ICT & Internet Acceptable Use Policy

Information and communications technology (ICT) is an integral part of the way our school works, and is a critical resource for pupils, staff (including the senior leadership team), volunteers, contractors and visitors.

However, the ICT resources and facilities our school uses could also pose risks to data protection, online safety and safeguarding.

This policy aims to:

• Set guidelines and rules on the use of school ICT resources for staff, pupils and parents/carers
• Establish clear expectations for the way all members of the school community engage with each other online
• Support the school’s policies on data protection, online safety and safeguarding
• Prevent disruption that could occur to the school through the misuse, or attempted misuse, of ICT systems
• Support the school in teaching pupils safe and effective internet and ICT use

This policy covers all users of our school’s ICT facilities, staff, pupils, volunteers, contractors and visitors.

Breaches of this policy may be dealt with under our disciplinary policy.

This policy refers to, and complies with, the following legislation and guidance:

• Data Protection Act 2018
• The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) – the EU GDPR was incorporated into UK legislation, with some amendments, by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
• Computer Misuse Act 1990
• Human Rights Act 1998
• The Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000
• Education Act 2011
• Freedom of Information Act 2000
• Education and Inspections Act 2006
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023
• Searching, screening and confiscation: advice for schools 2022
• National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC): Cyber Security for Schools
• Education and Training (Welfare of Children) Act 2021
• UK Council for Internet Safety (et al.) guidance on sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people
• Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges

• ICT facilities: all facilities, systems and services including, but not limited to, network infrastructure, desktop computers, laptops, tablets, phones, music players or hardware, software, websites, web applications or services, and any device system or service that may become available in the future which is provided as part of the school’s ICT service
• Users: anyone authorised by the school to use the school’s ICT facilities, staff, pupils, volunteers, contractors and visitors
• Personal use: any use or activity not directly related to the users’ employment, study or purpose agreed by an authorised user
• Authorised personnel: employees authorised by the school to perform systems administration and/or monitoring of the ICT facilities
• Materials: files and data created using the school’s ICT facilities including but not limited to documents, photos, audio, video, printed output, web pages, social networking sites and blogs

See appendix 6 for a glossary of cyber security terminology.

The following is considered unacceptable use of the school’s ICT facilities. Any breach of this policy may result in disciplinary or behaviour proceedings (see section 4.2 below).

Unacceptable use of the school’s ICT facilities includes:

• Using the school’s ICT facilities to breach intellectual property rights or copyright
• Using the school’s ICT facilities to bully or harass someone else, or to promote unlawful discrimination
• Breaching the school’s policies or procedures
• Any illegal conduct, or statements which are deemed to be advocating illegal activity
• Online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and/or financial scams
• Accessing, creating, storing, linking to or sending material that is pornographic, offensive, obscene or otherwise inappropriate or harmful
• Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos and/or livestreams
• Activity which defames or disparages the school, or risks bringing the school into disrepute
• Sharing confidential information about the school, its pupils, or other members of the school community
• Connecting any device to the school’s ICT network without approval from authorised personnel
• Setting up any software, applications or web services on the school’s network without approval by authorised personnel, or creating or using any programme, tool or item of software designed to interfere with the functioning of the school’s ICT facilities, accounts or data
• Gaining, or attempting to gain, access to restricted areas of the network, or to any password-protected information, without approval from authorised personnel
• Allowing, encouraging or enabling others to gain (or attempt to gain) unauthorised access to the school’s ICT facilities
• Causing intentional damage to the school’s ICT facilities
• Removing, deleting or disposing of the school’s ICT equipment, systems, programmes or information without permission from authorised personnel
• Causing a data breach by accessing, modifying, or sharing data (including personal data) to which a user is not permitted by authorised personnel to have access, or without authorisation
• Using inappropriate or offensive language
• Promoting a private business, unless that business is directly related to the school
• Using websites or mechanisms to bypass the school’s filtering or monitoring mechanisms
• Engaging in content or conduct that is radicalised, extremist, racist, antisemitic or discriminatory in any other way

This is not an exhaustive list. The school reserves the right to amend this list at any time. The headteacher will use their professional judgement to determine whether any act or behaviour not on the list above is considered unacceptable use of the school’s ICT facilities.

