Parents Evening Video Calls

[webby74]

Hi All

 

We have just purchased Parents Evening System from School Cloud. It is our first Parents Evening tonight in fact.

 

Now we went for the Video option, for obvious reasons, but have now been told that all staff should disable/cover their camera due to "safeguarding" reasons. This comes from our DSL.

 

Bit puzzled by this as it video conference with Teachers and Parents, not students. Anyone else doing this?

[synaesthesia]

Nope, doing it for the first time right now using Edulink - the cameras really are vital if anything, it does good for parents to be able to see who they're speaking to, both to put a face to a name, judge comments easier because they can see body language etc. IMO those safeguarding issues are pretty much void unless there's a chance of someone else appearing in the background - other students from your school for instance.

[paulkerton]

We've used it for two Parents Evenings so far, and are adding a third in a week or two.

As its between parents and staff we are asking to leave cameras on where they can find a neutral background available in their living situation, where possible. Where people aren't comfortable with that, they can go on-site if they wish, or turn off the camera.

We definitely aren't looking at safeguarding between adults though, that's a curious one.

[AJWhite1970]

We are also running a big parents evening tonight, 47 teachers and over 600 appointments so fingers x'd the "Thursday issue" doesn't raise it's head again tonight....

 

With regards to cameras, we have 2 teachers who will be running camera off for various reasons, everyone else is running with camera on, but as others have said, with something neutral as the background in the house.

[synaesthesia]

Could be worth a chat with your leadership - perhaps something has happened that they're keen to avoid again.