed, is a good idea.

As an Admin, you can encourage a healthier community with your own guidelines. Not only is it good to have these standards, but it’s also becoming necessary with all the irrelevant conversations taking over the social network so that you can provide your school community with a space for constructive dialogue.

Your code of conduct can be added to your school’s website, and also in the General Information section of your Facebook page.

We have added an example code of conduct for you to look over.  One action you can take to maintain privacy and control over information.