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ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

Acceptable Use Policy (Draft)

SOUTH SHIELDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

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ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

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ACC EPTABLE USE POLI CY RATIONALE In order that all school stakeholders receive the best possible education and protection whilst using ICT and connection to the internet, the school will implement a policy to: support the school aim of providing a pleasant and safe environment for all who learn and are employed in the school put measures into place in order to prevent computer misuse - only then will we feel confident that we have taken all reasonable steps to protect the children in our charge. provide protection for staff, for pupils for visitors by clarifying what is and what is not allowed The Internet can be used by pupils of all ages, by staff and by managers. Home Internet use is increasing and it is becoming an important part of learning and communication during leisure time. However, the Internet is managed by a worldwide collaboration of independent agencies and serves mainly an adult audience. Without appropriate measures, access to unsuitable materials would be possible and security compromised. An Acceptable Use Policy will help to ensure that Internet use supports our schools’ education aims, and our responsibilities to pupils are met

AIMS For Staff, Students and Visitors The computer system is owned by South Shields Community School and may be used by students to further their education and by staff to enhance their professional activities including teaching, research, administration and management. The school’s Acceptable Use Policy has been drawn up to protect all parties – the pupils, the staff, visitors, and the school. The school reserves the right to examine or delete any files that may be held on its computer system or to monitor or observe any person who is logged on to the system. Staff and students requesting Internet access will be issued with a copy of the acceptable use policy. All Internet activity should be appropriate to staff professional activity or the student’s education;

Access should only be made via the authorised account and password, which should not be made available to any other person;

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Activity that threatens the integrity of the school ICT systems, or activity that attacks or corrupts others systems, is forbidden;

Users are responsible for all E-mail sent and for contacts made that may result in E-mail being received;

Use for personal financial gain, gambling, political purposes or advertising is forbidden;

Copyright of materials must be respected;

Posting anonymous messages and forwarding chain letters is forbidden;

Use of the network to access inappropriate materials such as pornographic, racist, or offensive material is forbidden.

As E-mail can be forwarded or inadvertently be sent to the wrong person, the same professional levels of language and content should be applied as for letters or other media;

Laptops

Laptops for teachers are the property of the school and should be treated like any other SSCS computer.

The user is responsible for ensuring the privacy and security of data held on any laptop and for ensuring the integrity of such data by keeping antivirus software up to date, as a minimum.

The laptop should not be used by third parties by family members or be used as a games machine. It should not be loaned out to third parties. It should be keep in a secure location at all times, whether on or off the school site.

Connection of the laptop to the Internet makes it highly susceptible to interference from outside and this should be borne in mind when using it to browse the web. Laptops containing sensitive student data can easily be compromised by connection to any network, but particularly to the Internet, and this data cold be procured by any third party via an Internet connection or perhaps a home wireless network.

School laptops should not be connected to a third party wireless broadband connection without that party’s knowledge and/or permission. Doing so is a very serious matter and could lead to civil action.

Laptops brought into school for repair by technicians will be subject to scrutiny if found to contain any virus or suspicious software or document, including dubious images. Any unsuitable content or usage discovered will be reported to the SLT in the first instance.

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Peer to peer software must not be installed on any SSCS laptop e.g. limewire, kazza, or illegal Napster-type music sharing sites.

The school reserves the right to audit any laptop on demand and report any findings related to misuse e.g. pornography or illegal software, to any relevant authority.

Staff who terminate their employment or are on long term sick leave should return their laptop to the School ensuring that any personal data has been backed up and or removed

Protecting Computers from Theft

All doors are locked when classroom is not in use

All computer equipment is security marked

Teacher in charge checks equipment at the end of each lesson.

Borrowing Hardware – Any member of staff wishing to borrow a computer for use at home during school time will need to follow the school procedures and obtain permission from their line manager and sign the computer out in the main reception.

Staff or pupils using a laptop will sign for the safety and security of that laptop.

Physical and Electronic Vandalism Machines are protected from electronic damage, through the use of anti-virus software. The machines are therefore regularly scanned and any disks brought into the department from outside are also checked before use. ICT facilities are protected from physical damage through the teacher in charge checking the equipment at the end of each lesson.

Health and Safety Suitable lighting is maintained in all ICT rooms. All seating will have backs. South Shields Community School believes that the educational benefits of Internet access far outweigh the possible risks and that good planning and management will ensure appropriate and effective pupil use.

