Social Media Policy - Draft

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY - DRAFT

1. Authorisation

This policy was developed and adopted by the Cara Armstrong Committee of Management, at the Committee meeting on 23rdMarch, 2016.

2. Review

The Social Media Policy will be reviewed as required.

3. Purpose

This policy will provide guidelines:

• for the safe and appropriate use of social media within the context of Cara Armstrong Kindergarten.

4. Scope

This policy applies to the Committee of Management, Staff, Parents/Guardians who wish to have their children enrolled at this centre, or have children already enrolled at this centre, their extended families, and volunteers or students undertaking placement at the centre.

5. Background

Social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and blogging represent a growing form of communication, and can play an important role in maintaining relationships with families, educators and the local community in today’s climate.

However, it is also an area in which rules and boundaries are constantly being tested and we must be mindful of the effects of the use of social media on children and families within our kindergarten community, particularly in relation to privacy and confidentiality.

6. Policy Statement

Cara Armstrong Kindergarten is committed to:

• maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of children attending the kindergarten, and the families of children who attend.

• ensuring the online safety of children and families of children who attend the kindergarten

7. Procedures

(a) Staff or Committee of Management posting to social media, including Cara Armstrong Kindergarten website:

• must ensure that children are not identifiable within photos or named in posts

• must ensure that, where photos are taken with intention of use for social media posts, that families of the children have consented to photos being taken of their child.

• should only make posts which are within the interests of Cara Armstrong Kindergarten and which uphold the values of this policy

• Where any doubt exists regarding the sensitivity of the information, provisions must be made to limit access to a specific, relevant group of users (eg, use a closed community instead of a public one or host your own community).

(b) Parents/guardians, other family members or volunteers posting to social media:

• must ensure that only their child is included in photos or posts, unless consent is explicitly given by parents/guardians of other children for their child’s photograph to be posted on social media.

(c) Social media linked to Cara Armstrong Kindergarten must not be used for the promotion of personal financial interests, commercial ventures, personal campaigns or to promote other businesses; other than to thank local businesses for their support of the kindergarten.

(d) Users who are deemed to be using our facebook group, social media page or other CAK-administered social media inappropriately, particularly in the above mentioned ways, will be blocked by administrators.

(e) Social media administrators will:

• be familiar with the social networks and how they function
• have an understanding of the code of conduct and ethical/professional behaviours of the organisation
• have the authority to respond to feedback and inquiries
• know when to seek advice from others (eg, about content of response, how to respond or legal/ethical advice)
• know when to escalate the matter to the director for response
• be confident in uploading or linking to files
• know how to link to other online content (eg, web pages, videos, images).

Procedures specifically relating to use of the Cara Armstrong Facebook Group

The Cara Armstrong Kindergarten Facebook presence will be set up as a ‘Closed Group’. This means the ‘Group’s’ posts & content are private and restricted to ‘members’ of the ‘Group’ only. People can log onto Facebook and search for the ‘Group’ and then submit a request to join.

• Members of the Cara Armstrong Kindergarten Community will be invited (by email, parent handbook or newsletter) to join the Group.

• Requests to join the ‘Group’ will be monitored and actioned by the page administrators on an ongoing basis.

• When posting content and images to the Cara Armstrong Kindergarten ‘Group’, administrators will not:

o ‘Tag’ any image or content shared, mentioning other Facebook friends /contacts (ie parents of children who may also be on Facebook).

o Use a child’s full name if he/she may appear in an image / footage shared (first names only will be used).

• Any concerns or breaches on our ‘page’ will be managed by the Committee and where deemed necessary, forwarded to the Police for further investigations and action.

8. Breach of Policy

All reports of cyber bullying and other misuse of technology will be investigated fully and may result in a notification to Police or appropriate governing bodies where the preschool is obliged to do so. Users must be aware that in certain circumstances where a crime has been committed, they may be subject to a criminal investigation by Police over which the preschool has no control. Any concerns or suspicions over the breach of this policy should be brought to the immediate attention of an administrator of our page either via email, telephone or conversation in person and not be addressed on the site and will be dealt with at the discretion of the Committee of Management.

9. Key responsibilities

The Committee is responsible for:

• Developing and reviewing this policy.

• Authorising any changes to this policy.

• Ensuring this policy is implemented.

• Monitoring complaints and incidents regarding this policy.

The parents and guardians are responsible for:

• Adhering to the points contained within his policy

• Notifying Committee of Management if there are concerns over the breach of this policy.