Review: Summer 2018
E-safety is part of the school’s safeguarding responsibilities. This policy relates to other policies including those for behaviour management, safeguarding and child protection, anti-bullying, computing, data protection and the use of photographic images.
Using this policy
- The Assistant Headteacher is the Computing and E-safety subject leader.
- Our E-safety Policy has been written by the school, building on best practice and government guidance. It has been agreed by senior management and approved by governors.
- The E-safety policy covers the use of all technology which can access the school network and the internet or which facilitates electronic communication from school to beyond the bounds of the school site. This includes but is not limited to workstations, laptops, mobile phones, tablets and hand held games consoles used on the school site.
- The E-safety policy recognises that there are differences between the use of technology as a private individual and as a member of staff / pupil.
Managing access and security
The school will provide managed internet access to its staff and pupils in order to help pupils to learn how to assess and manage risk, to gain the knowledge and understanding to keep themselves safe when using the internet and to bridge the gap between school IT systems and the more open systems outside school.
- The school will use a recognised internet service provider or regional broadband consortium.
- The school will ensure that all internet access has age appropriate filtering provided by a recognised filtering system which is regularly checked to ensure that it is working, effective and reasonable.
- The school will ensure that its networks have virus and anti-spam protection.
- Access to school networks will be controlled by personal passwords.
- Systems will be in place to ensure that internet use can be monitored and a log of any incidents will be kept to help to identify patterns of behaviour and to inform E-safety policy.
- The security of school IT systems will be reviewed regularly.
- All staff that manage filtering systems will have clear procedures for reporting issues.
- The school will ensure that access to the internet via school equipment for anyone not employed by the school is filtered and monitored.
- The school will provide an age-appropriate e-safety curriculum that teaches pupils how to stay safe, how to protect themselves from harm and how to take responsibility for their own and others’ safety.
- All communication between staff and pupils or families will take place using school equipment and/or school accounts.
- Pupils will be advised not to give out personal details or information which may identify them or their location.
- Staff may only use approved e-mail accounts on the school IT systems.
- Incoming E-mail should be treated as suspicious and attachments not opened unless the author is known.
Published content on the school web site
- The contact details will be the school address, email and telephone number. Staff or pupils’ personal information will not be published.
- The head teacher or nominee will take overall editorial responsibility and ensure that content is accurate and appropriate.
Publishing pupils’ images and work
- Written permission will be obtained from parents or carers before photographs or names of pupils are published on the school web site as set out in Surrey Safeguarding Children Board Guidance on using images of children. http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/?a=168635
Use of personal devices
- Personal equipment may not be used by staff and/or pupils to access the school IT systems.
- Staff must not store images of pupils or pupil personal data on personal devices.
- The school cannot be held responsible for the loss or damage of any personal devices used in school or for school business.
Protecting personal data
- The school has a separate Data Protection Policy. It covers the use of biometrics in school, access to pupil and staff personal data on and off site, remote access to school systems.
- All staff (including teaching assistants, learning support assistants, support staff, caretaker, office staff, student teachers, work experience trainees, and governors) must read and sign the Staff ICT Code of Conduct and the Staff Laptop Agreement (if a laptop is provided) before accessing the school IT systems.
- The school will maintain a current record of all staff and pupils who are granted access to school IT systems.
- Within EYFS and Key Stage 1, access to the internet will be by adult demonstration with supervised access to specific, approved on-line materials.
- People not employed by the school will not being given access to the internet via school equipment or through personal devices.
- Parents will be asked to sign and return a consent form to allow use of technology and the internet by their pupil.
- The school will take all reasonable precautions to prevent access to inappropriate material. However, due to the international scale and linked internet content, it is not possible to guarantee that unsuitable material will never appear on a school computer. Neither the school nor Surrey County Council can accept liability for the material accessed, or any consequences of internet access.
Handling E-safety complaints
- Complaints of internet misuse will be dealt according to the school behaviour policy.
- Complaints of a child protection nature must be dealt with in accordance with school child protection procedures.
- Pupils and parents will be informed of consequences and sanctions for pupils misusing the internet and this will be in line with the schools’ behavior policy.
Community use of the internet
- Members of the community and other organisations using the school will not being given access to the internet via school equipment or through personal devices.
Communication of the Policy:
- All pupils will be taught and reminded about E-safety within Computing lessons. This is delivered in an age-appropriate way.
- All pupils will be given clear objectives of internet use.
- All pupils will be educated in responsible and effective internet use – e.g. to never reveal personal information over the internet, to never arrange to meet someone that has made contact though the internet and to notify their teacher of anything that is inappropriate or makes them feel uncomfortable.
- All pupils will be supervised appropriately at all times.
- All pupils to copy, save, and use material found on the Internet without infringing copyright.
- All pupils will be familiar with the rules for responsible internet use (attached) and these will be displayed in a predominant place near the computers.
- All staff will be shown where to access the E-safety policy and its importance explained.
- All staff must sign and agree to comply with the staff ICT Code of Conduct and Laptop Agreement (if a laptop is provided) in order to gain access to the school IT systems and to the internet
- All staff will receive E-safety training on an annual basis.
- The school will ask all new parents to sign the parent /pupil agreement when they register their child with the school.
- Parents’ and carers’ attention will be drawn to the School E-safety Policy in newsletters and on the school web site.
- Parents will be offered E-safety training annually.
Links to other policies:
Behaviour Management Policy
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Data Protection Policy
Use of Photographic Images Policy