Best Practice

Social media and school communication

Parental engagement Whole-school issues Senior leadership
It is an area that still divides professional opinion – to what extent should a school use social media? Sally Jack discusses the positives and the pitfalls, and offers some advice to school leaders

Like it or loathe it, there is no denying the huge impact social media has had on our lives, and not least in education. It reveals the good, the bad and the ugly in human behaviour – a cost-effective, positive agent of change, but also a major factor behind the debilitating effects of bullying, abuse and mental health issues.

A mind-boggling range of different platforms are available, and there are more than 44 million active users in the UK (according to We Are Social’s Global Overview Report earlier this year).

Disagreements between pupils often erupt online and out of school, but are brought into the classroom or playground the following day. At the very least, therefore, an awareness of the different platforms available is advisable, and there is a guide by the NSPCC that may be useful in this regard (see further information).

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here