Council letter asks parents not to secretly record conversations with teachers

Aberdeenshire Council has asked parents not to secretly record conversations with their children's teachers after incidents of the activity left staff "distressed".

In a letter to parents and carers, education chief Laurence Findlay said "a few individuals" were involved and he thanked the overwhelming majority for their constructive and courteous communications with staff.

Teaching union the EIS said some staff had taken time off work due to stress caused, and it described some of the incidents as "threatening".

One parent told BBC Scotland News he had uploaded conversations to social media out of "frustration" after making previous complaints about his child's education.

Posting such recordings might amount to a breach of general data protection regulation (GDPR).

Aberdeenshire Council has not provided information on how many parents were involved, only saying it was a "small minority" and that the behaviour had a "significant impact" on staff wellbeing.

In the letter, Findlay said incidents included "inappropriate or disrespectful communication" and interactions that caused "distress or disruption" to staff.

The education director said: "Our staff are dedicated professionals who work hard to support your children, and they must be able to carry out their duties free from intimidation, aggression, or inappropriate behaviour.

"They do not come to work to be threatened or placed in fearful situations."

He said employees would be encouraged to report aggressive or intimidating behaviour to Police Scotland.

One parent, who spoke to BBC Scotland News anonymously, said he posted multiple audio recordings of conversations with school staff after making complaints regarding his child's education.

He added: "Parents are bound to get frustrated when they are doing that and they either get ignored, they do not get responded to, or when they do get responded to, the response is full of lies.

"I would do it again because I think it is extremely important to let other parents know you are not alone in this."

Findlay's letter to parents was raised at a meeting of Aberdeenshire Council's education committee by chairman David Keating.

He told the meeting: "It is good to remind everyone of the risk of tipping over to unreasonable behaviour when you are passionate and concerned for child.

"But the teachers deserve respect and parents have to be aware of our zero tolerance policy.

"In my experience, teachers work hard to address any issues that are raised by parents."

The EIS' Aberdeenshire branch said it welcomed the letter's plea to parents.

Local association secretary David Smith said: "We think it is supportive to our members, many of whom have come to me with issues around the sort of complaints and concerns the letter highlights.

"The conduct that is highlighted in the letter does not happen often but you would not deal with someone in the community that way so why would you do it with someone in their professional environment.

"We have members who have been off work with stress because of this, we have members who have considered resigning because of this."