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Why is Internet access important? The purpose of Internet access in schools is to raise educational standards, to support the professional work of staff and to enhance the school’s management information and business administration systems. Access to the Internet is a necessary tool for staff and entitlement for students who show a responsible and mature approach. It should be noted that the use of a computer system without permission or for a purpose not agreed to by the school could constitute a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Relevant legislation access is provided at the end of this document.

Benefits to the school:

Access to worldwide educational resources including museums and art galleries;

Inclusion in government initiative such as NGfL (National Grid for Learning)

Information and cultural exchanges between students world-wide;

News and current events;

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

Discussion with experts in many fields for pupils and staff;

Staff professional development - access to educational materials and good curriculum practice;

Communication with the advisory and support services, professional associations and colleagues;

Exchange of curriculum and administration data with the LEA and DfEE.

How will the risks be assessed? In common with other media such as magazines, books and video, some material available via the Internet is unsuitable for pupils. The school will supervise pupils and take all reasonable precautions to ensure that users access only appropriate material. However, due to the international scale and linked nature of information available via the Internet, it is not possible to guarantee that particular types of material will never appear on a terminal. Therefore South Shields Community School cannot accept liability for the material accessed, or any consequences thereof.

Methods to quantify and minimise the risk will be reviewed;

Staff, parents, governors and advisers will work to establish agreement that every reasonable measure is being taken;

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The Head teacher will ensure that the policy is implemented effectively.

How will Internet access be authorised?

Internet access is a necessary part of planned lessons. It is entitlement for pupils based on the Acceptable Use Policy;

Access to the Internet can be by teacher or adult demonstration rather than the open Internet;

Internet access can be granted to a whole class as part of the scheme of work, after a suitable introduction to the rules for responsible Internet use;

Parents will be informed that pupils will be provided with supervised Internet access where it is important to their education (see appendix letter);

Staff and pupils will be removed from the record when access is no longer required. The school may decide to record permission for access on a whole-class basis.

HOW WILL THE SECURITY OF THE SCHOOL ICT SYSTEM BE MAINTAINED? The Internet is a connection to the outside world that could compromise system performance or threaten security.

The security of the whole system will be reviewed with regard to threats to security from Internet access;

Virus protection will be installed and updated regularly;

Use of floppy disks and other devices will be reviewed. Personal floppy disks and other devices may not be brought into school without specific permission and a virus check;

Use of Mobile Devices Example of devices: Any Usb device, MP3 players, Mobile Phones. South Shields Community School does not prohibit the use of mobile devices on the regional network. However, users should note the following items. These examples are for clarification. They are not exclusive.

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Any mobile device must be checked for viruses and spam content before being attached to the school network.

Mobile devices must not be used to take photographs or sound clips of any person who is unaware of the action and who has not given their permission.

Any use of mobile technology to intimidate, bully, harass or threaten others will be counted as an infringement of network use. This may result in disconnection from the network or legal or civil disciplinary action. Uploading images and sound is only permissible if the subject involved gives permission.

Any images that involve children must not identify children by name and permission must have been agreed by the relevant parent / carer before posting. A record should be made of who will be taking the photos, why the photos are being taken, when they are being taken and what they are to be used for. This should all be documented in the risk assessment carried out before a school trip or event. The photos should then be stored in a safe area within the school LAN and only used for legitimate educational purposes as directed by the Headteacher.

USE OF VIDEO CONFERENCING ACROSS THE REGIONAL NETWORK The regional broadband network facilitates effective video conferencing. As an educational tool, this system has many benefits. However, to ensure effective safety, schools are recommended to use the following:

Always book the VC ( video conferencing) session via the national booking system. This ensures that you will be connected to the correct end user and that the session is monitored.

Always use VC in a public place. Do not leave pupils or young people unattended during a live VC event.

Report any misuse of VC to your school E-Safety officer and to the Northern Grid for Learning.

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REPORTING ACCIDENTAL ACCESS TO INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL Like any online service, it is impossible to guarantee that there will never be accidental access to inappropriate or offensive material. Any user of the South Shields Community School network who accidentally comes across inappropriate or offensive material should do the following:

Inform the school’s E-Safety officer (J Burdon) of the incident and give the website address.

Ask the E-Safety officer to log the web address, time and username in the school web log book.

The school’s E-Safety officer should ring the Easynet school support helpdesk – tel. no 0845 333 4568 and report the web address asking for an investigation as to whether the website should be permanently blocked.

If Easynet decide that the website is not sufficiently inappropriate for permanent blocking, the school should block the website via its own CachePilot or other proxy server.

