A total of 43 teachers were referred to the General Teaching Council for England in 2011 for unprofessional conduct related to the use of social media sites.
14 of these teachers were suspended and 18 were placed on probation.
As a result the NUT have recently advised all schools that they should have policies in place making it clear what teachers should and should not do in the virtual space.
Which is in fact a lot more difficult than it sounds, not least because of the fact that social media is changing day by day.
To help overcome this problem we have liaised with internet and teaching experts to create a trusted, cohesive, accessible and robust school-wide policy that provides clear distinctions between public and private use of the medium and which covers the safe and appropriate use of social media by members of staff in nursery schools and departments.
The policy document is available to download online and can be purchased as a stand-alone document and then distributed in electronic or hard copy format within a matter of minutes to all members of staff.
Detailed guidelines regarding social media communication cover sites like Facebook and Twitter.
The policy document for acceptable use of social media by staff in educational establishments is priced at £49.99, but you can save 5% by quoting HH12SMP when you order from http://www.iteachingresources.com/lessons/details/477/Social-Media-Policy-Nursery-Version
Phone: 0113 2660880
Fax: 0113 2697889
Email: orders@iteachingresources.com
Post to: iTeachingResources, Allerton House, 75 Allerton Hill, Leeds, LS7 3QB.