Where the use of school ICT facilities (on the school premises and/or remotely) is required for a purpose that would otherwise be considered an unacceptable use, exemptions to the policy may be granted at the headteacher’s discretion. For approval for such activities the member of staff will speak with the headteacher for authorisation.

Pupils and staff who engage in any of the unacceptable activities listed above may face disciplinary action in line with the school’s staff disciplinary policy, student digital learning and E-safety policy.

Staff must comply with this policy at all times and follow the rules set out in subsequent sections.

The deputy headteacher manages access to the school’s ICT facilities and materials for school staff. That includes, but is not limited to:

• Computers, tablets, mobile phones and other devices
• Access permissions for certain programmes or files

Staff will be provided with unique login/account information and passwords that they must use when accessing the school’s ICT facilities.

Staff who have access to files that they are not authorised to view or edit, or who need their access permissions updated or changed, should contact the deputy headteacher.

The school provides each member of staff with an email address. This email account should be used for work purposes only. Staff should enable multi-factor authentication on their email account(s).

All work-related business should be conducted using the email address the school has provided. Staff must not share their personal email addresses with parents/carers and pupils, and must not send any work-related materials using their personal email account.

Staff must take care with the content of all email messages, as incorrect or improper statements can give rise to claims for discrimination, harassment, defamation, breach of confidentiality or breach of contract.

Email messages are required to be disclosed in legal proceedings or in response to requests from individuals under the Data Protection Act 2018 in the same way as paper documents. Deletion from a user’s inbox does not mean that an email cannot be recovered for the purposes of disclosure. All email messages should be treated as potentially retrievable.

Staff must take extra care when sending sensitive or confidential information by email. Any attachments containing sensitive or confidential information should be encrypted so that the information is only accessible by the intended recipient.

If staff receive an email in error, the sender should be informed and the email deleted. If the email contains sensitive or confidential information, the user must not make use of that information or disclose that information.

If staff send an email in error that contains the personal information of another person, they must inform the headteacher immediately and follow our data breach procedure.

Staff must not give their personal phone number(s) to parents/carers or pupils. All SLT must use phones provided by the school to conduct all work-related business or the office phones. Other staff that are wishing to make phone calls home must use the school phones.

School phones must not be used for personal matters.

Staff who are provided with mobile phones as equipment for their role must abide by the same rules for ICT acceptable use as set out in section 4.

Staff are permitted to occasionally use school ICT facilities for personal use, subject to certain conditions set out below. This permission must not be overused or abused. The headteacher may withdraw or restrict this permission at any time and at their discretion.

Personal use is permitted provided that such use:

• Does not take place during teaching hours
• Does not constitute ‘unacceptable use’, as defined in section 4
• Takes place when no pupils are present
• Does not interfere with their jobs, or prevent other staff or pupils from using the facilities for work or educational purposes

Staff may not use the school’s ICT facilities to store personal, non-work-related information or materials (such as music, videos or photos).

Staff should be aware that use of the school’s ICT facilities for personal use may put personal communications within the scope of the school’s ICT monitoring activities (see section 5.5). Where breaches of this policy are found, disciplinary action may be taken.

Staff are also permitted to use their personal devices (such as mobile phones or tablets) in line with this policy.

Staff should be aware that personal use of ICT (even when not using school ICT facilities) can impact on their employment by, for instance, putting personal details in the public domain, where pupils and parents/carers could see them.

Staff should take care to follow the school’s guidelines on use of social media (see appendix 1) and use of email (see section 5.1.1) to protect themselves online and avoid compromising their professional integrity.

Members of staff should make sure their use of social media, either for work or personal purposes, is appropriate at all times.

The school has guidelines for staff on appropriate security settings for Facebook accounts (see appendix 1).

We allow staff to access the school’s ICT facilities and materials remotely.

