The Heath A STEM Centre of Excellence and Leadership Development School ICT Acceptable Use Protocol

1






The Heath

A STEM Centre of Excellence and Leadership Development School

ICT
Acceptable Use Protocol


Introduction


The statutory curriculum requires students to learn how to locate, retrieve an
d exchange information using
information and
communications technology (ICT
).

In

delivering the curriculum, teachers need to plan to integrate
the use of communications technology such as web
-
based resources and e
-
mail.

In addition to this the
development of online learning resources across the curriculum and the use of new technology in schools to
enhance the learning experience and engage students mean that students are regularly engaged in activities which
involve th
e use of ICT.

Computer skills are vital to access life
-
long learning and employment; indeed we must
consider ICT a life
-
skill.


The purpose of Internet use in The Heath School is to raise educational standards, to promote student achievement,
to support
the professional work of staff and to enhance the school’s management information and business
administration systems.


The Internet is an essential element in 21st Century life for education, business and social interaction. The school
has a duty to prov
ide students with quality Internet access as part of their learning experience.


Aim


The aim of this Acceptable Use Protocol

(AUP)

is to ensure that students will benefit from learning opportunities
offered by the school’s Internet resources in a safe
and effective manner. Internet use and access is considered a
school resource and privilege. Therefore, if the school’s
AUP

is not adhered to this privilege will be withdrawn and
appropria
te sanctions

will be imposed.


The Internet and Learning


The Internet will enhance students’ educational opportunities at The Heath School. Students, through Halton
Local
Authority

infrastructure, can access t
he North West Learning Grid and the Joint Academic Network and
take
advantage of searching the World Wi
de Web and using e
-
mail
.


Benefits to Learning:




Access to world
-
wide educational resources including museums and art galleries;



Communication a
nd collaboration between students and schools
;



Transfer of information between
students and
schools;



Educational and cultural exchanges between students world
-
wide;



Cultural, vocational, social and leisure use in libraries, clubs and at home;



Access to experts in many fields for students and staff;



Staff professional development through access to nationa
l developments, educational materials and good
curriculum practice;



Communication with support services, professional associations and colleagues;



Improved access to technical support including remote management of networks;



Exchange of curriculum and adm
inistration data with the LEA and DfES.







2






School Strategy



The school will employ a number of strategies in order to maximise learning opportunities and reduce risks associate
with the Internet. These strategies are as follows:


General




Internet
sessions

during lesson time

will always be supervised by a teacher.

Adult supervision will be in
place in the vicinity of student internet activity at breaktimes and other non
-
teaching times



Filtering software and /or equivalent systems will be used in or
der to minimise the risk of exposure to
inappropriate material.



The school will regularly monitor students’ Internet usage.



Students and teachers will be provided with training in the area of Internet safety.



Uploading and downloading of non
-
approved softw
are will not be permitted.



Virus protection software will be used and updated on a regular basis.



The use of personal
USB devices

in school requires a teacher’s permission.



Students will observe good “netiquette” (i.e., etiquette on the Internet) at all ti
mes and will not undertake
any actions that may bring the school into disrepute.



Supply teachers
are

not granted access to ICT.



F2

Using the
Internet in the Curriculum


Initially, students will be educated about the In
ternet, and its use, in

ICT lessons.

During these sessions students will
be taught research techniques including the use of subject
catalogues and search engines.
They should be
encouraged to question the validity, currency and origins of information
–

key information handling s
kills. They
should also use alternative sources of information for comparison purposes. They will also be educated to follow
sensible rules for personal safety. Internet access will be planned to enrich and extend learning activities. Access
levels will

be reviewed to reflect the curriculum requirements and age of stud
ents.
The Internet will also be used in
other subject areas in addition to ICT either directly or through resources located on the school
’s Virtual Learning
Environment (VLE).

The VLE will
provide access to specific curriculum resources with an identified learning o
utcome
and revision materials.
Interactive forums will offer the opportunity for learners to collaborate on school work and
access learning materials outside of the classroom wher
ever the
y have access to the Internet.
Use of the VLE will be
via an individual username and password and all students wi
ll receive an induction into it
s use.


F2

Risk Assessment of Internet Materials


As the quantity and breadth of the information availab
le through the Internet continues to grow The Heath School
realise that it is not possible to guard against every undesirable situation. However,
in common with other media
such as magazines, books and video, some material available via the Intern
et is un
suitable for students.
The school
will take all reasonable precautions to ensure that users acc
ess only appropriate material.
However, due to the
international scale and linked nature of Internet content, it is not possible to guarantee that unsuitable
material will
neve
r appear on a school computer.
Neither the school nor HBC can accept liability for the material accessed, or any
con
sequences of Internet access.
However, The Heath School will ensure that the methods used to identify, assess
and minimis
e ris
ks will be reviewed regularly.
Similarly, staff, parents, and HBC will work to establish agreement that
every reasonable measure is being taken.