REPORTING ACCIDENTAL ACCESS TO ILLEGAL MATERIAL Any User of the Northern Grid Network who accidentally comes across illegal material should do the following:

Report the incident to the Senior ICT Technician or Head of Support Services

Do not show anyone the content or make public the URL

Make sure a reference is made of the incident in a log-book

Go to the IWF website at www.iwf.gov.uk and click the report button

If reporting a URL do not use copy and paste, type the URL

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REPORTING SUSPECTED DELIBERATE ABUSE OR MISUSE Any person suspecting another of deliberate misuse or abuse of the South Shields Community School broadband network should take the following action:

Report in confidence to the school E-Safety officer or head teacher of the school.

The head teacher should inform the Local Authority.

The Local Authority should complete an internal Reporting form, requiring Northern Grid to complete an internal investigation.

If this investigation results in confirmation of access to illegal materials or the committing of illegal acts, Northern Grid will inform the relevant police authority who will complete their own investigations.

If the investigation confirms that inappropriate behaviour has occurred, Northern Grid will inform the relevant authority. This may be the Local Authority or the School’s Board of Governors.

In exceptional circumstances, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a user has committed a serious criminal offence, the police will be informed and a criminal prosecution may follow.

Examples of Inappropriate Use:

Visiting pornographic sites (adult top shelf materials)

Causing offence to religious groups

Inappropriate use of email

Deliberate sabotage of the network; i.e. hacking, mail bombing etc.

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ACCESS TO ILLEGAL MATERIAL If this investigation results in confirmation of access to illegal materials or the committing of illegal acts, Northern Grid or Easynet will inform the relevant police authority that will complete their own investigations and a criminal investigation may follow. .

Examples of Illegal Acts:

Accessing any child abuse images.

Incitement to racial hatred

Incitement to violence

Software media counterfeiting or illegitimate distribution of copied software.

DECISION TO ADVISE THE POLICE FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION On the facts that are immediately available, a decision will be taken whether to refer the matter to the Police for criminal investigation. This does not preclude the matter being referred to the Police at any later stage when a formal investigation has been undertaken. Where South Shields Community School are approached by an officer in an Local Authority or any public body and asked to provide evidence or monitoring of a suspected site the following rules will apply.

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HOW WILL THE SCHOOL ENSURE INTERNET USE PROVIDES EFFECTIVE LEARNING? Teachers and pupils need to learn how best to use this tool for teaching and learning.

Internet access will be planned to enrich and extend learning activities as an integrated aspect of the curriculum;

Pupils will be given clear objectives for Internet use;

Pupils will be provided with lists of relevant and suitable web sites;

Pupils will be educated in taking responsibility for Internet access;

Pupils will be informed that checks can be made on files held on the system;

Pupils using the Internet will be supervised appropriately;

Internet access will be purchased from a supplier that provides a service designed for pupils. This will include filtering appropriate to the age of pupils;

HOW WILL PUPILS BE TAUGHT TO ASSESS INTERNET CONTENT? ICT teaching should be widened to incorporate Internet content issues, for instance the value and credibility of Web materials in relationship to other media.

Pupils will be taught to validate information before accepting it as true;

When copying materials from the web, pupils will observe copyright;

Pupils will be made aware that the writer of an E-mail or the author of a Web page may not be the person claimed;

Pupils will be taught to expect a wider range of content, both in level and in audience, than is found in the school library or on TV;

Pupils will be encouraged to tell a teacher immediately if they encounter any material that makes them feel uncomfortable.

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HOW WILL E-MAIL BE MANAGED? Internet communication is essential. Because of the simplicity and low cost of E-mail, care needs to be taken that the consequences to the school and the pupil of messages are appreciated. Pupils are expected to use E-mail as part of the National Grid for Learning Initiative; When each pupils has their own e-mail address it assumes a high level of trust and pupils will be asked to sign the Acceptable Use Statement

You may not send e-mail to any user who does not wish to receive it. Northern Grid recognises that e-mail is an informal medium. However, users must refrain from sending further e-mail to a user after receiving a request to stop. Chain letters are unsolicited by definition and may not be propagated using the Service.

You may not send, distribute, or reply to mailbombs. Mailbombing is defined as either e-mailing copies of a single message to many users, or sending large or multiple files or messages to a single user with malicious intent.

You may not use false email headers or alter the headers of e-mail messages to conceal their e-mail address or to prevent Internet users from responding to messages. You may not use any email address that you are not authorised to use. All Northern Grid business must be conducted using the supplied Northern Grid email address. Private email addresses are inappropriate for business use.

