To aid communication between parents and carers, many of you will have WhatsApp groups, which operate independently of the school.

Class or Parent/Carer Groups

Class or Parent/Carer WhatsApp groups are a very useful and efficient way of communicating to the whole class or groups of parents. The aim of using WhatsApp is to send messages to an entire group, which are relevant to school or to the parents in the group.

The messages in WhatsApp groups either come from parents in their personal capacity or are messages forwarded on behalf of the school. The school does not post directly on any WhatsApp parent/carer groups.

Code of Conduct

Parents should adhere to the following guidelines when using class WhatsApp groups:

• The group should never be used as a platform to air views/grievances regarding a teacher, child or parent in the class or school
• The group is not a political platform for airing opinions on current affairs
• The group should not be used for private conversations with anyone else using the group
• The group should be used keeping in mind mutual respect and cultural sensitivity between all its members
• Bullying is not to be tolerated and should be reported
• People who are not directly related to or responsible for a child in the school, should not be invited to the group

Please note, the school considers the following online activity inappropriate:

• Abusive or personal comments about staff, pupils or other parents
• Bringing the school into disrepute
• Posting defamatory or libellous comments
• Emails circulated or sent directly with abusive or personal comments about staff or pupils
• Using social media to publicly challenge school policies or discuss issues about individual children
• Threatening behaviour, such as verbally intimidating staff, or using bad language

The school takes safeguarding responsibilities seriously and will deal with any reported incidents appropriately. The above inappropriate activity can and will be considered for further action by the school.

Raising Concerns

If you are concerned about inappropriate comments on a WhatsApp group, please contact our Senior Leadership Team.