Staff accessing the school’s ICT facilities and materials remotely must abide by the same rules as those accessing the facilities and materials on site. Staff must be particularly vigilant if they use the school’s ICT facilities outside the school and must take such precautions as the headteacher may require against importing viruses or compromising system security.

Our ICT facilities contain information which is confidential and/or subject to data protection legislation. Such information must be treated with extreme care and in accordance with our data protection policy (a copy can be found on our school website).

The school has an official Facebook account, managed by the proprietor Sharon Groos. Staff members who have not been authorised to manage, or post to, the account, must not access, or attempt to access, the account.

The school has guidelines for what may and must not be posted on its social media accounts. Those who are authorised to manage, or post to, the account must make sure they abide by these guidelines at all times.

To safeguard and promote the welfare of children and provide them with a safe environment to learn, the school reserves the right to filter and monitor the use of its ICT facilities and network. This includes, but is not limited to, the filtering and monitoring of:

• Internet sites visited
• Bandwidth usage
• Email accounts
• Telephone calls
• User activity/access logs
• Any other electronic communications

Only authorised ICT personnel may filter, inspect, monitor, intercept, assess, record and disclose the above, to the extent permitted by law. Email sent to Lansafe for full details of what system we use to filter and monitor online use.

The school monitors ICT use in order to:

• Obtain information related to school business
• Investigate compliance with school policies, procedures and standards
• Ensure effective school and ICT operation
• Conduct training or quality control exercises
• Prevent or detect crime
• Comply with a subject access request, Freedom of Information Act request, or any other legal obligation

Our headteacher is responsible for making sure that:

• The school meets the DfE’s filtering and monitoring standards
• Appropriate filtering and monitoring systems are in place
• Staff are aware of those systems and trained in their related roles and responsibilities
• For the leadership team and relevant staff, this will include how to manage the processes and systems effectively and how to escalate concerns
• It regularly reviews the effectiveness of the school’s monitoring and filtering systems

The school’s designated safeguarding lead (DSL) will take lead responsibility for understanding the filtering and monitoring systems and processes in place.

Where appropriate, staff may raise concerns about monitored activity with the school’s DSL and headteacher, as appropriate.

Guidelines for pupil access and use are set out in the sub-sections below.

• Laptops are available to pupils only under the supervision of staff.

Under the Education Act 2011, the headteacher, and any member of staff authorised to do so by the headteacher, can search pupils and confiscate their mobile phones, computers or other devices that the authorised staff member has reasonable grounds for suspecting:

• Poses a risk to staff or pupils, and/or
• Is identified in the school behaviour policy as a banned item for which a search can be carried out, and/or
• Is evidence in relation to an offence

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Pornography
• Abusive messages, images or videos
• Indecent images of children
• Evidence of suspected criminal behaviour (such as threats of violence or assault)

Before a search, if the authorised staff member is satisfied that they have reasonable grounds for suspecting any of the above, they will also:

• Make an assessment of how urgent the search is, and consider the risk to other pupils and staff. If the search is not urgent, they will seek advice from the headteacher or designated Safeguarding lead
• Explain to the pupil why they are being searched, and how and where the search will happen, and give them the opportunity to ask questions about it
• Seek the pupil’s co-operation. If the student refuses to co-operate then we will proceed according to the school behaviour policy.

The authorised staff member should:

• Inform the DSL (or deputy) of any searching incidents where they had reasonable grounds to suspect a pupil was in possession of a banned item. A list of banned items is available in the school’s behaviour policy
• Involve the DSL (or deputy) without delay if they believe that a search has revealed a safeguarding risk.

Authorised staff members may examine, and in exceptional circumstances erase, any data or files on a device that they have confiscated where they believe there is a ‘good reason’ to do so.

When deciding whether there is a ‘good reason’ to examine data or files on a device, the staff member should only do so if they reasonably suspect that the data has been, or could be, used to:

• Cause harm, and/or
• Undermine the safe environment of the school or disrupt teaching, and/or
• Commit an offence.

