E-safety Policy

1. JOHN THE BAPTIST’S COLLEGE

E-SAFETY POLICY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INDEX Page

 

 

Rationale

1.                   Roles & Responsibilities 4

1. Communicating School Policy 4
2. Making use of ICT and the Internet in school 4
3. Learning to evaluate internet content 5
4. Managing information systems 5
5. E-mails 5
   • School email accounts and appropriate use 6
6. Published content and school website 6
   • Policy and guidance of safe use of children’s photographs and work 6/7
   • Complaints of misuse of photographs or video 7
   • Social networking, social media and personal publishing 7/8
7. Mobile phones and personal devices 8
   • Mobile phone or personal device misuse 9
8. Cyber bullying 9
9. Managing emerging technologies 10
10. Protecting personal data 10
11. Advice for Pupils 10
12. Advice for Parents 11
13. References 12

 Rationale

 

St. John the Baptist’s College recognises that ICT and the internet are useful tools for learning and communication that can be used in school to enhance the curriculum, challenge students, and support creativity and independence. Using ICT to interact socially and share ideas can benefit everyone in the school community, but it is important that the use of the internet and ICT is seen as a responsibility and that students, staff and parents use it appropriately and practice good e-safety. It is important that all members of the school community are aware of the dangers of using the internet and how they should conduct themselves online.

E-safety covers the internet (see ICT policy) but it also covers mobile phones and other electronic communications technologies. We know that some adults and young people will use these technologies to harm children. The harm might range from sending hurtful or abusive texts and emails, to enticing children to engage in sexually harmful conversations or actions online, webcam filming, photography or face-to-face meetings.

There is a ‘duty of care’ for any persons working with children and educating all members of the school community on the risks and responsibilities of e-safety falls under this duty. It is important that there is a balance between controlling access to the internet and technology and allowing freedom to explore and use these tools to their full potential. This policy aims to be an aid in regulating ICT activity in our school, and provides a good understanding of appropriate ICT use that members of the school community can use as a reference for their conduct online outside of school hours. E-safety is a whole-school issue and responsibility.

Roles and responsibility

 

School e-safety is co-ordinated and jointly managed by the senior management, in conjunction with the Head of Pastoral Care and Director of ICT and Innovation.

1.Communicating school policy

 

This policy is available from the school office and on the school website for parents, staff, and pupils to access when and as they wish. Rules relating to the school code of conduct when online, and e-safety guidelines, are displayed in the school. E-safety is integrated into the curriculum in any circumstance where the internet or technology are being used, and during education performance lessons where personal safety, responsibility, and/or development are being discussed.

2.Making use of ICT and the internet in school

 

The internet is used in school to raise educational standards, to promote pupil achievement, to support the professional work of staff and to enhance the school’s management functions.

Technology is advancing rapidly and is now a huge part of everyday life, education and business. We want to equip our students with all the necessary ICT skills that they will need in order to enable them to progress confidently into a professional working environment when they leave school.

Some of the benefits of using ICT and the internet in schools are:

 

Unlimited access to worldwide educational resources and institutions

Contact with schools in other countries resulting in cultural exchanges between pupils all over the world.

Access to subject experts, role models, inspirational people and organisations. The internet can provide a great opportunity for pupils to interact with people that they otherwise would never be able to meet.

An enhanced curriculum; interactive learning tools; collaboration, locally, nationally, and globally; self-evaluation; feedback and assessment; updates on current affairs as they happen.

Access to learning whenever and wherever convenient. Freedom to be creative.

Freedom to explore the world and its cultures from within a classroom.  Access to case studies, videos and interactive media to enhance understanding.

For staff:

• Professional development through access to educational materials and examples of effective curriculum practice and classroom strategies.
• Class management, attendance records, schedule and tracking pupil progress.
• Immediate professional and personal support through networks and support

 

For parents:

• Our school website providing up to date information on the life of our school.
• Facebook page for St. John the Baptist’s College.
• Parent App for communication with parents and distribution of reports and termly assessment scores.
• Updating Twitter account for St. John the Baptist’s College.
• Text messaging to parents.
• Truancy alerts to parents when necessary.

3.Learning to evaluate internet content

 

With so much information available online it is important that pupils learn how to evaluate internet content for accuracy and intent. This is approached by the school as part of digital literacy across all subjects in the curriculum. Students will be taught:

• To be critically aware of materials they read, and shown how to validate

information before accepting it as accurate

• To use age-appropriate tools to search for information online, via C2K.
• To acknowledge the source of information used and to respect copyright.

The school takes steps to filter internet content to ensure that it is appropriate to the age and maturity of pupils. Any material found by members of the school community that is believed to be unlawful will be reported to the appropriate agencies.

