SCHOOLS are making parents sign contracts promising not to spread gossip on WhatsApp groups.
Mums and dad are being lectured on social media etiquette in an effort to clamp down on malicious rumours and petty insults.
Groups on Facebook and Whatsapp are often used by parents to share school notices, help with picking up kids from school or events like homework deadlines and non-uniform days.
But often they turn into a hotbed of gossip and even abuse among warring parents online.
The Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) said families are being warned about “reputational damage” in their parent-school agreements.
They have also been told that if spiteful comments are made to parents or the school they could be “asked to remove their children”, the Daily Mail reports.
However, mums and dads at state schools are also facing new rules regarding social media groups.
The parents association at Ark Byron Primary Academy in Acton, west London, has written up a two-page document listing the ‘dos and don’ts’ of WhatsApp and the correct ‘etiquette’.
Moderators will keep an eye on all posts to see which are “rude or inappropriate” the document read.
It warns: “The moderators will be messaging anyone who uses the forum inappropriately and offenders may be removed from the group.”
Christopher King, of IAPS, which represents 670 private prep and junior schools, said schools are tired of being dragged into parental disputes.
He told the Daily Mail: “Increasingly, our member schools are adding clauses to their parent-school contract that states if parents post comments [on social media] that are reputationally damaging to the school or members of its community they will be asked to remove their children.”
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