If inappropriate material is found on the device, it is up to the headteacher and DSL to decide on a suitable response. If there are images, data or files on the device that staff reasonably suspect are likely to put a person at risk, they will first consider the appropriate safeguarding response.

When deciding whether there is a good reason to erase data or files from a device, staff members will consider whether the material may constitute evidence relating to a suspected offence. In these instances, they will not delete the material, and the device will be handed to the police as soon as is reasonably practicable. If the material is not suspected to be evidence in relation to an offence, staff members may delete it if:

• They reasonably suspect that its continued existence is likely to cause harm to any person, and/or
• The pupil and/or the parent refuses to delete the material themselves

If a staff member suspects a device may contain an indecent image of a child (also known as a nude or semi-nude image), they will:

• Not view the image
• Not copy, print, share, store or save the image
• Confiscate the device and report the incident to the DSL (or deputy) immediately, who will decide what to do next. The DSL will make the decision in line with the DfE’s latest guidance on searching, screening and confiscation and the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) et al.’s guidance on sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people

Any searching of pupils will be carried out in line with:

• The DfE’s latest guidance on searching, screening and confiscation
• UKCIS et al.’s guidance on sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people
• Our behaviour policy / searches and confiscation policy

Any complaints about searching for, or deleting, inappropriate images or files on pupils’ devices will be dealt with through the school complaints procedure.

The school will sanction pupils, in line with the behaviour policy, if a pupil engages in any of the following at any time (even if they are not on school premises):

• Using ICT or the internet to breach intellectual property rights or copyright
• Using ICT or the internet to bully or harass someone else, or to promote unlawful discrimination
• Breaching the school’s policies or procedures
• Any illegal conduct, or making statements which are deemed to be advocating illegal activity
• Accessing, creating, storing, linking to or sending material that is pornographic, offensive, obscene or otherwise inappropriate
• Consensual or non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos and/or livestreams (also known as sexting or youth produced sexual imagery)
• Activity which defames or disparages the school, or risks bringing the school into disrepute
• Sharing confidential information about the school, other pupils, or other members of the school community
• Gaining or attempting to gain access to restricted areas of the network, or to any password-protected information, without approval from authorised personnel
• Allowing, encouraging, or enabling others to gain (or attempt to gain) unauthorised access to the school’s ICT facilities
• Causing intentional damage to the school’s ICT facilities or materials
• Causing a data breach by accessing, modifying, or sharing data (including personal data) to which a user and/or those they share it with are not supposed to have access, or without authorisation
• Using inappropriate or offensive language

Guidance for parents and carers is set out in the sub-sections below.

Parents/carers do not have access to the school’s ICT facilities as a matter of course.

However, parents/carers working for, or with, the school in an official capacity (for instance, as a volunteer) may be granted an appropriate level of access, or be permitted to use the school’s facilities at the headteacher’s discretion.

Where parents/carers are granted access in this way, they must abide by this policy as it applies to staff.

We believe it is important to model for pupils, and help them learn, how to communicate respectfully with, and about, others online.

Parents/carers play a vital role in helping model this behaviour for their children, especially when communicating with the school through our website and social media channels.

We ask parents/carers to sign the agreement in appendix 2.

The school will ensure that parents and carers are made aware of any online activity that their children are being asked to carry out.

When we ask pupils to use websites or engage in online activity, we will communicate the details of this to parents/carers.

In particular, staff will let parents/carers know which (if any) person or people from the school pupils will be interacting with online, including the purpose of the interaction.

Parents/carers may seek any support and advice from the school to ensure a safe online environment is established for their child.

The school is responsible for making sure it has the appropriate level of security protection and procedures in place to safeguard its systems, staff and learners. It therefore takes steps to protect the security of its computing resources, data and user accounts. The effectiveness of these procedures is reviewed periodically to keep up with evolving cyber crime technologies.

Staff, pupils, parents/carers and others who use the school’s ICT facilities should use safe computing practices at all times. We aim to meet the cyber security standards recommended by the Department for Education’s guidance on digital and technology standards in schools and colleges, including the use of:

• Firewalls
• Security features
• User authentication and multi-factor authentication
• Anti-malware software

All users of the school’s ICT facilities should set strong passwords for their accounts and keep these passwords secure.