Violations of email use outlined in this document can sometimes result in massive numbers of e-mail responses. If employees receive so much e-mail that the Northern Grid WAN (wide are network) or any associated service is affected, we will request Easynet to shut down that employees’ account.

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HOW WILL PUBLISHING ON THE WEB BE MANAGED?

The point of contact on the Web site will be the school address and telephone number. Home information or individual E-mail identities will not be published;

Photographs of identifiable individual pupils will not be published on the Web site. Group photographs should not have a name list attached.

HOW WILL THE SCHOOL ENSURE INTERNET ACCESS IS APPROPRIATE AND SAFE? Pupils in school are unlikely to see inappropriate content in books due to selection by publisher and teacher. The Internet is a communications medium and is freely available to any person wishing to send E-mail or publish a Web site. Staff will need to ensure that access is appropriate to the user. Staff will check that the sites selected for pupil use are appropriate to the age and maturity of pupils.

UNLAWFUL AND ILLEGAL USE All material, which depicts the abuse of children and young people is illegal. Other illegal material includes race hatred and incitement to violence. These are not exclusive categories. There may be other information that is deemed to be illegal. Accidental access to material, which may be classed as illegal, should be reported to the Internet Watch Foundation

If you receive images, which you believe could be illegal it is imperative that you make no attempt to investigate the content. A log reference should be made to show that there is suspicion of inappropriate or illegal material. The logbook is kept in the ICT office. This log reference is to protect you from any suspicion for having potential illegal material

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in your possession. Once this log has been made the URL if appropriate should be reported to the Internet Watch Foundation –

www.iwf.org.uk. This must be done by typing the URL address into the report not by copy and paste. It is possible to accidentally open a link so care must be taken.

If the content is an image in the body of an email close the email and make a log reference. A report should be made to the IWF. They will advise what to do next.

Under no circumstances forward the email, copy the image or show it to another person, as each of these actions constitutes an illegal offence. The IWF are licensed to investigate, you are not.

UNLAWFUL AND ILLEGAL USE PURPOSES The South Shields Community School Network and associated services may be used for lawful purposes only. As a user of this Service you agree not to use the Service to send or receive materials or data, which :

Is in breach of any other rights or has any fraudulent purpose of effect.

In violation of any law or regulation

Is which is defamatory, offensive, abusive, indecent, obscene

Which constitutes harassment

Is in breach of confidence, privacy, trade secrets

Is in breach of any third party Intellectual Property rights (including copyright)

Is in breach of any other rights or has any fraudulent purpose of effect.

You are prohibited from storing, distributing, transmitting or permitting the storage distribution or transmission (whether intentionally or otherwise) of, any unlawful material through the Service.

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Examples of unlawful material include:

Direct threats of physical harm

Child abuse images

Incitement to racial hatred

Copyrighted, trademarked and other proprietary material used without proper authorization

You may not post, upload or otherwise distribute or permit the posting, uploading or distribution (whether intentionally or otherwise) of copyrighted material on our servers without the consent of the copyright holder. In the event of South Shields Community School becoming aware of any breach of this clause, South Shields Community School may take action. The storage, distribution, or transmission of unlawful materials could also lead to UK authorities alleging criminal liability.

INAPPROPRIATE USE Inappropriate use of the network includes accessing or having possession of material that is thought to be offensive such as, adult pornography of any level, content of an obscene, indecent and/or abusive nature.

HOW WILL COMPLAINTS BE HANDLED? Prompt action will be required if a complaint is made. The facts of the case will need to be established, for instance it is possible that the issue has arisen through home Internet use of by contacts outside school.

Responsibility for handling incidents will be given to a senior member of staff;

Pupils and parents will be informed of the procedure;

Parents and pupils will need to work in partnership with staff to resolve any issue.

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As with drug issues, there may be occasions when the police must be contacted.

Early contact will be made to establish the legal position and discuss strategies;

If staff or pupils discover unsuitable sites, the URL (address) and content will be reported to the Internet Service Provider;

Any material that the school suspect is illegal will be referred to the Internet Watch Foundation (see appendix);

Sanctions available include interview by head of year and, if appropriate, informing parents or carers;

A pupil may have Internet or computer access denied for a period;

Denial of access could include all schoolwork held on the system, including any examination work.

