Reviews Of Local Schools To Be Banned On Google

Monday, 17 February 2025 10:36

By Martin Osborne

All existing and new reviews will be banned on the platform.

Soon, locals won't be able to review local schools on Google.

It's claimed around a quarter of calls to the body representing school principals are related to bad Google reviews.

Google Ireland has announced it will remove such reviews online to combat abuse of teachers and schools.

All existing and new reviews will be banned on the platform.

Deputy Director of the National Association for Principals and Deputy Principals, Rachel O'Connor, says the level of comments can vary.

She said school leaders often have limited control over the reviews.

She shared an example of a baseless child protection allegation made in an online review, which led to a mandatory suspension of a teacher.

This action followed the required child protection protocols until the false claims were cleared.

In one review of a school in Kildare, a poster said: "Would not recommend this school to anyone, it's ran like a dictatorship."

Another said: "I have experienced bad stuff there".

Commenting on another school in Kildare, a person took issue with the "smell" of a teacher's breath.

Another poster also took aim at a local school's bullying policies.

“We have no issue at all with people venting their issues but an online platform is not the place to do it,” Ms O’Connor said. “We’re not saying we don’t want people to communicate with schools but there are proper channels and procedures in place.”

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