Safeguarding Children

The Purpose of Internet access:

We are providing Internet access in order to :

Raise educational standards
Support curriculum development in all subjects
Support the professional work of staff
Enhance the school’s management information and business administration systems
Enable electronic communication and the exchange of curriculum and administration data with the LEA, the examination boards and others

The educational benefits of using the Internet include:

Access to world-wide educational resources and information including museums, art galleries, research data, news and current events
Information and cultural exchanges between students world-wide
Discussion with experts in many fields for students and staff
Access to educational materials and good curriculum practice including the Virtual Teachers Centre to support staff professional development
Communication with advisory and support services, professional associations and colleagues
Increasing cultural, social and leisure activities in libraries, clubs and at home

The Internet can provide an effective medium for learning where:

Internet access is planned to enrich and extend learning activities as an integrated aspect of the curriculum
Students are given clear objectives for Internet use
Students are provided with lists of relevant and suitable Web sites
Students are educated to take responsibility for Internet access
Students will be made aware that the writer of an e-mail or the author of a web page may not be the person the claim to be and are taught to validate information before accepting it as true, an important aspect of higher levels of subject teaching
Students are taught to observe copyright when copying materials from the web
Students are taught to expect a wider range of content, both in level and in audience, than is found in the school library or on TV
The whole staff have be given opportunities to discuss the issues around developing good teaching strategies

Access to the Internet:

Internet use will be granted as an privilege to students who sign an agreement accepting responsible use
Parents will also be asked to sign and return a permission form
Students will be informed that misuse of the Internet will result in loss of their privileges
Staff and students will be made aware of the possibility of criminal prosecution resulting from wilful misuse of the Internet

The school will take all steps to ensure that Internet access is appropriate and safe:

In common with other media such as magazines, books and video, some material available via the Internet is unsuitable for students. The school will take all reasonable precautions to ensure that such material is inaccessible. However, due to the international scale and linked nature of information available via the Internet, it is not possible to guarantee that particular types of material will never appear on a terminal. However neither the school nor the LEA can accept liability for the material accessed, or any consequences thereof.

Responsibilities of the school:

Staff, parents, governors and advisers will work to establish agreement that every reasonable measure is being taken to protect pupils
The Headteacher will ensure that the policy is implemented effectively
Policy and procedures will be reviewed as students’ Internet use expands and their ability to retrieve information develops
The school will ensure that occasional checks are made on files to monitor compliance with the school's Responsible Use Policy
The school will ensure that students are always supervised when using the Internet
All machines with Internet capability that pupils have access to may be monitored
The school will check that the sites selected for student use are appropriate to the age and maturity of students
Where applicable a range of fully tested, approved sites will be copied to the school intranet
The school will only use an Internet service provider with a proxy server to filter the material available to students or will take measures to ensure similar protection is installed on the school's computer system
The school will ensure that students cannot disable the proxy server or interfere with protection software
The school will ensure that virus protection is installed and updated regularly
The school will ensure systems to protect students are reviewed and improved regularly

Responsibilities of staff and students:

If staff or students discover unsuitable sites, the URL (address) and content will be reported to the Internet Service Provider
Students will be encouraged to tell a teacher immediately if they encounter any material that makes them feel uncomfortable
Students will not be given access to Chat lines or unrestricted access to Newsgroups
Students will be informed that checks can be made on files held on the system
Students using the Internet will be supervised appropriately
Staff and students will agree to sign the Responsible Use of the Internet Agreement
Students will be encouraged to take collective responsibility for acceptable use of the Internet in school
Staff and students should obtain permission before downloading software from the Internet

The management of e-mail in school:

