POLICY CONTENT

We recognise both the benefits, and challenges, of using Social Media and other social media platforms in the early childhood setting. This policy has been developed to provide employees, families, volunteers and students with standards of use as they engage in conversations or interactions using social media for official, professional and personal use.  

NATIONAL QUALITY STANDARD (NQS) 

QUALITY AREA 7: Governance and Leadership

7.1.1	School philosophy and purposes	A statement of philosophy guides all aspects of the school’s operations.
7.1.2	Management Systems	Systems are in place to manage risk and enable the effective management and operation of a quality school.
7.1.3	Roles and Responsibilities	Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and understood and support effective decision making and operation of the school.
7.2	Leadership	Effective leadership builds and promotes a positive organisational culture and professional learning community.

PURPOSE

Being part of our School entails a position of trust and responsibility. We aim to ensure that our School, children, educators, and/or families are not compromised in any form on Social Media, or any other social media platform and that all social media usage complies with our School’s philosophy, relevant policies, and the code of conduct.  
 

SCOPE 

This policy applies to children, families, staff, management, and visitors of the School. 

 

IMPLEMENTATION 

Social media is defined as “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos, Merriam-Webster dictionary).  
 
We recognise that there are many advantages in using social media to network within School operations. It is important to approach usage with caution, through careful and systematic management. Whilst healthy debate may provide thought-provoking discussion, there are guidelines in place to ensure that our School remains open and welcoming for children, families, and staff. 
  
The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations recognise the importance of safe physical and online environments to promote safety and wellbeing of all children. Our School has the responsibility to ensure children and educators are protected from harm when they engage with digital technology including social media.  
 
This policy applies to all forms of social media including (but not limited to): 

• Social networking sites e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn 
• Image sharing sites e.g., Instagram, Snapchat, and Imgur 
• Music/dance videos e.g., Tik Tok 
• Video hosting sites e.g., YouTube and Vimeo 
• Community blogs e.g., Tumblr and Medium 
• Discussion sites e.g., Reddit and Quora 

School Social Media Accounts (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Google Post or Linkedin Account)

Our School has a Social Media accounts to converse and share information with our families and community,  which is administered by the Approved Provider and Nominated Supervisor.  
 
Only current enrolled families and staff will have access to the School Social Media page. The page is locked as “Privacy type: Closed: Limited public content. Members can see all content.” The Approved Provider/ Nominated Supervisor will be responsible for accepting requests to join from new families. 
 
The intent for our School Social Media page is to: 

• keep families in touch with what's happening at the School, including upcoming and special events
• connect with other parents and share thoughts about programs, policies, and procedures 
• provide an avenue to ask parents their thoughts and provide appropriate research-based information on common child rearing issues
• provide educational information to families and employees

 
NOTE: The School Social Media account must not be used for personal comments or discussions. 
 

PRIVACY 

• All staff and educators must remain aware that they represent and could be identified as an employee of the School through any online activity
• Staff and educators must maintain appropriate privacy of families, employees, students, children and volunteers, including when they have obtained permission to publish content to the School Social Media account
• Absolutely no written content will be published to Social Media without the implicit and written permission of families to whom the content relates
• Our School will gain implicit and written family permission prior to posting photos of children
• Passwords will not be shared without authorisation from management
• Our School will remain up to date with any changes to Social Media ensuring privacy setting remain up to date

 
Regarding the School Social Media page, the Approved Provider or Nominated Supervisor will: 

• obtain written authorisation from a child’s parents prior to posting any comment or photos of their child to the page 
• ensure personal information about families, children and staff is not posted on-line 
• ensure the highest level of privacy settings are established and maintained on the account 
• ensure all passwords are kept confidential 
• log out of Social Media when not in use and prior to leaving the School 
• regularly scan online content related to the School to ensure appropriateness
• adhere to our Dealing with Complaints Policy and procedures to investigate any occurrences where a person working at the School may: 
  • post photos or information of the School or children 
  • defame, harass or bully any other person who works at the School or is connected to the School.  
• ensure that any staff or educator found guilty of any Social Media misconduct (on both the School Social Media page and any private page) is aware that this may result in termination of employment

 Regarding all social media, the Approved Provider, Nominated Supervisor, educators, staff members, volunteers and students will not: 

• access personal Social Media accounts or any other social media accounts on any workplace device 
• access personal Social Media or any other social media accounts whilst educating and caring for children 
• post any photos taken of the children enrolled at the school on their personal Social Media or any other social media account 
• post any information about the School, colleagues, children, or families on any personal social media account 
• vilify, harass or bully any other person who works at the School, family or community member connected to the School 
• post offensive or derogatory comments or information that could bring their professional standing or that of the School into disrepute 
• use their personal camera or phones to take photos or video whilst at the School

 

Personal Social Media Accounts 

Staff members are to use their own personal discretion when adding a family of the School as a ‘friend’ on Social Media or any other social media. The School does not recommend that staff add families of the School to personal social media accounts as they will still be seen as a representative of the School and required to uphold the School’s Code of Conduct on all posts. It is extremely important not to post information about the School, colleagues, children, or families on personal social media accounts, as this not only contravenes the School policies and Code of Conduct but is considered a breach of the Commonwealth’s Privacy Act 1988 and Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.  
Families are asked to respect that staff may have a personal policy on adding families to personal social media accounts due to their professional philosophy, and that the School does not recommend staff to have families as friends on their private account. 
 
If adding families to personal social media accounts, educators will adhere to relevant policies, including the Code of Conduct of the School.  
 

Consequence for Inappropriate Use of Social Media

For inappropriate conduct to be lawful, there is a need to demonstrate a connection between the behaviour and the employment relationship that:  

• is likely to cause serious damage to the relationship between the employee and School 
• damages or harms the School’s interest or reputation 
• is incompatible with the employee’s duties in the education and care sector

 A person who has been involved in inappropriate conduct may require reprimand as per our Code of Conduct Policy. This may lead to termination of their position. 
 

Continuous Quality Improvement  

Our School will continue to evaluate and assess our online safety practices through critical reflections, checklists, professional learning and discussions with families and staff. 

Educators and staff will complete online training through the eSafety Commissioner to ensure staff remain up to date with current research and are aware of how to report inappropriate content on social media sites. 
 

RESOURCES

Australian Government Office of the eSafety commission esafety.gov.au/early-years 
eSafety Early Years Online safety for under 5s.  esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-02/E... 
eSafety Early Years Checklist esafety.gov.au/educators/esafety-early-years... 
 

SOURCE

Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. (2014).  
Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: merriam-webster.com/ 
Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics. (2016). 
Education and Care Services National Regulations. (2011).      
eSafety Commissioner: esafety.gov.au/educators/esafety-early-years... 
Guide to the Education and Care Services National Law and the Education and Care Services National Regulations. (2017). 
Guide to the National Quality Standard. (2017). (Amended 2020). 
Privacy Act 1988. 
Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.  
Revised National Quality Standard. (2018).