e-Safety

Beaconhouse School System

Okara Campus

e-Safety Guidelines

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE:

The use of emerging technologies has become integral to the lives of children in today’s society, both within school and in their lives outside of school. The internet and other digital information and communications technologies are powerful tools, which open up new opportunities for everyone. If used meaningfully, these technologies can stimulate discussion, promote creativity and stimulate awareness of context to promote effective learning. However, with all emerging technologies, there is the potential for misuse which can occasionally place children, young people and adults in danger.

This e-safety guidance document addresses issues relating to children and teachers as well as adults in the safe use of the Internet, mobile phones and other electronic communications technologies. It includes guidance for all members of the school community on the risks and responsibilities which applies to everyone working with children. Many of the e-safety risks pose complications in the off- line world and it is essential that this e-safety guidance document is used in conjunction with other school policies.

This document will be updated regularly to ensure that it is in line with the latest developments in the use of technology for teaching and learning.

AIMS OF E-SAFETY GUIDELINES:

To enable students and teachers to:

· enjoy using ICT and tackle all applications confidently and safely to achieve learning objectives with a sense of achievement and purpose;

· recognize the capabilities and limitations of ICT and the implications and consequences of its use;

· adapt easily to different ICT systems for different purposes within and outside school;

· take personal responsibility for their awareness of the opportunities and risks posed by current and emerging technologies;

1. Communication through technology:

All school staff should:

· use school’s ICT resources to communicate with parents/children/staff.

· only make contact with parents/children for professional reasons.

· be careful about their own use of technology and who has access to their personal information.

· not give out personal contact details to parents/children.

· not use the internet to send personal messages to parents/children.

All students should:

· have parents’ consent before communicating with teachers/other students.

· be careful about their own use of technology and who has access to their personal information.

· not give out personal contact details to anyone without having consent from their parents.

2. Use of Internet

· There should be a clear procedure for reporting, investigating and taking disciplinary actions on

e-safety violations in accordance with School Operations Manual.

· Teachers must sign ICT Acceptable Use Policy to show compliance with school guidance on internet use and to understand that the internet must be used appropriately and safely otherwise sanctions will be imposed if they don’t comply with policy.

· Parents’ consent has to be taken for all online activities done in school. (See Appendix-1)

· Parents should be informed about the e-safety precautions taken at school during orientation or through school’s newsletter. Parents should also sign and return an agreement that their child will comply with the School’s e-Safety Rules. (See Appendix-1)

· Students should not be allowed to use the Internet without teachers’ supervision.

· Students/Teachers should not download or install any commercial software, shareware, or freeware onto network drives or disks, unless they have written permission from the School Head. Software installation is the responsibility of IT Teacher / SGO IT Officer only.

· Students/Teachers should not use the internet for commercial purposes, e.g. buying or selling goods.

· When registering on a website/online forum, teachers should not use Beaconhouse School System’s name. In case, teachers need to register a student/whole class/whole school for an online competition, then written approval should be taken from School Head/SGO/RO. They should also refer to the Cyber Laws of the host country to make an informed decision and avoid legal conflicts.

· Students/Teachers must not use, or try to use, the school’s Internet facilities to produce or view internet content that contains or links to the following material:

o Pornographic or obscene

o Intimidating, discriminatory (for example; racist, sexist or homophobic)

o Defamatory

o Encouraging or showing violence, strong feelings or criminal acts

o Hateful / Fraudulent

o Unethical that may give the school a bad name

· A filtering software recommended by Head Office should be installed on all academic use computers by IT Teachers / SGO IT Officers. SGO ETCs should monitor the use of filtering software in schools.

· Google Safe Search filters should be set to strict filtering on all academic use computers.

· Pop-Up windows setting should be checked regularly and all unnecessary pop-ups should be blocked by IT Teachers / SGO IT Officers.

· IT Teacher should ensure that Firewall is switched on all academic use computers to help prevent hackers or malicious software (such as worms, malwares, viruses etc) from gaining access through a network or the Internet.

· Websites should always be carefully selected and bookmarked by subject teachers in order to safeguard children from inappropriate content. A guide for teachers on how to terify online content is attached as Appendix – 2.