4.Managing information systems

 

The c2k service provides St. John the Baptist’s College with the hardware, software and connections to access the internet. C2k assist the school reviewing and managing the security of the computers and internet networks as a whole and takes the protection of school data and personal protection of our school community very seriously. This means protecting the school network, as far as is practicably possible, against viruses, hackers and other external security threats. The security of the school information systems and users will be reviewed regularly.

Some safeguards that the school takes to secure our computer systems are:

• Making sure that unapproved software is not downloaded to any school computers.
• Files held on the school network will be regularly checked for viruses.
• The use of user logins and passwords to access the school network will be enforced.

5.E-mails

The school uses email internally for staff and pupils and is an essential part of school communication. It is also used to enhance the curriculum by:

• Initiating contact and projects with other schools nationally and internationally.
• Providing immediate feedback on work, and requests for support where it is needed.

Staff and pupils should be aware that school email accounts should only be used for school- related matters, ie for staff to contact students, other members of staff and other professionals for work purposes. This is important for confidentiality. The school has the right to monitor emails and their contents.

 

 

5.2.School email accounts and appropriate use

 

Staff should be aware of the following when using email in school:

• Staff should only use official school -provided email accounts to communicate with pupils, other staff members and other organisations/agencies involved or working with the school. Personal email accounts should not be used to contact any of these people.
• Emails sent from school accounts should be professionally and carefully written. Staff are representing the school at all times and should take this into account when entering into any email communications.
• Staff must tell their HOD or a member of the senior management team if they receive any offensive, threatening or unsuitable emails either from within the school or from an external account.
• The forwarding of chain messages is not permitted in school.

Students should be aware of the following when using email in school, and will be taught to follow these guidelines through the ICT curriculum and in any instance where email is being used within the curriculum or in class:

• In school, pupils should only use school-approved email accounts.
• Excessive social emailing will be restricted via c2k filtering.
• Pupils should tell a member of staff if they receive any offensive, threatening or unsuitable emails either from within the school or from an external account. They should not attempt to deal with this themselves.
• Pupils must be careful not to reveal any personal information over email, or arrange to meet up with anyone who they have met online without specific permission from an adult in charge.

6.Published content and the school website

 

The school website is viewed as a useful tool for communicating our school ethos and practice to the wider community. It is also a valuable resource for parents, students, and staff for keeping up- to-date with school news and events, celebrating whole-school achievements and personal achievements, and promoting school projects.

The website is in the public domain, and can be viewed by anybody online. Any information published on the website will be carefully considered in terms of safety for the school community. No personal information on staff or pupils will be published, and details for contacting the school will be for the school email address only.

6.2.Policy and guidance of safe use of children’s photographs and work

 

Colour photographs and pupils work bring our school to life, showcase our student’s talents, and add interest to publications both online and in print that represent the school. However, the school acknowledges the importance of having safety precautions in place to prevent the misuse of such material. Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) images of pupils and staff will not be displayed in public, either in print or online, without consent. On admission to the school parents/carers will be asked to sign a photography consent form. The school does this so as to prevent repeatedly asking parents for consent over the school year, which is time-consuming for both parents and the school. The terms of use of photographs never change, and so consenting to the use of photographs of your child over a period of time rather than a one-off incident does not affect what you are consenting to. This consent form will outline the school’s policy on the use of photographs of children including:

• how and when the photographs will be used.
• how long parents are consenting the use of the images for (ie: the length of time your son/daughter attends the College).
• school policy on the storage and deletion of photographs.

 

A template of the consent form can be found at the end of the school enrolment form.

 

 

 

Using photographs of individual children

The vast majority of people who take or view photographs or videos of children do so for entirely innocent, understandable and acceptable reasons. Sadly, some people abuse children through taking or using images, so we must ensure that we have some safeguards in place.

Only images created by or for the school will be used in public and children may not be approached or photographed while in school or doing school activities without the school’s permission. The school follows general rules on the use of photographs of individual children:

Parental consent must be obtained at enrolment. Consent will cover the use of images in:

• all school publications
• on the school website
• in newspapers as allowed by the school
• in videos made by the school or in class for school projects.
• Electronic and paper images will be stored securely.
• Names of stored photographic files will not identify the child.
• Pictures will be carefully chosen to ensure that they do not pose a risk of

misuse. This includes ensuring that pupils are appropriately dressed.

Photographs of activities which may pose a greater risk of potential misuse (for example, sports

activities), will focus more on the sport than the pupils.

• Events recorded by family members of the students such as school plays or

sports days must be used for personal use only.

• Pupils are encouraged to tell a member of staff if they are concerned or uncomfortable with any photographs that are taken of them or they are

being asked to participate in.

• Any photographers that are commissioned by the school will be fully briefed

on

appropriateness in terms of content and behaviour, will wear identification at all times, and will not have unsupervised access to the pupils. For more information on safeguarding in school please refer to our school child protection policy and pastoral care policy.

