Recent advice from the Safer Internet Centre Helpline offers this generic advice when responding to spoof FaceBook pages or postings involving teachers or providers.

People are often advised to “report” inaccurate or insulting material on FaceBook but not everything is illegal and knowing who to report to can be difficult. CEOP will only act if there has been exploitation of a child on line and the police will act where the law has been broken. Negotiating direct with FaceBook can be difficult as can determining who is behind the abuse. It will help to ask the questions below.

• Does the content breach Facebook’s terms and conditions, eg is it threatening or abusive? If so, report the page as harassing the individuals named.

• Does it feature the organisations logo or photos without consent? If yes, this breaches Intellectual Property rights and needs to be reported in a different way.

• An educational establishment is considered to be a “Public Figure” so technically, there is nothing stopping people setting up a parody account, provided they have made this clear in the name of the account. We can still report individual posts which are libellous or defamatory, or those which are abusive.

• If the issue is not resolved with Facebook SIC Helpline may be able to assist in mediating with them but would need to see the page to decide the best course of action.

• Facebook would not be able to disclose the details of the person who set up the account, however; speaking with all students who have liked or commented on it helps make an educated guess as to who is responsible for the page and sometimes there are also clues within the page such as photo-shopping techniques or use of language.

Remember the Safer Internet Centre Helpline welcomes direct enquiries from anyone working with children or young people so they can respond appropriately to each case and if necessary mediate. See FAQ’s at http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/helpline/faqs Call 0844 381 4772.