· Kid lock/child lock applications can now be installed on all smart phones and tablets. This will allow children to enjoy online experience without accidently viewing inappropriate content.

· Videos should be downloaded before the lesson so that students may not see the links to inappropriate videos available online.

· Students/Teachers should not share passwords of any online account with anyone. They should also remember to uncheck “Remember me” settings on all school computers.

· Teachers / Students should not attempt to access a website that is blocked as a result of government policy.

· All staff and students should be informed that network and Internet use is closely monitored and individual usage can be traced.

2.1 E-mails:

· Email IDs should not be created for children under the age of 13 years.

· For children under 13 years, whole-class or group e-mail addresses should be used under teacher’s supervision and after taking parents’ consent.

· Students should not open attachments to emails, unless they have the teachers permission.

· When writing E-mails, students / teachers should be polite and appreciate that other users might have different views from their own. The use of strong language, swearing or aggressive behaviour is not allowed. Use of jargon, abbreviations or symbols should be avoided, as the person who receives the E-mail may not understand them.

2.2 Social Networks / Blogs:

· Teachers/Students should be advised not to place personal photos / videos on any social network space especially when the school name is involved.

· No picture / video involving school should be uploaded online without School Head’s permission.

· Avoid uploading indecent pictures / posts / comments on any online forum / social network / blog.

· Teachers/Students should respect the privacy of other teachers/students by not identifying / tagging people by name in public profiles and pictures.

· Teacher/Students should not give out personal details of any kind which may identify them, their friends or their location.

· The school will control access to social networking sites and will educate children in their safe use.

· Teachers will screen all posts published on blogs and social networks.

2.3 Video Conferencing (Skype/Google Hangouts/ooVoo/etc.)

· Video conferencing equipment will be switched off when not in use and not set to auto answer. The equipment will be kept secured and if necessary locked away when not in use.

· All videoconferencing sessions will be supervised by teachers and School Head.

· Recorded sessions will be stored securely with authorized access.

· Teachers should establish dialogue with other conference participants before taking part in a video conference. If it is a non-school site it is important to check that they are delivering material that is age and level appropriate for the particular group of students.

2.4 Online Games:

· Teachers should use online games for teaching and learning with a clear rationale.

· Online games should be age and level appropriate.

· Online games which require payment through a credit/debit card/any other means are not allowed.

· Use of violent games is not allowed.

· All games to be created by students should be approved by the teachers at the planning stage before uploading online.

2.5 Cyber Bullying

· IT Teacher should teach lessons on cyber bullying once a term. These lessons should be tailored for the appropriate needs of each year group and help students understand the risks associated with communicating digitally and the security of personal information.

· Teachers should discuss BSS e-safety guidelines with students to raise awareness about their rights and responsibilities related to use of ICT and cyber bullying. Teachers should also discuss the importance and ways of reporting cyber bullying with all students.

· Full names of children should not be used anywhere on the website.

· Tips to avoid cyber bullying should be displayed in school and discussed thoroughly through other activities such as assembly presentations.

· The teacher and/or Headteacher must remain informed of any occurrences of cyber bullying and take appropriate measures to prevent it.

· Strict disciplinary action should be taken as per School Operations Manual against children using hate emails, inappropriate messages, comments and posts on social networks.

2.6 Copyright and Plagiarism:

· All work done, and if uploaded, by the students must be original.

· Students must not copy anything that anyone else has written.

· If copying from a website, all sources of information should be accurately and fully acknowledged by giving the references of the websites.

· Users shall not illegally use any copyrighted material that is downloaded or uploaded from the Internet.

· Users shall always seek to obtain permission from the owner before using any material from the Internet when possible.

3. Use of Personal Devices

· Students’ mobile phones (below O Levels) are not permitted within the school without teacher’s

request (See Appendix-3) and parental consent. If members of staff have an educational reason to allow students to use mobile phones or personal device as part of an educational activity then it will only take place when approved by the School Head and consented by parents.

· Staff are not permitted to use their own personal sims for contacting students and their families within or outside the school.

· Staff will use a school phone where contact with students or parents/carers is required.

· Teachers’ / Students’s mobile Phone and devices will be switched off or switched to ‘silent’ mode.

