Grooming teachers: No specific rules against teachers using social media to communicate with students

In one recent case, Connor Taurapa Matthews, a teacher at Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in Christchurch who now goes by simply Taurapa, used Snapchat to communicate with and systematically groom one of his 16-year-old students. The messages first turned sexual, then nude pictures, then physical sexual intercourse.

Taurapa then asked the student to delete his messages.

That student, Helena Dray, chose to waive her anonymity when Taurapa was arraigned last year and her registration was immediately revoked.

Dray last year Calls for ban on social media contact between teachers and students.

“Nothing was done to prevent this, there were no conversations with students about these specific issues, teachers were just kind of being disconnected on social media. There were never hard lines about it, and at the end of the day it was really up to the discretion of the teachers,” Dray said at the time.

Dray told the media that there was no need for teachers and students to send private messages to each other.

“I think the problem is with these apps where you can delete all previous messages, delete texts, delete call history, Snapchats disappear. But I think it’s really important to have a platform where IT or the school department can access those records.”

The focus of the Coroner’s inquest after a Gisborne teenager killed himself in 2016 was an exchange of thousands of “increasingly intimate and intense” text messages between a teacher and a student.

“I want to climb into your window so badly right now, I just want to jump in and tell you how glad I am you are here,” said a message from teacher Sam Back to 13-year-old Reiha McLelland.

Although no physical sexual intercourse developed, Back was denied by the court ahead of the inquest and his partner Angle Mepham, also a teacher, was warned after it was revealed McLelland had spent the night at their home on numerous occasions.

A coroner later found that Reiha’s risk of suicide would have been reduced had she not been involved in a “secret friendship” with Back and Mepham.

However, rather than outright banning electronic communication between teachers and students, the Teachers’ Council sought to establish a code of conduct addressing the types of behavior that require personal care.

“Prescriptive ‘rules’ are not very applicable, especially in areas such as technology and artificial intelligence, both of which are rapidly evolving,” a spokesperson for the council told NZME.

“Instead of rules, the teaching profession has developed a Code of Professional Responsibility and a set of standards for professional practice based on principles and shared values.”

The rule states that “engaging in online connections with a student outside the context of teaching” may constitute a violation, as can communicating with students about personal or sexual matters without valid context.

Other aspects of the Code outline how teachers must demonstrate high standards of professional integrity, protect students from harm, and establish ethical relationships that respect professional boundaries.

The rules themselves are set to be reviewed in 2025 following consultations with teachers last year on how educators could address technology use, and the council has told NZME it anticipates more specific guidance could be made in the code in the future.

Accountability Mechanism

Professor Michael Macaulay, a former judge in the United Kingdom, a lecturer at the University of Victoria’s School of Government and a researcher focusing on ethics and integrity, told NZME he had included a specific ban on teachers communicating with students through anything other than a school-approved system . It would be both easy and realistic.

“I can’t even understand what anyone would object to. If teachers want to communicate with students through some form of electronic communication, do so through an official channel.

“And if there isn’t, then you don’t do it.”

Macaulay said predators will always break the rules, but a specific social media ban would be an additional “accountability mechanism.”

“If you cut off all avenues and opportunities, that will be a good thing. But this will not stop predatory behavior.

“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look at opportunities to limit such behavior.

“I don’t think it would be difficult to implement, I don’t even think it would be that controversial… I don’t think it would be difficult for the council to implement.”

Macaulay said if a teacher needs to reach a student outside of school (which he admits he must do in the electronic age), then he should do so through a school email that cannot be deleted or kept secret from parents or the school. surveillance.

Earlier this year, James Cook High School teacher Seelandran Ramiah asked three of her female students to download Signal, an encrypted app that deletes messages after a certain period of time.

Using the app, Ramiah systematically groomed one of the vulnerable students, sending him photos of his genitals and videos of himself masturbating.

The former deputy principal had his teaching registration revoked and was subsequently sentenced to an additional five months in prison in the District Court for his behaviour.

Ramiah also represents one of the few cases in which a teacher has faced criminal charges as well as professional consequences.

Professional Boundaries

In 2011, Peter Lind, the then director of the Teaching Council, told the media that inappropriate relationships were inevitable and would be impossible to eliminate completely.

The council has since changed its tune slightly, with chief executive Lesley Hoskin telling NZME “one inappropriate relationship is too many”.

“We believe that the vast majority of teachers understand the expectations around using social media and technology safely and respectfully, which is why there is currently no prohibition in the Code and Standards on using digital platforms to communicate with students.

“Just as students must learn and grow to navigate the world safely and respectfully, we expect teachers to do the same, including adapting to the rapidly evolving world of technology.”

Hoskin said context is crucial when teachers cross these professional boundaries, and teachers’ use of social media to support student learning is changing.

“The context of the early adoption of social media by teachers to support student learning has changed significantly as schools have begun to formally implement approved learning technologies for student use that include built-in safeguards and are governed by clear policies for both teachers and students. ”

Hosking highlighted that there are 110,000 registered teachers in New Zealand and a total of 462 mandatory reports have been submitted to the council by June 2023, representing just 0.4% of all teachers. Of these, registration cancellations reached only 0.02%.

In the last 10 years, there have been 81 cases of inappropriate relationships before the court, and as a result, the registrations of 53 teachers have been cancelled.

University of Auckland lecturer and youth welfare and psychology expert John Fenuaghty agrees with the Teaching Council’s approach to social media in the current code of conduct.

“The caveat with the ban is the recognition that social media is a slippery concept and that it is not entirely clear what we mean when we talk about it, because new forms appear and disappear all the time,” he said.

“Enacting a ban requires a very clear understanding of the terms and what we mean.”

Fenaughty said the Teaching Council is currently focused on the ethical obligations of its members and targets the essence of teachers’ relationships with their students rather than the involvement of technology.

Regardless of any prohibitions or ethical and professional obligations teachers have, she said, it is critical to ensure students know how to recognize inappropriate contact and how to report it through appropriate channels.

“The reality is that students need to be able to recognize abusive grooming behaviors and what the warning signs are in that communication.

“Having said this, I would like to point out that 99% of teacher communication is appropriate and we need to be cautious about implementing a ban that could potentially harm the student-teacher relationship and subsequently impact students’ academic engagement.

“I think the question is: Does social media use actually enhance or enable a care situation?”

In a 2017 case in which a teacher added a teenage girl to Instagram, the court noted that although social media is a useful tool, the school expected it to have clear guidelines regarding its use.

The court highlighted the harmful impact that a teacher treating a student as a friend could have on the student, noting that the resulting harm was “sometimes greater than sexual intercourse (in an inappropriate relationship).”

A spokesman for the Education Review Office said schools should have a Child Protection Policy, which sets out the standards and principles that all staff must follow.

“This should be a comprehensive and effective policy with robust practices and guidelines and should outline the standards and principles to which all staff will adhere, including the steps staff will take where any abuse or mistreatment is known or suspected.

“Policy should identify the action required when allegations are made against staff and investigate the implications for staff training.”

ERO then verifies that schools have met these obligations.

Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū, covering courts and justice issues dealing with the courts. She has been a journalist for almost a decade and has been with NZME since 2022.