Legal Advice re School-related Parent Groups on WhatsApp

Update : December 2022

Classlist has received independent legal advice which confirms that parents are advised not to use WhatsApp groups for class, year group or Parent Association communications. Such groups will generally not comply with UK GDPR or WhatsApp’s own T&Cs. Individuals or organisations managing such groups could have legal liability for any GDPR infractions.

Apart from legal issues, some parents won’t or can’t join WhatsApp groups and could be unfairly excluded from the school community. Any communication system used to connect parents within a school should be fully inclusive. 

We therefore recommend against using WhatsApp groups for class, year group or Parent Association communication.

Classlist provides a fully GDPR-compliant parent comms platform which includes all parents; is fully moderated, and offers appropriate levels of privacy and security.  

If you would like more details on the legal advice we have received please click the 'Request more details' button below.

Video: WhatsApp Guidance discussion - Piers Clayden from Clayden Law discussing new legal risks related to WhatsApp, and how these could affect schools, parent associations and parents with Chris King, CEO of IAPS, the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools.

Guidance: The Independent Schools Bursars’ Association (ISBA) has also recently produced a Guidance Note on Parent WhatsApp groups dealing with these issues.