· Bluetooth communication should be “hidden” or switched off.

· Mobile phones or devices are not to be used during teaching periods unless permission has been given by School Head in emergency circumstances.

· Staff should not use personal devices such as mobile phones or cameras to take photos or videos of students without informing school management.

· School Head should be informed if a student/teacher wants to use his/her personal laptop in the classroom.

4. Data Protection

School should ensure that:

· all important data such as students’ information, assessment papers, etc are encrypted and password protected.

· contact details of all students and staff should be kept in a password protected file in a secured location.

· an Antivirus is installed and updated on all computers.

· the data is automatically scanned for viruses through setting up virus scan schedules.

· all important data including students’ information, students’ work, etc. is backed up monthly.

· all students/teachers save their work in the allocated space to build up a portfolio of students’ work / teachers’ resources.

· data older than 3 years is copied to DVDs and removed from the computers.

· students are taught how to access and save in shared resource areas.

· students are guided to respect the contributions of others, not to delete, copy or edit others’ work and to ensure that they only save work in shared areas with permission.

· students are guided not to share any of their passwords with others. They should be trained to choose secure passwords and make sure that they properly logout after accessing any of their online accounts.

5. Health and Safety

· Age appropriate health and safety rules should be displayed and discussed with the children in

the learning environment.

· Users should be comfortably seated and positioned in correct posture, with easy access to all equipment

· Monitors should be tilted and swiveled to suit the requirements of individual users. The top of the screen should be roughly at eye level.

· Screens should be positioned to reduce reflections and glare from lights and windows.

· There may be screen distortion if speakers are placeed too close to any monitor. It is advisable, therefore, to position speakers about 30cm away from the computer.

· Users should have the option to have the keyboard flat or tilted. It is important to develop a good keyboard technique. Repetitive strain injury (RSI) presents a potential risk for anyone typing with only one or two fingers, usually their index fingers.

· There should be enough space for children to work comfortably and not feel crowded.

· It is important to ensure that emergency exits are kept clear.

· Students / teachers should not bring / keep baggage near computers as this can cause students to trip.

· IT Lab / classrooms should be well ventilated so that the heat generated by computers does not cause discomfort to users. Ideally, blinds should be provided to ensure that users do not suffer from glare. Workstations should be cleaned on a daily basis. Monitor screens and keyboards should be kept dust-free.

· Computers not in use should be turned off properly by the users.

· All electrical equipment should be maintained regularly. Always leave technical repairs to the experts.

· Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers should be positioned near the ICT equipment.

· The location of electrical equipment depends on the length of cables and the availability of sockets for telephones, TV aerials and power. It is essential that the location of the equipment does not increase the risk of danger to the equipment or users. The school should ensure that there is a system in place for regular visual checks of plugs, leads and other electrical equipment. Computer check for flickering screens or noisy CPUs should also be made regularly.

· Students are not allowed to take food or liquids near the computers.

· Students should be taught not to look directly at the strong light emitted from the lens of data projectors and interactive whiteboards.

· Projectors have a maximum and minimum throw distance (distance of the projector from the screen) for a specified image size. When mounting a projector, it is important to make sure that the projector is fixed within its throw distance. Too close and the image may either be out of focus or not fill the entire screen; if it is too far and the image may be too large for the screen. Careful consideration must be given to the location of data projector and interactive whiteboard in the classroom in terms of visibility and accessibility, and ensure that the board is positioned at the right height for pupils to use.

Adapted from:

· www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/Policy/dpfoi_data.cfm www.school-portal.co.uk

· http://www.allsaints- trysull.staffs.sch.uk/attachments/article/9/Email%20and%20Internet%20Use%20Policy.pdf

· http://www.stnicholasstlaurence.dorset.sch.uk/ict-health-safety-policy/

· http://www.dit.ie/lttc/media/ditlttc/documents/gettingthemost.pdf

· http://www.kelsi.org.uk/pupil_support_and_wellbeing/safety,_health_and_wellbeing/child_prot ection_safeguarding/e-safety.aspx

Appendices:

1. Parents’ consent form

2. Teachers’ guide for evaluating online content