Users are responsible for the security of their passwords and accounts, and for setting permissions for accounts and files they control.

Members of staff or pupils who disclose account or password information may face disciplinary action. Parents, visitors or volunteers who disclose account or password information may have their access rights revoked.

All staff will use the password manager required by the ICT service provider to help them store their passwords securely. Teachers will generate passwords for pupils using the required password manager or generator and keep these in a secure location in case pupils lose or forget their passwords.

All of the school’s ICT devices that support software updates, security updates and anti-virus products will have these installed, and be configured to perform such updates regularly or automatically.

Users must not circumvent or make any attempt to circumvent the administrative, physical and technical safeguards we implement and maintain to protect personal data and the school’s ICT facilities.

Any personal devices using the school’s network must all be configured in this way.

All personal data must be processed and stored in line with data protection regulations and the school’s data protection policy. A copy of the school’s data protection policy can be found on the school website.

All users of the school’s ICT facilities will have clearly defined access rights to school systems, files and devices. These access rights are managed by the headteacher.

Users should not access, or attempt to access, systems, files or devices to which they have not been granted access. If access is provided in error, or if something a user should not have access to is shared with them, they should alert the headteacher immediately.

Users should always log out of systems and lock their equipment when they are not in use to avoid any unauthorised access. Equipment and systems should always be logged out of and shut down completely at the end of each working day.

The school makes sure that its devices and systems have an appropriate level of encryption.

School staff may only use personal devices (including computers and USB drives) to access school data, work remotely, or take personal data (such as pupil information) out of school if they have been specifically authorised to do so by the headteacher.

Use of such personal devices will only be authorised if the devices have appropriate levels of security and encryption, as defined by the headteacher.

Please see the glossary (appendix 6) to help you understand cyber security terminology.

The school will:

• Work with Lansafe (external ICT contractor) to make sure cyber security is given the time and resources it needs to make the school secure
• Provide annual training for staff (and include this training in any induction for new starters, if they join outside of the school’s annual training window) on the basics of cyber security, including how to:
• Check the sender address in an email
• Respond to a request for bank details, personal information or login details
• Verify requests for payments or changes to information
• Make sure staff are aware of its procedures for reporting and responding to cyber security incidents
• Investigate whether our IT software needs updating or replacing to be more secure
• Not engage in ransom requests from ransomware attacks, as this would not guarantee recovery of data
• Put controls in place that are:
• Proportionate: the school will verify this using a third-party audit (such as 360 degree safe) annually, to objectively test that what it has in place is effective
• Multi-layered: everyone will be clear on what to look out for to keep our systems safe
• Up to date: with a system in place to monitor when the school needs to update its software
• Regularly reviewed and tested: to make sure the systems are as effective and secure as they can be
• Back up critical data daily and store these backups on a cloud-based system that isn’t connected to the school network.
• Delegate specific responsibility for maintaining the security of our management information system (MIS) to Lansafe.
• Make sure staff:
• Dial into our network using a virtual private network (VPN) when working from home
• Enable multi-factor authentication where they can, on things like school email accounts
• Store passwords securely using a password manager
• Make sure ICT staff conduct regular access reviews to make sure each user in the school has the right level of permissions and admin rights
• Have a firewall in place that is switched on
• Check that its supply chain is secure, for example by asking suppliers about how secure their business practices are and checking if they have the Cyber Essentials certification
• Develop, review and test an incident response plan with Lansafe including, for example, how the school will communicate with everyone if communications go down, who will be contacted and when, and who will notify Action Fraud of the incident. This plan will be reviewed and tested annually and after a significant event has occurred, using the NCSC’s ’Exercise in a Box’.

The school’s wireless internet connection is secure.

• WiFi is limited for students when using the laptops only, no other student devices are provided access.

Parents/carers and visitors to the school will not be permitted to use the school’s WiFi unless specific authorisation is granted by the headteacher.