6.3.Complaints of misuse of photographs or video

Parents should follow standard school complaints procedure if they have a concern or complaint regarding the misuse of school photographs. Any issues will be dealt with in line with the schools child protection policy and pastoral care policy.

6.4.Social networking, social media and personal publishing

 

Personal publishing tools include blogs, wikis, social networking sites, bulletin boards, chat rooms and instant messaging programmes. These online forums are the more obvious sources of inappropriate and harmful behaviour and where pupils are most vulnerable to being contacted by a dangerous person. It is important that we educate students so that they can make their own informed decisions and take responsibility for their conduct online. Pupils are not allowed to access social media sites in school. There are various restrictions of the use of these sites in school that apply to both students and staff.

 

 

Social media sites have many benefits for both personal use and professional learning; however, both staff and students should be aware of how they present themselves online. Students are taught through the ICT curriculum and personal education about the risks and responsibility of uploading personal information and the difficulty of taking it down completely once it is out in such a public place. The school do not allow pupils to access social media and social networking sites in school:

• Pupils are educated on the dangers of social networking sites and how to use them in safe and productive ways. They are all made fully aware of the school’s code of conduct regarding the use of ICT and technologies and behaviour online.
• Any Youtube videos and websites that are to be used in class will be checked by the teacher in charge prior to the lesson to ensure that the site is age-appropriate and safe for use.
• Pupils and staff are encouraged not to publish specific and detailed private thoughts, especially those that might be considered hurtful, harmful or defamatory. The school expects all staff and pupils to remember that they are representing the school at all times and must act appropriately.
• Safe and professional behaviour of staff online will be discussed at staff induction.

7.Mobile phones and devices

 

While mobile phones and personal communication devices are commonplace in today’s society, their use and the responsibility for using them should not be taken lightly. Pupil mobile phones should be switched off and put in pupil’s school bags while on the school site unless specified by a class teacher. Phones are permitted to be used in a controlled classroom environment if educational apps are being used (such as Kahoot, Google Classroom, SMHW) and there is educational merit to the activity. Some issues surrounding the possession of these devices are:

• they can make pupils more vulnerable to cyber bullying
• they can be used to access inappropriate internet material
• they can be a distraction in class
• they are valuable items that could be stolen, damaged, or lost
• they have integrated cameras, which can lead to child protection, bully and data protection issues.

The school takes certain measures to ensure that mobile phones do not cause concerns in school. Further to the mobile policy:

• The school will not tolerate cyber bullying against either pupils or staff. Sending inappropriate, suggestive or abusive messages is forbidden and anyone who is found to have sent a message of such content will be disciplined. For more information on the school’s disciplinary sanctions read the pastoral care policy and the positive behaviour management policy.
• Mobile phones can be confiscated by a member of staff, and the device can be searched by a member of the senior management team if there is reason to believe that there may be evidence of harmful or inappropriate use on the device.
• Any pupil who brings a mobile phone or personal device into school is agreeing that they are responsible for its safety. The school will not take responsibility for personal devices that have been lost, stolen, or damaged.
• Images or files should not be sent between mobile phones in school unless through an approved educational app (such as SMHW or Google Classroom) and unless specified by a class teacher.

 

 

7.2.Mobile phone or personal device misuse

Pupils who breach school policy relating to use of personal devices will be

disciplined inline with the school’s pastoral care and behaviour policy. Their

mobile phone will be confiscated. Pupils are under no circumstances allowed

to bring mobile phones or personal devices into examination rooms with them.

If a pupil is found with a mobile phone in their possession it will be

confiscated. The breach of rules will be reported to the appropriate examining

body and may result in the pupil being prohibited from taking that exam.

Staff

• Staff should not use their own personal devices to contact pupils or parents either in or out of school time.
• Staff are not permitted to take photos of pupils on personal devices. If photos or videos are being taken as part of the school curriculum or for a professional capacity, the school equipment will be used for this.
• The school expects staff to lead by example. Personal mobile phones should be switched off or on ‘silent’ during school hours unless being used as part of a lesson (eg: with SMHW or Google Classroom).

9. Cyberbullying

 

Cyberbullying, as with any other form of bullying, is taken very seriously by the school. Information about specific strategies or programmes in place to prevent and tackle bullying are set out in the anti-bullying policy. The anonymity that can come with using the internet can sometimes make people feel safe to say and do hurtful things that they otherwise would not do in person. It is made very clear to members of the school community what is expected of them in terms of respecting their peers, members of the public and staff, and any intentional breach of this will result in disciplinary action.

If an allegation of bullying does come up, the school will follow the procedures outlined in the anti-bullying policy. The school will:

• take it seriously
• act as quickly as possible to establish the facts
• record and report on the incident (Bullying Register)
• provide reassurance to the victim
• make it clear to the ‘bully’ that this behaviour will not be tolerated. If there is a group of people involved, they will be spoken to individually and as a whole group. It is important that pupil who have harmed another, either physically or emotionally, redress their actions and the school will make sure that they understand what they have done and the impact of their actions.

