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Policy Name: ONLINE SAFETY POLICY
Original: May 2017 (Reviewed: October 2018)
Author: Head Teachers Leadership Group
Date ratified by the Trust Board: 25 October 2018
Date for review: October 2019
Publish on Trust website: Yes
Publish on Academy websites: Yes
Signed:
Chair of Directors
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ONLINE SAFETY POLICY
(Acceptable use Agreements for the internet and other technologies)
Introduction
As part of the Every Child Matters agenda set out by the government, the Education Act 2002
and the Children’s Act 2004, it is the duty of each academy to ensure that children and young
people are protected from potential harm both within and beyond the academy environment.
Therefore, the involvement of children, young people and parent/carers is also vital to the
successful use of online technologies. Our academies reserve the right to take action and report
inappropriate behaviour to the police.
Aims
This policy aims to explain how parents/carers, children or young people can be a part of these
safeguarding procedures. It also details how children and young people are educated to be safe
and responsible users capable of making good judgements about what they see, find and use.
The term ‘online-safety’ is used to encompass the safe use of all technologies in order to protect
children, young people and adults from potential and known risks.
Each academy will:
emphasise the need to educate staff, children and young people about the pros and cons
of using new technologies both within and outside school
provide safeguards and agreement for acceptable use to guide all users, whether staff or
student, in their online experiences
ensure adults are clear about procedures for misuse of any technologies both within and
beyond the school
develop links with parents/carers and the wider community, ensuring input into policies
and procedures with continued awareness of the benefits and potential issues related to
technologies
“The internet and the use of social media in particular has become a major factor in the
radicalisation of young people.” (KCSIE, 2015)
As academies, we are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security
Act 2015, in the exercise of our functions to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from
being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent duty. The Prevent duty
complements other key documents, guidance and advice including: Keeping children safe in
education; Working together to safeguard children; Statutory Framework for the Early Years
Foundation Stage - setting the standards for learning, development and care from birth to five.
Our key aim is to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and ensure that we have the
appropriate support mechanisms in place in order to protect children from this risk.
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Roles and Responsibilities
Governors/Headteachers
It is the overall responsibility of the Headteacher with the Governors of each academy to ensure
that there is an overview of online-safety as part of the wider remit of safeguarding across the
academy, with further responsibilities as follows:
The Headteacher has designated an Online-Safety Lead to implement agreed policies,
procedures, staff training, curriculum requirements and take responsibility for ensuring online-
safety is addressed in order to establish a safe learning environment. All staff, students and
parents are aware who takes this role within the academy.
Time and resources should be provided for the Online-Safety Lead and staff to be trained
and to update policies, where appropriate.
The Headteacher is responsible for promoting online-safety across the curriculum and
has an awareness of how this is being developed, linked with the School Development
Priorities for the Academy/Trust.
The Headteacher should inform the Curriculum Committee about the progress of or any
updates to the online-safety curriculum (via PSHE or computing) and ensure Governors
know how this relates to safeguarding. At Full Governing Body meetings, all Governors
are to be made aware of online-safety developments from the Curriculum Committee
chair or through the minutes of meetings.
Governors MUST ensure online-safety is an integral part of safeguarding education and
know how it is being addressed within the school. It is the responsibility of the Governing
Body (or the designated Safeguarding Governor) to ensure that all safeguarding
guidance and practices are embedded, including online safety.
The governor responsible for online-safety must ensure that the academy has an Online-
Safety and Acceptable Use Policy, and an Acceptable Use Agreement with appropriate
strategies which define the roles and responsibilities for the management,
implementation and safety of ICT. The responsible governor must be confident that the
following safety measures are in place:
firewalls
anti-virus and anti-spyware software
filters
use of an accredited ISP (Internet Service Provider)
an awareness of wireless technology issues
a clear policy on using personal devices
This information may be sought from the school’s IT technical support team
Ensure that any misuse or incident has been dealt with appropriately, according to policy
and procedures, (see the Managing Allegations Procedure on Suffolk Local Safeguarding
Children’s Board website) and appropriate action is taken, even to the extreme of
suspending a member of staff, informing the police (via establishment’s agreed protocols
with the police) or involving parents/carers.