HOW WILL STAFF, PUPILS AND PARENTS BE KEPT INFORMED? It is very important that staff feel prepared for Internet use and agree with the school Acceptable Use Policy. Staff should be given opportunities to discuss the issues and develop good teaching strategies. It would be most unfair if staff, particularly supply staff, were asked to take charge of an Internet activity without training. Reassurance and discussion may be required.

All staff including teachers, supply staff, classroom assistants and support staff, will be provided with the Internet Access Policy, and its importance explained;

Parents’ attention will be drawn to the Policy in newsletters, the school brochure and on the school Web site;

How will parents’ support be enlisted? Internet use in pupils’ homes is rapidly increasing, encouraged by offers of free software and access on magazine covers. Unless parents are aware of the dangers, pupils may have unrestricted access to the Internet.

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RULES FOR RESPONSIBLE INTERNET USE The school has installed computers with Internet access to help our learning. These rules will keep you safe and help us be fair to others.

I will only access the system with my own login and password, which I will keep secret;

I will not access others people’s files’

I will use the computers for school work and homework;

I will not bring in floppy disks/USB from outside school unless I have been given permission;

I will ask permission from a member of staff before using the Internet;

I will only E-mail people I know, or my teacher has approved;

The messages I send will be polite and responsible;

I will not give my home address or telephone number, or arrange to meet someone, unless my parent, carer or teacher has given permission;

I will report any unpleasant material or messages sent to me. I understand this report would be confidential and would help protect other pupils and myself;

I understand that the school may check my computer files and may monitor the Internet sites I visit.

G E N E R A L P R I N C I P L E S R E L AT E D TO L E A R N I N G P L AT F O R M S . This code of conduct refers specifically to South Shields Community School’s Virtual Learning Environment ("VLE") or otherwise known as "SHIRELANDLpPlus" but the general principles involved apply to all electronic communications systems supplied by the School and apply to staff and students alike.

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Using the VLE 1. The School uses a VLE system known as “SHIRELAND�. The VLE does not only contain learning and teaching materials and links to outside resources, it is also a communication system. These communication facilities include email function, discussion boards for asynchronous communication as well as chat for synchronous communication. 2. All SHIRELAND users should be aware that comments made in any of the interactive areas reflect not only on themselves but also on South Shields Community School as an institution. The VLE's communication facilities should not be used to bring the School into disrepute. 3. Virtual communication and discussion "in cyberspace" are taking place in a social environment. Normal rules of social interaction apply and the remoteness of the recipients must not be used as an excuse to behave in an anti-social manner and post unacceptable messages. Examples of such anti-social behaviour include: a. Harassment or intimidation of another user. b. Person to person aggression in asynchronous or synchronous communication (e.g. discussion boards or chat). 4. Contributions to discussion boards and synchronous chat are regarded as the intellectual property of the authors. If they are to be quoted by another person in a publication (electronic or printed) acknowledgment must be given. Work undertaken by members of staff in the course of employment are owned by the employing institution. 5. Where the contribution of any SHIRELAND user to a discussion board or synchronous chat incorporates material of which that user is not the author, proper acknowledgement to the author of that material shall be given in the contribution. 6. SHIRELAND users should not contribute to a synchronous or asynchronous discourse unless their contribution furthers the aims of that particular discussion forum or chat session and is in the spirit of the discourse. 7. Personal comments about other users and their views should not be placed in any synchronous or asynchronous communication areas that are viewable by other users. 8. Copying private messages to another person without the author's explicit permission is a breach of confidentiality. The VLE's communication facilities are provided by South Shields Community School for students, staff, parents and governors to discuss issues of academic and general SOUTH SHIELDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL


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interest, and to take part in virtual communication within the confines of a module or course, delivered party or exclusively on SHIRELAND.

Code of Conduct All registered users on the Shireland VLE are required to sign up to the code of conduct when they log on for the first time. They must accept the conditions set out below in order to access any material. If you have any questions about these conditions, please contact your VLE administrator. Please note these conditions apply to the whole duration of your time at South Shields Community School.

Security Each individual is responsible for the security and use of their username and password. You are not allowed to use the account, username or password of any other user. You must not disclose your Username or password to anyone else.

Communication When using the VLE's communication facilities you must: • • •

Respect other people's views and beliefs. Only post comments which are appropriate to the particular discussion. Remember that you are conversing with real people and not with a screen name in cyberspace.

