Teacher secretly filming class.

nad1611

I was wondering if anyone knows a definitive Yes or No on this one. I don't want to go into too much detail but am wondering if it's acceptable or even legal for a Teacher to film a class of students without their consent or knowledge. The teacher filmed them in an effort to show evidence of students not doing work set, the students were not being disruptive or verbally abusive or aggressive, they were literally talking when they should have been working.

When my child entered the school I can remember signing something to the effect that I was okay about my child being filmed, however, if I 'd been asked the question do you give permission for your child to be filmed secretly, then it would have been a resounding NO.

Hoping some teachers might have a view on this.

liney

I don't know the legal answer, but it certainly might be useful because some parents won't believe their little darlings ever do anything wrong..../whistles.

rachbc

nad1611 wrote: »

they were literally talking when they should have been working.

No idea on the filming sorry. But kids who talk when they should have been working ARE disruptive - they are stopping other kids learning and not learning themselves.....

Tropez

There have been a couple of high profile cases of teachers secretly filming classrooms for the purposes of documentaries for Channel 4 and Channel 5. In both cases, criminal proceedings were never undertaken, indicating that the practice is not illegal, however, the National Union of Teachers condemned the move and in both cases the teachers involved were required to attend a misconduct hearing in front of the General Teaching Council which would indicate that the issue is extremely complex, and possibly has devastating ramifications for a teacher's career. One teacher was found guilty by the GTC but I'm unsure as to what happened to the second one, Alex Dolan, who apparently had already quit the teaching profession before the GTC inquiry.

However, in both cases the footage was used in the making of documentaries for public broadcast. For the private use of the school it may not be as serious.

ETA: Found her - Alex Dolan was suspended from teaching for one year for "breaching student trust". Many teachers and other commentators spoke out in her defence. It does not appear that she has yet returned to teaching.

Gingham_Ribbon

Teachers regularly take pictures of the children doing their work at my son's school. They are displayed in school.

I'd be more worried about the children not doing what they were supposed to be doing rather than a frustrated teacher filming their behaviour to show them (or the head) what they were doing wrong.

This isn't sneeky or behind their backs. You know about it so presumably they do too.

nad1611

rachbc wrote: »

No idea on the filming sorry. But kids who talk when they should have been working ARE disruptive - they are stopping other kids learning and not learning themselves.....

That's the problem with posting this, I knew I would sound as though I'm defending the kids behaviour I certainly am not, but even if the kids were being disruptive, I still feel there are procedures and I want to know if this is permissable. I am not a parent who thinks my "little darling" is an angel, coming from a family of teachers my children always accuse me if anything of siding with the Teachers.

I don't want this to be a post about children's behaviour, this isn't a post about the rights and wrongs of children's behaviour in class, hopefully someone will start a seperate thread for that, if need be, I want a specific answer on the legalities of this situation.

whitewing

I guess it depends if the headteacher knew or not. If the headteacher did not know, the teacher should certainly not have done this purely because of the issues surrounding it.

If the headteacher knew, and presumably the govenors too, then it should all be completely above board and potentially could be a useful one-off.

shellsuit

This has happened at my children's school also.

The kids know and when they've asked, they've been told it's so the teacher can monitor how they work.

I know I have definitely not given my permission for my children to be filmed, only photographed for school and school website purposes.

This is high school I'm talking about.

luxor4t

Most schools have security cameras dotted around the premises, inside and outside the buildings, and the cameras are not always obvious to pupils but the school does not have to ask for permission to keep pupils safe. I see the classroom filming as an extension of this.

The case in the report linked here suggests that covert filming is acceptible for the right reasons, however please note that this scenario differs from yours as a TV crew were involved: http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/a-pupils-right-to-privacy-2365

nad1611

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

Teachers regularly take pictures of the children doing their work at my son's school. They are displayed in school.

I'd be more worried about the children not doing what they were supposed to be doing rather than a frustrated teacher filming their behaviour to show them (or the head) what they were doing wrong.

This isn't sneeky or behind their backs. You know about it so presumably they do too.

The only reason this came out was because a child noticed the camera had a red light on, so it was sneaky and she certainly wouldn't have told them if they hadn't discovered the camera.

As for your other comment please read my last comment.

Tropez

It is also worth mentioning, perhaps, that schools do have the legal right to install surveillance systems such as CCTV. In fact, a Guardian article published in either 2008 or 2009 commented on the increase in electronic surveillance in British schools. CCTV is generally "obvious" but it can be installed, legally, in such a way that it is not visible.