SCOIL NAOMH BUADÁIN
Mill Lane, Culdaff, Co. Donegal.
www.stbodensns.ie Ph: (074) 9379179
Internet
Acceptable Use Policy
Aim
The aim of this Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is to ensure that pupils will benefit from learning opportunities offered by the school’s Internet resource in a safe and effective manner. Internet use and access is considered a school resource and privilege. Therefore, if the school AUP is not adhered to this privilege will be withdrawn and appropriate sanctions – as outlined in the AUP – will be imposed.
It is envisaged that school and parent representatives will revise the AUP annually. Before signing, the AUP should be read carefully to ensure that the conditions of use are accepted and understood.
This version of the AUP was created in September 2016 and by the school principal, the school’s ICT steering committee, staff, parents and Board of Management, in consultation with the National Council for Technology in Education (NCTE).
School’s Strategy
The school employs a number of strategies in order to maximise learning opportunities and reduce risks associated with the Internet. These strategies are as follows:
General
- Internet sessions will always be supervised by a teacher.
- Filtering software and/or equivalent systems will be used in order to minimise the risk of exposure to inappropriate material. Our filtering system is provided by Bulldog Anti-virus software.
- The school will regularly monitor pupils’ Internet usage.
- Cyberbullying of any kind will NOT be tolerated and will be treated in the strongest terms according to our Code of Discipline Policy.
- Teachers will be trained and students will be taught lessons in the area of Internet safety.
- Parents can access advice on safe internet usage by visiting www.webwise.ie
- Uploading and downloading of non-approved software will not be permitted.
- Virus protection software will be used and updated on a regular basis.
- The use of personal floppy disks, memory sticks, CD-ROMs, or other digital storage media in school requires a teacher’s permission.
- Students will treat others with respect at all times and will not undertake any actions that may bring the school into disrepute.
- The class teacher will explain the rules to the children before they use the internet.
- Children will be instructed as to what sites they can visit before each computer lesson.
World Wide Web
- Students will not intentionally visit Internet sites that contain obscene, illegal, hateful or otherwise objectionable materials.
- Students will report accidental accessing of inappropriate materials in accordance with school procedures.
- Students from first class to sixth class will only be allowed to use the internet and this must be with written parental consent.
- Students will use the Internet for educational purposes only.
- Students will not copy information into assignments and fail to acknowledge the source (plagiarism and copyright infringement).
- Students will never disclose or publicise personal information.
- Downloading materials or images not relevant to their studies, is in direct breach of the school’s acceptable use policy.
- 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.
Email
- Students will use approved class email accounts under supervision by or permission from a teacher.
- Students will not send or receive any material that is illegal, obscene, defamatory or material that is intended to 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 attachments is subject to permission from their teacher.
- Students will only have access to chat rooms, discussion forums, messaging or electronic communications systems that have been approved by the school and will be used for educational purposes only.
- Usernames will be used to avoid disclosure of identity.
- Face-to-face meetings with someone organised via Internet chat will be strictly forbidden.
School Website
The school website is www.stbodensns.ie
- Pupils will be given the opportunity to publish projects, video, podcasts, photographs, artwork or school work on the World Wide Web in accordance with clear policies and approval processes regarding the content that can be loaded to the school’s website.
- The website will be regularly checked to ensure that there is no content that compromises the safety of pupils or staff.
- Website using facilities such as guestbooks, noticeboards or weblogs will be checked frequently to ensure that they do not contain personal details
- The publication of student work will be co-ordinated by a teacher.
- Photographs, video clips and voice recordings of the children will be uploaded to the school’s website. These will not contain personal details.
- The school will endeavour to use digital photographs, audio and video clips focusing on group activities. Content focusing on individual students will not contain personal details of the child in question.
- Personal pupil information including home address and contact details will be omitted from school web pages.
- The school website will avoid publishing the first name and last name of individuals in a photograph.
- The school will ensure that the image files are appropriately named – will not use pupils’ names in image file names or ALT tags if published on the web.
- Pupils will continue to own the copyright on any work published.
Personal Devices
Pupils are not permitted to bring in any electronic devices into the school without the permission of their class teacher.
Pupils using their own technology in school, leaving a mobile phone turned on, sending nuisance text messages, or the unauthorized taking of images with a mobile phone camera, still or moving, is in direct breach of the school’s acceptable use policy.
Support Structures
The school will inform students and parents of key support structures and organisations that deal with illegal material or harmful use of the Internet.
Sanctions
Misuse of the internet, email, school website or blogs will result in disciplinary action in accordance with our school’s Code of Discipline Policy.
Review
This Acceptable Use Policy will be ratified by the Board of Management in 2018. It is to be reviewed annually, by the ICT coordinators, teachers, principal, parents and the Board of Management.