Is Microsoft Teams safe for my child?

Microsoft Teams for Education is generally a safe platform for school use, particularly because it operates within a managed school environment rather than the open internet. The main safeguarding concerns are: peer-to-peer chat being used for bullying or sharing inappropriate content, and — in poorly configured tenants — the possibility of external contacts. The good news is that school IT administrators can access Teams logs and investigate concerns. If you believe something inappropriate has happened on Teams, report it to the school DSL with as much detail as possible — Teams activity is not as anonymous as children may believe.

Can my child be contacted by strangers on Microsoft Teams?

In a properly configured school Teams environment, no. Students' school accounts should only be able to communicate with people within the same school organisation. If your child reports being contacted by someone they do not know on Teams, this is worth reporting to the school IT team immediately as it may indicate a configuration issue.

Microsoft Teams Safety Guide for Parents

A guide for parents whose children use Microsoft Teams for school — understanding chat, file sharing, and how to identify potential misuse.

Official age

13+

We recommend

13+

Developer

Microsoft

Risks

Direct messaging

Overview

Microsoft Teams is a workplace and education communication platform used by most UK schools as their primary digital learning environment. It combines video calling, chat, file sharing, and class management. Teams for Education is specifically configured for schools and has more restrictive defaults than the commercial version, but misuse by pupils is common and parents are often unaware of the extent to which children communicate on Teams outside school hours.

How children use it

Children use Teams primarily to receive assignments, submit work, join video lessons, and communicate with teachers. However, Teams also has private chat features that pupils use to communicate with each other — sometimes in ways that schools are not aware of. Group chats between pupils can be created within the Teams environment and may be used for bullying, sharing inappropriate content, or excluding classmates.

Main risks

cyberbullying harmful content privacy oversharing

Recommended privacy settings

Private Chat Controls

Location: Managed by school IT administrators

Set to: Ask your child's school about their private chat policy

Schools can choose to restrict private chat between students in Teams for Education. Ask your child's school whether they have done this and what their policy is for monitoring chat.

External Access

Location: Managed by school IT administrators

Set to: External access should be blocked for school accounts

A well-configured school Teams tenant should not allow pupils to communicate with people outside the school organisation. Ask your school to confirm this is the case.