TEACHERS could be left open to abuse claims and criticism as councils fail to set out rules on remote lessons, a union says.
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) has raised serious concerns about safeguarding and online learning.
Its general secretary Seamus Searson says that while guidance has been sent out to members, “most” of the country’s councils have not drawn up clear policy on the matter.
He told the Sunday National this could leave teachers open to claims of wrongdoing and even abuse due to a lack of clarity: “We are very worried about what could happen to our members if they engage in what some people would refer to as live teaching.
“We are very concerned about child protection issues and that teachers aren’t putting themselves at risk. We are trying to say to people, keep yourself safe and keep the children safe.
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“Without policy for people to use we are just opening the door to all sorts of potential claims of abuse.
“We are anticipating some claims of inappropriate conversations or people questioning what teachers are delivering.”
The SSTA wants such policy to cover how to handle difficult situations online, such as what to do when uninvited guests enter two-way sessions.
The SSTA says one member in the Greater Glasgow area was left “very upset” after children from another school joined and disrupted a lesson after receiving a link from pupils.
It’s understood there was no option to mute their voices or eject them from the session on the platform used, with the teacher struggling to control the class.
The union’s intervention comes in the same week it was confirmed that, for most pupils, there will be no return to classrooms until the beginning of March at least.
Only the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils have been attending education hubs since Christmas, with others learning through remote instruction using a variety of web platforms including Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom and Seesaw.
On Friday it was confirmed that inspectors will undertake reviews of online learning while it lasts.
Nicola Sturgeon said: “If it is at all possible – as I very much hope it will be – to begin even a phased return to in-school learning in mid-February, we will. But I also have to be straight with families and say that it is simply too early to be sure about whether and to what extent this will be possible.”
EIS teaching union general secretary Larry Flanagan said that was the “correct decision” and “the vast majority of students are engaging positively via remote learning with appropriate support from teachers, parents and carers”.
It recently warned pressure group Us for Them Scotland, which seeks a return to teaching-as-normal, against the recording and sharing of footage of teachers delivering remote lessons.
In an official letter, it said such actions may break the law, but the group, which does not back the wearing of masks by pupils, countered that a social media post about recording content was made in reference to the suggestion of video diaries by pupils.
READ MORE: Union calls for teachers to be prioritised in Covid vaccine roll-out
Searson says the possibility that teachers’ work will be “misused or misrepresented” is “unhelpful” and some teachers have faced the expectation that they will give their personal emails out. He said: “Some people think that’s how teachers can engage, we’re saying don’t do it but these lobby groups don’t understand.”
Glasgow City Council said it does not “have any evidence coming through” from the SSTA and other unions about the issue.
City of Edinburgh Council said pupils receive up to 25 hours of live and recorded sessions per week and it is “working with head teachers to provide more well-being support and advice on an ongoing basis”.
Education convener Ian Perry said: “We have a clear policy to support our teachers who are making a tremendous effort to make sure that all children can access the resources they need if learning at home.”
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