The headteacher will only grant authorisation if:

• Parents/carers are working with the school in an official capacity (e.g. as a volunteer)
• Visitors need to access the school’s WiFi in order to fulfil the purpose of their visit (for instance, to access materials stored on personal devices as part of a presentation or lesson plan)

Staff must not give the WiFi password to anyone who is not authorised to have it. Doing so could result in disciplinary action.

The headteacher and DSL monitor the implementation of this policy, including ensuring it is updated to reflect the needs and circumstances of the school.

This policy will be reviewed annually.

This policy should be read alongside the school’s policies on:

• Digital learning and E-safety
• Safeguarding and child protection
• Behaviour
• Staff disciplinary
• Data protection

10 rules for school staff on Social Media

1. Change your display name – use your first and middle name, use a maiden name, or put your surname backwards instead
2. Change your profile picture to something unidentifiable, or if you don’t, make sure that the image is professional
3. Check your privacy settings regularly
4. Be careful about tagging other staff members in images or posts
5. Don’t share anything publicly that you wouldn’t be happy showing your pupils
6. Don’t use social media sites during school hours
7. Don’t make comments about your job, your colleagues, our school or your pupils online – once it’s out there, it’s out there
8. Don’t associate yourself with the school on your profile (e.g. by setting it as your workplace, or by ‘checking in’ at a school event)
9. Don’t link your work email address to your social media accounts. Anyone who has this address (or your personal email address/mobile number) is able to find you using this information
10. Consider uninstalling the Facebook app from your phone. The app recognises WiFi connections and makes friend suggestions based on who else uses the same WiFi connection (such as parents or pupils)

Check your privacy settings

• Change the visibility of your posts and photos to ‘Friends only’, rather than ‘Friends of friends’...
• Don’t forget to check your old posts and photos – go to bit.ly/2MdQXMN to find out how to limit the visibility of previous posts
• The public may still be able to see posts you’ve ‘liked’, even if your profile settings are private, because this depends on the privacy settings of the original poster
• Google your name to see what information about you is visible to the public
• Prevent search engines from indexing your profile so that people can’t search for you by name – go to bit.ly/2zMdVht to find out how to do this
• Remember that some information is always public: your display name, profile picture, cover photo, user ID (in the URL for your profile), country, age range and gender

What to do if …

A pupil adds you on social media

• In the first instance, ignore and delete the request. Block the pupil from viewing your profile
• Check your privacy settings again, and consider changing your display name or profile picture
• If the pupil asks you about the friend request in person, tell them that you’re not allowed to accept friend requests from pupils and that if they persist, you’ll have to notify senior leadership and/or their parents/carers. If the pupil persists, take a screenshot of their request and any accompanying messages
• Notify the senior leadership team or the headteacher about what’s happening

A parent/carer adds you on social media

• It is at your discretion whether to respond. Bear in mind that:
• Responding to one parent/carer’s friend request or message might set an unwelcome precedent for both you and other teachers at the school
• Pupils may then have indirect access through their parent/carer’s account to anything you post, share, comment on or are tagged in
• If you wish to decline the offer or ignore the message, consider drafting a stock response to let the parent/carer know that you’re doing so and speak with both the headteacher and DSL

You’re being harassed on social media, or somebody is spreading something offensive about you

• Do not retaliate or respond in any way
• Save evidence of any abuse by taking screenshots and recording the time and date it occurred
• Report the material to Facebook or the relevant social network and ask them to remove it
• If the perpetrator is a current pupil or staff member, our mediation and disciplinary procedures are usually sufficient to deal with online incidents
• If the perpetrator is a parent/carer or other external adult, a senior member of staff will invite them to a meeting to address any reasonable concerns or complaints and/or request they remove the offending comments or material
• If the comments are racist, sexist, of a sexual nature or constitute a hate crime, you or a senior leader should consider contacting the police

Acceptable use of the internet: agreement for parents and carers

Name of parent/carer: ________________________

Name of child: ________________________

Online channels are an important way for parents/carers to communicate with, or about, our school. The school uses the following channels:

• Email

When communicating with the school via official communication channels, or using private/independent channels to talk about the school, I will:

• Be respectful towards members of staff, and the school, at all times
• Be respectful of other parents/carers and children
• Direct any complaints or concerns through the school’s official channels, so they can be dealt with in line with the school’s complaints procedure

I will not:

• Use private groups, the school’s Facebook page, or personal social media to complain about or criticise members of staff. This is not constructive and the school can’t improve or address issues unless they are raised in an appropriate way
• Use private groups, the school’s Facebook page, or personal social media to complain about, or try to resolve, a behaviour issue involving other pupils. I will contact the school and speak to the appropriate member of staff if I’m aware of a specific behaviour issue or incident
• Upload or share photos or videos on social media of any child other than my own, unless I have the permission of the other children’s parents/carers

Signed: ________________________ Date: ________________

Acceptable use of the school’s ICT facilities and internet: agreement for pupils and parents/carers

Name of pupil: ________________________

When using the school’s ICT facilities and accessing the internet in school, I will not:

• Use them for a non-educational purpose
• Use them without a teacher being present, or without a teacher’s permission
• Use them to break school rules
• Access any inappropriate websites
• Access social networking sites (unless my teacher has expressly allowed this as part of a learning activity)
• Use chat rooms
• Open any attachments in emails, or follow any links in emails, without first checking with a teacher
• Use any inappropriate language when communicating online, including in emails
• Share any semi-nude or nude images, videos or livestreams, even if I have the consent of the person or people in the photo/video
• Share my password with others or log in to the school’s network using someone else’s details
• Bullying other people

I understand that the school will monitor the websites I visit and my use of the school’s ICT facilities and systems.

I will immediately let a teacher or other member of staff know if I find any material which might upset, distress or harm me or others.

I will always use the school’s ICT systems and internet responsibly.

I understand that the school can discipline me if I do certain unacceptable things online, even if I’m not in school when I do them.

Signed (pupil): ________________________ Date: ________________

Parent/carer agreement: I agree that my child can use the school’s ICT systems and internet when appropriately supervised by a member of school staff. I agree to the conditions set out above for pupils using the school’s ICT systems and internet, and for using personal electronic devices in school, and will make sure my child understands these.

Signed (parent/carer): ________________________ Date: ________________

Acceptable use of the school’s ICT facilities and internet: agreement for younger pupils

Name of pupil: ________________________

Date: ________________________

When I use school computers and the internet, I will:

• Only use them for school work with a teacher present
• Be kind and polite online
• Never share my password or log in details
• Tell an adult if I see something that upsets me
• Not download or install anything without permission

Signed (pupil): ________________________

Signed (parent/carer): ________________________

Acceptable use of the school’s ICT facilities and the internet: agreement for staff, governors, volunteers and visitors

Name of staff member/volunteer/visitor: ________________________

When using the school’s ICT facilities and accessing the internet in school, or outside school on a work device, I will not:

• Access, or attempt to access inappropriate material, including but not limited to material of a violent, criminal or pornographic nature (or create, share, link to or send such material)
• Use them in any way which could harm the school’s reputation
• Access social networking sites or chat rooms
• Use any improper language when communicating online, including in emails or other messaging services
• Install any unauthorised software, or connect unauthorised hardware or devices to the school’s network
• Share my password with others or log in to the school’s network using someone else’s details
• Share confidential information about the school, its pupils or staff, or other members of the community
• Access, modify or share data I’m not authorised to access, modify or share
• Promote any private business, unless that business is directly related to the school

I understand that the school will monitor the websites I visit and my use of the school’s ICT facilities and systems.

I will take all reasonable steps to ensure that work devices are secure and password-protected when using them outside school, and keep all data securely stored in accordance with this policy and the school’s data protection policy.

I will let the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and headteacher know if a pupil informs me they have found any material which might upset, distress or harm them or others, and will also do so if I encounter any such material.

I will always use the school’s ICT systems and internet responsibly, and ensure that pupils in my care do so too.

Signed: ________________________ Date: ________________