World Wide Web




Students will not visit Internet sites that contain obscene, illegal, hateful or
otherwise objectionable
materials.



Students will use the Internet for educational purposes only.



Students will be familiar with copyright issues relating to online learning.



Students will never disclose or publicise personal information.

3







World Wide We
b

(Cont’)



Students will be aware that any usage, including distributing or receiving information, school
-
related or
personal, may be monitored for unusual activity, security and /or network management reasons.




Students will report any concerns or
inappropriate materials to their teacher or the supervising member of
staff.



Students will not engage in illegal file sharing, including exchange or distribution of copyrighted, illegal or
otherwise inappropriate material.


E
mail




Students will use approve
d class email accounts under supervision by or permission from a teacher.



Students will not send or receive any ma
terial that is illegal, obscene, defamatory

or that is intended to
upset,
annoy or intimidate another person.



Students will not reveal their
own or other people’s personal details, such as addresses or telephone
numbers or pictures.



Students will never arrange a face
-
to
-
face meeting with someone they only know through emails or the
Internet.



Students will note that sending and receiving email a
ttachments is subject to permission from their teacher.


Internet Chat




Students will only have access to chat rooms, discussion forums or other electronic communication forums
that have been approved by the school.



Chat rooms, discussion forums and other
electronic communication forums will only be used for educational
purposes and will always be supervised.



Usernames will be used to avoid disclosure of identity.



Face
-
to
-
face meetings with someone organised via Internet chat will be forbidden.


Mobile Inte
rnet Technologies




Students will only use mobile internet hardware e
.
g
.

laptops,

PDA’s,

webcams, digital cameras, under

supervision and for legitimate subject related learning.



Where students are issued with mobile technologies to support learning for a sp
ecific project these may be
subject to a separate home/school agreement.


Digital Media/Image Capture and Storage




The use of digital media to capture and transfer images (camera phones or PDA’s) is forbidden unless
authorised by a member of staff and
deemed appropriate technology for the planned learning activity.



No information, image or digital video footage, gathered within The Heath or at a Heath event, is

to be
posted onto the internet without permission from the Principal
. Images captured by sta
ff or students must
be used for an authorised purpose and not stored on personal devices.



The use of digital media as a form of evidence to assess learning may be used in curriculum areas
. This will
only be shared with the relevant assessment bodies.


School Computers/Network




User
s will

not install any software

without

explicit permission
.



User
s will

not engage in any activ
ity that compromises the security of the network.



Users
are to immediately report any damage or faults involving equipment or softw
are, however this may
have happened.




Users

will not try to obtain other peoples personal information or passwords or access confidential data
through hacking, use of malware or any other means.

4






Mobile Phone Protocol


The use of mobile phones is not allowed at The Heath
–

however, it is understood that some students may carry them
so that they can contact home after school. In this case the phone must be
switched off throughout the school day

including break and lunch
time and kept out of sight at all times. If parents wish to contact their child during the day
then they should phone school and a message will be passed to their child.


If a phone is seen or heard it will be
confiscated, taken to the front office, reco
rded, locked away

and returned on
Friday afternoon at 3.30 pm.

If a phone is confiscated on a Friday, it will be returned on the following Friday.

This protocol has become necessary due to problems arising from widespread use of mobile phones in schools
t
hroughout the country
.

These have included the spreading of illegally taken images, illegal videoing and cyber
-
bullying.
These can cause great distress in addition to the obvious interruption to teaching and learning.


School Website




Students will be giv
en the opportunity to publish projects, artwork or school work on the World Wide Web.



The publication of student work will be co
-
ordinated by a teacher.



Students’ work will appear in an educational context on Web pages with a copyright notice prohibiting t
he
copying of such work without express written permission.



Digital photographs, audio or video clips may be published on the school website as a record or celebration
of events.



Personal student information including home address and contact details will
be omitted from school web
pages.



Students will continue to own the copyright on any work published.


The school will inform students and parents of key support structures and organisations that deal with illegal
material or harmful use of the Internet.


V
irtual
L
earning
E
nvironment (VLE)




The VLE

(called IZONE)
will allow students access to an online portal where they can store work, access
curriculum resources and collaborate with other learners



Individual user accounts will be issued to students which
must be kept secure



All activity through the portal can be traced to individual accounts



The VLE can be accessed outside of school wherever an internet connection is available



Students should not post any comments that may be found offensive or
inappropriate on any areas of the
VLE



Ho
w will ICT system security be maintained?