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This will enable you to enjoy your interaction with fellow students and your teachers in a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment. When using the VLE’s communication facilities YOU MUST NOT: • • •

• • •

Post anything abusive, defamatory, obscene or otherwise illegal. Copy or forward e-mail or any other private messages without permission. Include material which is confidential or the copyright of which is owned by someone else, unless you have first obtained permission. Post material which contains viruses or other programs which may disrupt the School’s systems. Post any advertising or promotional material. Behave in an impolite or offensive manner.

South Shields Community School reserves the right to remove, vary or amend any of the content which appears on the VLE at any time and without prior notice. When submitting postings or assignments within the VLE you must give due acknowledgement for material quoted from other sources, both within the VLE and elsewhere.

Copyright Copyright of the study material and all other content of this VLE are owned or controlled by the ShirelandLpPlus. You are permitted to view, copy, and print documents within this VLE subject to your agreement that: •

Your use of the material is for your own personal information and for non-commercial purposes only.

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You will not modify the documents or graphics in any form or manner. You will not copy or distribute graphics separately from their accompanying text and you will not quote materials out of their context.

Information we collect In order to use the VLE you must have ‘cookies enabled’ on your web browser. By accepting these conditions you agree to allow certain information about you to be collected from the VLE (see below). We collect your information by cookies. Cookies are small file structures used by your VLE to 'request' information from the computer you are using. This information is then returned to the VLE and stored. The types of information we collect may include usage statistics e.g. when users last logged into the system, when they accessed certain activities, or when they uploaded their assignments We use this information to help improve the VLE services by ensuring that the material and content of the courses accord with the users' requirement and also to make sure users are not having problems with access. The usage statistics are only visible to the VLE administrators

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Data Protection South Shields Community School will deal with your personal data in accordance with the principles set out in the Data Protection Act. In general, any personal information which you provide to South Shields Community School will only be used within South Shields Community School and by its service providers and will not be disclosed to any other person.

Disclaimer Whilst South Shields Community School will endeavour to ensure that this VLE site is normally available 24 hours a day, the School will not be liable if for any reason the site is unavailable at any time or for any period. Access to this site may be suspended temporarily and without notice in circumstances of system failure, maintenance or repair or for reasons beyond the control of South Shields Community School. This VLE may contain links to other websites outside the School's control; South Shields Community School is not responsible for the content of these sites. South Shields Community School gives no guarantee that these links will work all of the time and it exercises no control over the availability of the linked sites. Likewise, references and links to any such websites must not be taken as an endorsement by the School of opinions expressed or services provided at those sites. South Shields Community School takes no responsibility for the privacy policies of any linked websites. SOUTH SHIELDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL


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SAMPLE LETTER TO PARENTS November 2007 Dear Parents Responsible Use of the Internet As part of pupils’ curriculum enhancement and the development of ICT skills, South Shields Community School is providing supervised access to the Internet. Pupils will be able to exchange electronic mail with partner schools and research information from museums, libraries, news providers and suitable Web sites as part of their programme of learning. Although there have been concerns about pupils having access to undesirable materials, we are taking positive steps to deal with that possibility. We have purchased our Internet access from an educational supplier that operates a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate materials. All our screens are in public view and, as stated above, access will be supervised. Should you wish to discuss any aspect of Internet use (or to see a lesson in operation) please telephone me to arrange an appointment. I enclose a copy of the Rules for Responsible Internet Use that we operate at South Shields Community School. We also have a number of leaflets from national bodies that explain issues further and also cover Internet use at home. Yours sincerely

South Shields Community School

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DISCLAIMER South Shields Community School will endeavour, wherever possible, to provide a safe and secure environment for its users. However, users must be aware that we cannot guarantee complete safety from inappropriate material. All personnel must be aware of sites being accessed and report any inappropriate material immediately to the named personnel who will log the incident and start the appropriate investigation. NB: Any visitors to South Shields Community School who wish to use the Internet or send emails must complete a temporary AUP. It is the individual members of staff’s responsibility to ensure that visitors are made aware of and complete the AUP. Individual members of staff should countersign the temporary AUP confirming that their visitor has understood this document.

Relevant legislation The following are a list of Acts that apply to the use of South Shields Community School Network and Associated equipment

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

Computers’ Misuse Act 1990

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Sex Discrimination Act 1975

Race Relations Act 1976

Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Obscene Publications Act 1959

Telecommunications Act 1984

Protection of Children Act 1978

Criminal Justice Act 1988

Data Protection Act 1998

The Patents Act 1977

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Defamation Act 1996

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Human Rights

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Draft policy to staff

September 2007

Draft policy to Governors

March 08

Agreed by Governors Premises and Environment cttee

June 08

Review Date

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