CCTV used in schools to show parents how their children have misbehaved Exclusive: The Thinking Schools Academy Trust accused of having ‘Orwellian’ CCTV policy

An academy school chain is using CCTV footage to show parents how their children have misbehaved at school, i can reveal.

The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, which runs 17 schools in Kent and Portsmouth, uses the footage as part of a “restorative” approach which forces pupils to confront the evidence of their bad behaviour in order to make amends.

However, the policy has been labelled “Orwellian” by one civil liberties group.

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The academy chain spells out its approach in a contribution to a behaviour guide published by the Confederation of School Trust and the campaign group Parents and Teachers for Excellence.

‘Owning their behaviour’

“We have… spent significant sums of money on CCTV systems in some of our schools to ensure that parents and students can see the behaviours for which they are being sanctioned,” the guide says.

“This helps students to overcome the denial of their behaviours, as only by owning their behaviour is there a chance of improvement over time,” it adds.

Speaking at a conference in London this summer, Stuart Gardner, the chief executive of the chain, said that CCTV was a “massively powerful part” of the trust’s “restorative process”, because it forced students to “examine their own behaviours”.

Seeing how their poor behaviour affected other people allowed them to have “empathy for the other person on the end of that particular action”, he said.

He went on: “We don’t live unfortunately in a society where there’s a hands up culture. There’s pretty much a flat denial until you can prove it beyond all reasonable doubt in the highest court in the land that I did whatever particular behaviour.”

Using CCTV after an incident in school “takes all of that out”, he argued.

‘Truly Orwellian’

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However, the campaign group Big Brother Watch called it a “shocking and illegitimate use of surveillance in schools which ought to be reconsidered urgently”.

“The use of surveillance cameras to spy on kids’ behaviour in schools is truly Orwellian,” director Silkie Carlo told i.

“Constant monitoring doesn’t improve behavioural issues and shows a disregard for the civil liberties that underpin our society,” she said.

“Children should be taught about the importance of their rights, not deprived of them.”

Ms Carlo also pointed out that the use of surveillance for behaviour management is not mentioned in the trust’s published CCTV policy. “It’s unclear if parents even know their children are being recorded,” she said.

‘Malicious accusations’

The NASUWT teaching union said there could be a role for CCTV in schools.

General secretary Chris Keates said: “In principle the use of CCTV can be a positive step as it undoubtedly can act as a deterrent to poor behaviour and can protect teachers against malicious accusations.

“The most important consideration when schools are using CCTV is around having a transparent scheme that makes clear what the images will and will not be used for. There is also an important data protection issue around how long images are stored for and who has access to them.

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“It is vital that staff, parents and pupils are fully consulted as part of any plan to introduce CCTV in school.”

A spokesman for the Thinking Schools Academy Trust said that use of CCTV in secondary schools is “commonplace to support good behaviour and as a result ensure a positive learning environment”.

He added: “This has contributed to the excellent behaviour and very positive culture that we have across our schools, and the high standards in all areas of school life, including that all our secondary schools are rated as good or outstanding for behaviour by Ofsted.”