If a sanction is used, it will correlate to the seriousness of the incident and the ‘bully’ will be told why it is being used. They will be asked to remove any harmful or inappropriate content that has been published, and the service provider may be contacted to do this if they refuse or are unable to remove it. They may have their use of school ICT facilities suspended.

Repeated bullying may result in a suspension from school.

 

10 Managing emerging technologies

 

Technology is progressing rapidly and new technologies are emerging all the time. The school will risk-assess any new technologies before they are allowed in school, and will consider any educational benefits that they might have. The school keeps up-to-date with new technologies and is prepared to quickly develop appropriate strategies for dealing with new technological developments.

11.  Protecting personal data

St. John the Baptist’s College believes that protecting the privacy of our staff and pupils and regulating their safety through data management, control and evaluation is vital to whole-school and individual progress. The school collects personal data from pupils, parents, and staff and processes it in order to support teaching and learning, monitor and report on pupil progress, and strengthen our pastoral provision.

We take responsibility for ensuring that any data that we collect and process is used correctly and only as is necessary and the school will keep parents fully informed. Pupil’s results, attendance and registration records, special educational needs data, and any relevant medical information are examples of the type of data that the school needs. Through effective data management we can monitor a range of school provisions and evaluate the wellbeing and academic progression of our pupil to ensure that we are doing all we can to support our pupils.

In line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) , and following principles of good practice when processing data, the school will:

• ensure that data is fairly and lawfully processed
• process data only for limited purposes
• ensure that all data processed is adequate, relevant and not excessive
• ensure that data processed is accurate
• not keep data longer than is necessary
• process the data in accordance with the data subject’s rights

There may be circumstances where the school is required either by law or in the best interest of our students or staff to pass information onto external authorities; for example, our ETI, BELB, Social Services, PSNI, DHSSPS. These authorities are up-to-date with data protection law and have their own policies relating to the protection of any data that they receive or collect.

12.  General Advice for Pupils

We all deserve to be able to use the internet to learn, explore and connect with each other. But all of us need to be aware of the risks involved in doing so, especially on social media. Our advice is:

• Don’t share personal information or images with people you don’t know.
• Don’t accept friend requests with someone you don’t know - not everyone online may be who they say they are.
• Set privacy settings on all devices so that only people you know can view your account.
• Don’t post anything online that you are not happy to be shared, particularly nude or nearly nude images or videos. It may seem like a bit of fun with friends at the time but there is always a chance those images could be shared or get into the wrong hands and could lead to harmful situations such as stalking, abuse or blackmail.

 

• If someone has made you feel uncomfortable or you have had disturbing interaction online, tell police or a trusted adult. You can ring the police on 101 or for help and advice ring Childline on 0800 1111 or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000.

• The internet can be a great place but it is important to remember there are people out there who may wish to abuse, exploit, intimidate or bully you online – if this happens to you, tell someone immediately.

• Remember that if things do go wrong online, there are people who can help.

• If you receive any inappropriate images or links, it is important that you do not forward it to anyone else. Contact police or tell a trusted adult immediately. By doing this you could help prevent further such incidents. You will not get into trouble.

13.  General Advice for Parents

• The most important thing is to have a conversation with your children - talk to them about the benefits and dangers of the internet so that you can empower them to use the internet safely.

• Cultivate an interest in their online activities - their favourite websites, online games and interests and keep an eye on what they are doing online.

• Don’t be afraid to ask your children about who they are talking to online and what they are talking about and remind them how important it is to tell a trusted adult if something happens online that makes them feel uncomfortable or worried because there are people who can help.

• Become a ‘net-savvy’ parent - the best safeguard against online dangers is being informed.

• Jump in and learn the basics of the Internet - read articles, take a class, and talk to other parents. You don’t have to be an expert to have a handle on your child’s online world.

• Go to getsafeonline.org for lots of useful advice and information on how to stay safe online. Safeguardingni.org will also provide information for parents and carers on e-safety.

• Links to other sites that can provide information and advice to young people and parents are available from the DE website at: http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/pupils-and-parents/pupils.htm

For more information on the school’s safeguards relating to data protection read the school’s Data Protection Policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

2014 ETI Circular 2013/25

Circular e safety Guidance – 12 June 2015

Capita Conference 28 May 2014 in E-Safety in Northern Ireland Frontier Learning Together

Safer Internet (all staff)

Better Safe than Sorry (pupils)

 

CEOP – Think You Know - www.thinkuknow.co.uk 13

Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland C2K – E- safety Drivers

C2K – E- Safety Advice (C2k Exchange) Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying

Forum (NIABF) – Lee Kane