The Heath School realise that it is important to review the security of the whole system, from user practice to
Internet service provider (ISP). At the simplest level,
occasional checks on user’s files, temporary Internet files and
history files can reveal potential mischief. A number of agencies can advise on systems security including LEA
support teams and suppliers. However, review of external agencies’ opinions on
systems security raises the
following issues for further discussion:


Local Area Network
(LAN)
security issues include:




The user must act reasonably. Loading non
-
approved software could cause major problems. Good
password practice is required including
logout after use.



Cabling should be secure and wireless LANs safe from interception.



Servers must be located securely and physical access restricted.



The server operating system must be secured to a high level.



Virus protection for the whole network must b
e installed and current.

5






Wide Area Network (WAN) security issues include:




All external connections must be assessed for security risks including the wide area network connection and
any modems staff may wish to use.



Firewalls and routers should be
configured to prevent unauthorised use of software such as FTP and Telnet
at the protocol level.



Decisions on security made by external agencies such as the LEA or ISP must be discussed with schools.
Third
-
party security testing should be considered.


The

Internet is a connection to the outside world that could compromise system performance or threaten user or
system security. The downloading of large files such as video and MP3 can comp
romise system performance. A
WAN

connection introduces further risks

such as students trying to access another school. However it also brings
the opportunity for industrial strength security in the form of hardware firewalls and the expertise to design and
operate them. Therefore:



The school ICT systems will be reviewed regularly with regard to security.



Virus protection will be installed and updated regularly.



E
-
Safe software is installed on the school network, this will track and monitor all student activity and will
protect agai
nst risks associated with internet use



Security strategies will be discussed with the LEA, particularly where a wide area network connection is
being planned.



Personal data sent over the Internet will be encrypted or otherwise secured.



Personal
USB device
s

may not be used in
school without specific permission
from the teacher
and a virus
check.



Unapproved system utilities and executable files will not be allowed in students’ work areas or attached to
e
-
mail.



Files held on the school’s network will be regul
arly checked.



The ICT co
-
ordinator/network manager will ensure that the system has the capacity to take increased traffic
caused by Internet use.


Handling Complaints


Responsibility for handling incidents will be given to a senior member of staff through
the faculty line manager
hierarchy in The Heath School. Students will be informed of the process and parents and students will work in
partnership to resolve any issue.


Any students found to be infringing the conditions laid down in the Conditions of Acc
eptable Use Protocol will be
initially referred to the Head of ICT and, subsequently, dealt with by the school’s sanctions procedures. Misuse of
the Internet may result in disciplinary action, including written warnings, withdrawal of access privileges an
d,

in
extreme cases exclusion
. The school also reserves the right to report any illegal activities to the appropriate
authorities.


Legislation


The school will provide information on the following legislation relating to use of the Internet which teachers
,
students and parents should familiarise themselves with:




Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003



Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998



Interception Act 1993



Video recordings Act 1989



The D
ata Protection Act 1988

6







Student
name _________________________
_____


Date of birth
_______________________


Student responsibility code

for all ICT, digital and electronic resources in school


As members of the school community we each have responsibility for our own behaviour and to recognise
that at times it
can impact on other people. Digital and electronic resources give huge opportunities for learning but in sharing network
and internet access all users must accept responsibility for their own behaviour so that all students are kept safe a
nd
within legal guidelines. The student responsibility code is a summary of what The Heath School considers to be student
responsibilities with regards e
-
safety but for full details of our policy please consult the Acceptable Use Protocol.


It is my respo
nsibility to:



Keep my username and password details secure and only known to me



Use computers, recording equipment, mobile devices and the internet specifically for the purpose of the lesson or
learning activity



Listen to the advice and instruction given b
y my teachers relating to all activities using ICT, digital and electronic
resources and follow those instructions



Avoid giving out my personal details or those of my friends online such as name, age, address etc.



Report any incidence of cyber
-
bullying, ag
ainst either myself or a friend to a teacher or mentor



Use the School network files and Learning Platform/VLE responsibly and make sure that school materials are not
downloaded or circulated elsewhere on the web



Protect the school network by not downloadin
g video, music, software or other inappropriate material onto
machines from the internet or from a portable disk drive



Inform people if I am filming or audio recording them in any way or where it is a group shot involving lots of
people to make sure that i
ndividuals are not individually identifiable



Make sure that I do not offend others by producing offensive materials which contain abusive, coercive,
defamatory, blasphemous, pornographic, obscene or racist language or images.



Ensure that all materials I us
e are within copyright laws, if I am not sure I must ask permission from the school



Make sure that my mobile phone is not switched on or visible during school hours unless I have been specifically
requested to use it for a learning activity by a teacher.
If my phone is seen or heard I understand that it will be
confiscated, taken to the f
ront office, recorded, locked away

and returned on Friday afternoon at 3.30 pm



Use school resources appropriately outside of timetabled lessons and always for school relat
ed activities



Inform my teachers or an adult that I trust if I encounter anything or if anyone approaches me or asks me to do
anything I am not comfortable with via digital or electronic means.


