Parents were left ‘disturbed’ after discovering their primary school’s social media policy included OnlyFans in a list of approved platforms. The school has spoken out
A school has issued an apology after facing accusations of giving teachers the green light to use OnlyFans, the platform notorious for adult content.
Mums and dads voiced their alarm after scrutinising the social media guidelines at Delph Side Primary School in Skelmersdale. They highlighted that in publicly accessible policy documents, the school declares: “The use of social networking/media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Only Fans has over recent years become the primary form of communication between friends and family.
“It would not be reasonable to expect or instruct employees not to use these sites which, if used with caution, should have no impact whatsoever on their role in school.
“Indeed, appropriate use of some sites may also have professional benefits. For example, many schools now use sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to enhance parental engagement.”
One parent reached out to the ECHO in recent days to voice their unease about this policy.
They said: “I find it disturbing that my child’s school has a ‘social networking and use of social media policy’ that includes teachers use of OnlyFans, it reads to me that it is acceptable for teachers to be on it. I find it odd to refer to OnlyFans as social media.”, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Addressing these worries, the headteacher of Delph Side Primary offered an apology for the distress the statements had triggered and explained the wording was “out of date” and “does not reflect the platform’s current association with adult content.”
It’s worth noting that OnlyFans hasn’t always been linked with adult material.
When the site initially went live in 2016, it was conceived as a general social media platform for content creators before gradually becoming synonymous with adult performers.
Liz Ormerod, Delph Side Primary’s headteacher, explained a confusion had arisen because this particular section of the school’s policy hadn’t been refreshed when other parts had been last year.
In a statement issued to the ECHO, Ms Ormerod revealed: “The reference to OnlyFans was included as part of a generic list of social media platforms taken from local authority guidance a number of years ago.
“Although the school’s social media policy was last updated in 2025, this section had not been updated since 2022 and the reference does not mean the school endorses or approves use of the platform by staff.
“The wording is out of date and does not reflect the platform’s current association with adult content.”
Ms Ormerod confirmed the school’s social media policy has now been refreshed to “remove the reference and ensure it reflects current expectations.”
Yet at the time of publishing this piece on Thursday evening (July 16), the policy documents accessible online still contained a reference to OnlyFans. Ms Ormerod stated: “All staff are expected to maintain the highest professional standards at all times and are subject to strict safeguarding and conduct requirements.
“We apologise for any concern this may have caused.”
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