Nudity

[skunk]

Re-writing our student and staff AUPs and and would like to be able to specify what is an inappropriate level of clothing for the do not view/download/bring in on pen drive nudity statement.

 

Where do you draw the line, are bikini model shots acceptable in your school?

 

Can nudity be art or biology in an educational (secondary school) environment?

 

What sanctions do you have in place and do they change based on the type of image?

 

Cheers, Skunk

[Potato-Peeler]

Aah you had me exicted for a moment then If its art we let them off, but you can tell if its art or not normally, has to have a pose and a vase or flowers in it , normally we rule the lines at swimwear.

[pscott]

My old school had the policy, no nips or lips!

[Ric_]

My old school had the policy, no nips or lips!

 

Only allowed covered faces?

 

I would say that a suitable statement would be "at the discretion of both X and Y" where X and Y are two suitable job roles within the school (e.g. network manager and assistant head).

[elsiegee40]

We're using this document as the basis for our revised staff Code of Conduct. It covers pretty much everything!

 

Teachernet - Safe Working Practice for Adults who work with Children and Young People in Education Settings.

[p858snake]

Aah you had me exicted for a moment then If its art we let them off, but you can tell if its art or not normally, has to have a pose and a vase or flowers in it , normally we rule the lines at swimwear.

 

So 2 ladies and a vase is fine.....?

Edited March 24, 2010 by p858snake
s/girls/ladies/... sounds less... yeah...

[jamesb]

I thought the requirements for it to be art were any one of the below:

- Cherubs

- Urns

- Fig leaf

- Satyrs

- Monochrome, with 'moody' shadows

[enjay]

I would say that a suitable statement would be "at the discretion of both X and Y" where X and Y are two suitable job roles within the school (e.g. network manager and assistant head).

 

I don't see it is a Network Manager's job to decide what is and isn't appropriate, that's SLT's call; making it "our" job seems like the "it is on a computer therefore IT support are responsible" mentality. I would agree that it should be done by citing people who have case-by-case discretion rather than try and draw up a rule-set though, as it all depends on context (e.g. it is only art if it is for an art lesson!) and someone will always manage to find a wholly inappropriate picture which doesn't contravene your policy.

 

We have some posters about clothing in MFL which have bikinis, plus some nude art work on display in the Art Rooms (the Art teacher didn't think it appropriate for corridor display, mind you). We are (currently) an all-girls school; not sure if that should affect the decision or not.

[skunk]

I would say that a suitable statement would be "at the discretion of both X and Y" where X and Y are two suitable job roles within the school (e.g. network manager and assistant head).

 

I like this, think it will be going in......now who to choose (dump upon ) The Safe Working Practices document is useful, if a little long winded, unlike the DCSF that.

[Ric_]

I don't see it is a Network Manager's job to decide what is and isn't appropriate, that's SLT's call; making it "our" job seems like the "it is on a computer therefore IT support are responsible" mentality. I would agree that it should be done by citing people who have case-by-case discretion rather than try and draw up a rule-set though, as it all depends on context (e.g. it is only art if it is for an art lesson!) and someone will always manage to find a wholly inappropriate picture which doesn't contravene your policy.

 

If a (senior) member of IT support staff isn't involved in the decision making process, how does it get passed up to SLT?

 

The point I was trying to make as well, is that it should not be one person's responsibility to decide what is acceptable because people have different opinions/views/tastes. Therefore, anything 'dubious' found by junior IT staff would be passed to the network manager and he/she would then consult with SLT to reach a decision.

 

Does that conjur up images of a network manager and assistant head sat discussing the merits of nude pictures over a cup of coffee for anyone else?

[skunk]

Definately agree that it should not be the decision of one person alone. We had an interesting disussion around this, when one Art teacher wanted a site unblocked which contained a considerable amount of nudity. A technology teacher, who was in the room as we were discussing this, is a trainee vicar had rather different views on the subject and was quite vociferous about not allowing it in school at all.

[enjay]

The point I was trying to make as well, is that it should not be one person's responsibility to decide what is acceptable because people have different opinions/views/tastes. Therefore, anything 'dubious' found by junior IT staff would be passed to the network manager and he/she would then consult with SLT to reach a decision.

 

Totally agree that it should be two people, but I think that IT should only be involved if IT happen to find the image. If it is seen by any other teacher, then IT shouldn't get involved. Maybe it should be the line manager of the person who finds it and the Deputy Head?

[enjay]

A technology teacher, who was in the room as we were discussing this, is a trainee vicar had rather different views on the subject and was quite vociferous about not allowing it in school at all.

 

One could argue that nude artwork - where the models are often not stunningly attractive Barbie-esque people - offers a more realistic view of what people look like, rather than have people believe that everyone (except them, of course) looks like the film stars and models, and the resulting problems of body dysmorphia, anorexia and so on...

[ICT_GUY]

This was filtered!

 

Good luck with this one, one persons art is another’s pr0n. The thought police think some stuff is extreme for other people its just what they do on Saturday night for fun.

 

I would probably have categories, anything deemed soft pr0n (do teacher bring copies of the sun to school?) probably should be discouraged. Anything will full nudity should get a warning, full on p0rn should be referred to SMT.

 

Personally the hysteria surrounding what people have beneath their clothes completely baffles me. Sure it’s nice to look at pretty people but that’s just the way the brain is programmed.

[enjay]

The concept of "upsetting images" is broader than just nudity, of course. We've had students get upset by images of medical procedures or wild animals having dinner.

 

How about judging each policy based on whether you would expect/be surprised by the image in a broadsheet newspaper?

[enjay]

Anything will full nudity should get a warning

 

But just topless is okay, yes?

 

As you say, one person's art is another person's p__n, which is why two people should review each image on a case-by-case basis, thus accounting for these different interpretations and allowing for context.

 

Context is everything here. Some photos of topless women (or whatever) are undeniably inappropriate, but this doesn't mean they all are.

[skunk]

IT support are usually contacted by the teacher who has found something, either to block the site or conduct an investigation into the student's account to see if there are further AUP violations. So we may as well be involved in deciding the acceptability of the image/site, this way we at least find out the decision.

[LosOjos]

So 2 ladies and a vase is fine.....?

 

Not THOSE two 'ladies' and THAT 'vase', no!

[ICT_GUY]

But just topless is okay, yes?

 

As you say, one person's art is another person's p__n, which is why two people should review each image on a case-by-case basis, thus accounting for these different interpretations and allowing for context.

 

Context is everything here. Some photos of topless women (or whatever) are undeniably inappropriate, but this doesn't mean they all are.

 

If you can bring a copy of the sun into school then the answer would be yes.

[timzim]

If we find partially-clad/unclad images in pupils' folders and the pupils argue that they're not offensive images, we just ask them "Would your mother approve of this?". The answer is invariably "No" so they then get deleted.

[ricki]

You might be better using a phrase on the lines of at the discretion of the senior management team. Then you have some latitude and can put things into context.

 

For example one of our students had a picture of his mum feeding his baby brother and was using it for all about me. I am not sure what my mum would have done if she had caught me bringing nude photos of her into school but the lads mum when questioned did not object.

[nadeem]

Our current phrase is "In all matters that may require subjective interpretation (e.g. indecent images), the College's judgement will be binding."

[mattx]

http://media.ebaumsworld.com/picture/magickarl/TwoGirlsOneCup.png