Communication using e-mail will be organised to ensure it is for appropriate educational use and not for private or personal messages
The language and content of e-mails should be of an appropriate level expected of any written work and should ensure that the good name of the school is maintained
The forwarding of chain letters and anonymous letters is banned
Staff and students should be aware that all e-mail on the school system is regarded as public and as such will be monitored and may be printed out
In most cases students will only be given e-mail access for educational activities through a group account e.g. as a form or tutor group
Where students are given individual e-mail accounts these are only granted where a high level of trust can be assumed for its responsible use
E-mail messages on school business (e.g. arranging a work placement) must be approved before sending
E-mail and the Internet should not be used to order materials or undertake any activity which incurs a cost to the school
Staff and students should be made aware of the potential for virus infection through the sending of files attached to e-mails

Publishing material on the schools web site:

The school will maintain editorial responsibility for any school initiated web site to ensure that content is accurate and quality of presentation is maintained
The school will maintain the integrity of the school web site by ensuring that responsibility for uploading material is never handed over to students and that passwords are protected
The web site will comply with the school's guidelines for publications
Students will be taught to publish for a wide range of audiences which might include governors, parents or young children
All material must be the author's own work, should credit any other work included, state clearly the author's identity or status and not break copyright
The point of contact on the web site will be the school address, e-mail and telephone number. Home information or individuals' e-mail addresses will not be published
Photographs of identifiable individual students will not be published, without parental permission, on the web site. Photgraphs of identifiable individual adults will not be published, without permission, on the web site.

Procedure for dealing with complaints and breaches of conduct below:

Any complaints or breaches of conduct will be dealt with promptly
Responsibility for handling incidents will be given to a senior member of staff
Students and parents will be informed of the procedure
Parents and students will need to work in partnership with staff to resolve any issues arising
The facts of the case will need to be established, for instance to ascertain whether the issue has arisen through home Internet use or through contacts outside school
As with drugs issues, there may be occasions when the police must be contacted. Early contact will be made to establish the legal position and discuss strategies

Sanctions for irresponsible use will be linked to the school's Behaviour Policy and will consist of the following actions depending on circumstances:

Verbal warning
Interview by head or head of year in Secondary school
Letter home to inform parent or carer
Temporary withdrawal of Internet and e-mail privileges
Permanent withdrawal of computer access which could include all school work held on the system, including any examination work
Exclusion from school
Referral to police

Informing staff, students and parents:

Rules for Internet access will be posted near computers with Internet access (see pages 10 &11)
All staff including teachers, supply staff, classroom assistants and support staff will, via the Technology College Management Group, be involved in developing and reviewing the Responsible Use of the Internet policy
All staff supervising Internet use will be given appropriate training
Parents' attention will be drawn to the Policy in newsletters, the school brochure, the school web site, leaflets and information from relevant organisations
Demonstrations and practical IT sessions for parents may be organised to encourage a partnership approach
Parents and students will sign a Responsible Use of the Internet agreement

The school computer system may be used by students to further their education and by staff to enhance their professional activities including teaching, research, administration and management.

This agreement has been drawn up to protect students, staff and the school. Everyone requiring Internet access will be asked to sign a copy and return it to the IT co-ordinator.

The school reserves the right to examine or delete any files that may be held on its computer system and to monitor any Internet sites visited and e-mails exchanged
All Internet activity will be appropriate to staff 's professional use or the student's education
Access will be made via the authorised account and password, which will not be changed or made available to any other person
Users must not willfully make any changes to computer settings, delete any software or interfere with another persons work files
Permission must be obtained before any software is installed or downloaded from the Internet
Users are responsible for all e-mail sent and received, including from newsgroups, and will be vigilant about the risk of virus infection from files attached to e-mails
School e-mail will not be used for sending private or personal messages
Users will not post anonymous messages and forward chain letters
The same professional levels of language and content should be applied to e-mail as for letters or other media
Users will not use the Internet for personal financial gain, gambling, political purposes or advertising
The use of chat lines is forbidden
The use of social networking sites is forbidden
Copyright of materials must be respected
Use of the network to knowingly access inappropriate materials such as pornographic, racist or offensive material is forbidden and may constitute a criminal offence