I accept the terms of the student responsibility code and
agree to abide by it:


Name of student
:

________________________________


Signed:

_______________________________
s
tudent



Date
:


___________________








7







S
taff responsibility code

for all ICT, digital and electronic resources in school


Digital and

electronic resources give huge opportunities for learning but in sharing network and internet access all users
must accept responsibility for their own behaviour so that all students and staff are kept safe and within legal guidelines.

The staff responsi
bility code is a summary of the key features of our policy but for full details please consult the Acceptable
Use Policy.


It is my responsibility to:



Keep my username and password details secure and only known to me.



Use the School network files and Learn
ing Platform/VLE responsibly and make sure that school materials are not
downloaded or circulated elsewhere on the web without agreement from the school.



Ensure that all digital images are stored on a shared drive



Protect the school network by not download
ing video, music, software or other inappropriate material onto
machines from the internet or from a portable disk drive and ensure that students I am responsible for or
supervising do the same



Use my laptop, school e
-
mail account and internet access for w
ork related purposes only except in the case of
designated break times when appropriate personal use is acceptable



Use school media equipment only for school related purposes



Use
only
school
owned hardware

to capture images of students



When publishing wor
k on the internet make sure that only the first name of the student is used



Ensure that no student or other unauthorised person has access to confidential files or information stored on my
laptop



Inform people if I am filming or audio recording them in any

way or where it is a group shot involving lots of
people to make sure that individuals are not individually identifiable



Control levels of access to any resources I personally upload to the VLE according to the age and ability levels of
the students they
are aimed at



Make sure that I do not offend others by producing offensive materials which contain abusive, coercive,
defamatory, blasphemous, pornographic, obscene or racist language or images.



Ensure that I do not seek out materials in the categories abov
e using my staff laptop or internet access



Ensure that all materials I use are within copyright laws, if I am not sure I must ask permission from the school



Make myself aware of the protocols relating to cyber
-
bullying and child protection related to inter
net and use of
digital media



Inform my line manager if something I am concerned about occurs during a lesson or whilst students are using
digital and electronic equipment



Keep all data secure which could identify a child through a combination of their nam
e with date of birth, address,
phone number etc and where I have a work related requirement to download this data to use an encrypted
memory stick available to borrow from the Systems Manager.


I accept the terms of the staff responsibility code and agree
to abide by it.


Name: __________________________________


Date: _____________


Signature:________________________________


To be returned to Trish Jordan in the office







8







Staff
–

Internet Usage


Staff will be responsibl
e for all web content viewed fro
m their appointed workstation.


The following uses are considered unacceptable:


Illegal Activities


Staff will not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any other computer system through or go beyond the school
authorised access account. This includes
attempting to log in through another person’s account or access another
person’s files. These actions are illegal, even if only for the purpose of “browsing”.


System Security


Staff
are to seek advice when downloading programmes or files from the ICT
co
-
ordinator. All Internet access logs will be
reviewed daily and may, at a later date, be regularly published to the administration intranet for whole staff consumption.
All E
-
mail sent via the administration E
-
mail system (i.e. heathschool.org.uk) will

be monitored.


Inappropriate Language


Restrictions against Inappropriate Language apply to public messages, private messages and material posted on Web
pages. When acting in an official capacity on behalf of the school, or using the school e
-
mail
accounts, the following points
are to be noted.




Staff will not use obscene, profane, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening or disrespectful language.



Staff will not post information that could cause damage or a danger of disruption.



Staff will not engag
e in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks.



Staff will not harass another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys
another person.



Staff will not knowingly or recklessly post false or defam
atory information about a person or organisation.


Respect for Privacy




Staff will not repost a message that was sent to you privately without permission of the person who sent you the
message.



Staff will not post private information about another person.



Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement


Staff
need to be aware of copyright laws with regards to information on the World Wide Web. The same precautions are
to be taken with information from the World Wide Web as those of print. When in doubt, contact th
e Webmaster of the
site you seek information from.


Inappropriate Access to Material

You will not use administration workstations to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography), that advocates
illegal acts, or that advocates violence or discri
mination towards other people (hate literature). A special exception may be
made for hate literature if the purpose of your access is to contact research.





9







Due Process


The school will co
-
operate fully with local officials in any investigation related

to any illegal activities conducted through
the school system.



Working
with Children


Under no circumstances should a pupil be allowed to use an administration workstation.


Non
-
Work Related Material


During designated break periods and only designated break periods the administration workstations may be used to access
non
-
work related material (as long as it does not contradict any of the previous rules).


I have read an
d understood the above document
.


Signed: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….


Print
name : …………………………………………………………………………………………………


Date: ……………………………………………………….


Return to Trish Jordan who will maintain this declaration as evidence of your acceding to the internet usage policy