Pupils recording class 'Performance' on mobile phone!

[cswilliams78]

Hello,

Before I contact my DS's school (which he isn't keen for me to do) I was wondering what others thought of this.

As part of his music class yesterday (during school time) my son (year 7) had to perform a song with a group, he did the singing and by his own assessment he was out of tune and it was a disaster - he said everyone laughed :0(

That is bad enough and I feel terrible for him but maybe in some ways part of growing up and learning about limitations etc. Alarm bells rang in my head when he told me the night before what he was doing and his song choice but by then it was too late to change and I didn't want to destroy his confidence by saying anything so got the Singstar out and helped him practise instead.

My issue with this is that a class member taped this performance on his mobile phone and has said he is going to post it on the Internet (Facebook or Youtube). I am appauled and really worried as there is no way that children should be allowed to record lessons on their mobile phone. Surely there is an obvious threat of something like that happening but the teacher failed to prevent this happening and now rather than a very embarrassing experience viewed by a few in class (and maybe talked about for a few days before being forgotten about) it will be posted on the Internet for all to see and my son face ridicule over it for quite some time.

My DS says that this boy uses his phone in lessons all the time and the teachers 'don't see'. My DS has been victim of bullying before and this really concerns me, surely the school has a duty to protect children from this kind of behaviour?

I really want to phone the school as I think it is a really serious failing on their part and I think the boy should be punished for this. I don't want to do anything against my DS's wishes though, he finally seems to have moved on from being bullied and on the last occasion he took the decision to report it and it stopped. Allowing him to manage the situation did wonders for his confidence and he really is on the up again in terms of confidence / friends etc. Do I trust him now and not report unless he asks me to or is this too serious to ignore?

Thanks in advance.

[crazycarol]

What is the school policy on mobile phones? In dd's school mobiles must be switched off during the day and never used as a camera on school premises. Anyone found breaking these rules are subject to disciplinary measures. In practice most girls have their phones on silent though.

A few months ago a girl took some photos during after school badminton and posted them to facebook. DD was in several of them and she was very upset. I informed the school and said girl was dealt with and photos taken down. Posting of anything without consent to facebook can be interpreted as bullying and if in anyway related to school ie taken on school premises then the school should be involved and allowed to deal with it.

I would speak to your son and ask him if it would be ok to talk to the school about it. Have you / him found it on the internet yet? Obviously that would be great in terms of evidence.

[klm4765]

If your son doesn't want to inform the school, could you report it to Facebook/ Youtube (once you've found it)? In theory, the other child is too young to have accounts on these sites anyway.
If the school has a clear policy on not using phones in school, it seems to me it would be reasonable to report it to the school.

[glassescase]

Ay my school, the use of a phone or any other device to record or photograph in class is expressly forbidden in the school rules. Contact the school with your concerns.

[bruffin]

AT dc's school recording or photographing anyone without their permission is against school rules. They take cyber bullying very seriously. Talk to the school about it