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Local Online-Safety Lead
It is the role of the designated Online-Safety Lead (this person should be a senior member of the
academy staff and not a network manager) to:
Appreciate the importance of online-safety within the academy and to recognise that all
educational establishments have a general duty of care to ensure the safety of their
pupils and staff.
Establish and maintain a safe ICT learning environment within the academy.
Ensure that the Online-Safety and Acceptable Usage Policies are reviewed annually or
when necessary, with up-to-date information, and that training is available for all staff to
teach online-safety and for parents to feel informed and know where to go for advice.
Ensure that filtering is set to the correct level for staff, children and young people, in the
initial set up of a network, stand-a-lone PC and laptops or ensure the technician is
informed to carry out this work as directed.
Ensure that all adults are aware of the filtering levels and why they are there to protect
children and young people.
Report issues and update the Headteacher on a regular basis.
Liaise with the PSHE, Safeguarding and ICT/Computing Leads so that policies and
procedures are up-to-date to take account of any emerging issues and technologies.
Update staff training (all staff) according to new and emerging technologies so that the
correct online-safety information can be taught or adhered to.
Keep a log of incidents, which is separate from the general incidents log, for analysis to
help inform future development and safeguarding, where risks can be identified - refer to
the Managing Allegations Procedure from the SSCB to ensure the correct procedures
are used with incidents of misuse.
Work alongside the ICT/Computing Lead or network manager to ensure there is
appropriate and up-to-date anti-virus software and anti-spyware on the network, stand-a-
lone PCs and teacher/child laptops and that this is reviewed and updated on a regular
basis.
Ensure that staff alert the network manager if they suspect there is a virus on laptops,
stand-a-lone PCs and memory sticks or other transferable data files to minimise issues of
virus transfer.
Ensure that unsolicited e-mails to a member of staff from other sources is minimised.
Refer to the Managing Allegations Procedure, SSCB, for dealing with any issues arising
from indecent or pornographic/child abuse images sent/received
(www.Suffolkscb.org.uk/procedures/lscb-policies-guidance-and-
protocols/SearchForm?Search=managing+allegations+procedure&action_results=Searc
h)
Report overuse of blanket e-mails or inappropriate tones to the Headteacher and/or
Governors.
Staff and/or Adults
It is the responsibility of all adults within the school to:
Ensure that they know who is the Senior Designated Person (and the alternate) for
Safeguarding within the academy, so that any misuse or incidents which involve a child
can be reported.
Where an allegation is made against a member of staff it should be reported immediately
to the Headteacher/Senior Designated Person and LADO.
In the event of an allegation made against the Headteacher, the Chair of Governors must
be informed immediately.
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Be familiar with the Behaviour, Anti-bullying, Prevent Strategy, Safeguarding Policy and
other relevant policies so that, in the event of misuse or an allegation, the correct
procedures can be followed immediately. In the event that a procedure is unknown, staff
will refer to the Headteacher/Senior Designated Person immediately, who should then
follow the Managing Allegations Procedure, where appropriate.
Check that filtering levels are appropriate for the children and young people and are set
at the correct level before using equipment. Report any concerns to the Online-Safety
Lead.
Alert the Online-Safety Lead of any new or arising issues and risks that may need to be
included within policies and procedures.
Ensure that children and young people are protected and supported in their use of
technologies so that they know how to use them in a safe and responsible manner.
Children and young people should know what to do in the event of an incident.
Be up-to-date with online-safety knowledge that is appropriate for the age group and
reinforce through the curriculum.
Sign an Acceptable Use Agreement to show that they agree with and accept the
agreement for staff using non-personal equipment, within and beyond the school
environment, as outlined in appendices.
Use electronic communications in an appropriate way that does not breach the Data
Protection Act 1998. Remember confidentiality and do not disclose information from the
network, pass on security passwords or leave a station unattended when they or another
user is logged in. Ensure that a user logs off when they leave the station or the device
unattended.
Ensure that school bursars and other staff follow the correct procedures for any data
required to be taken from the school premises.
Report accidental access to inappropriate materials to the Online-Safety Lead.
Use anti-virus software and check for viruses on their work laptop, memory stick or CD
when transferring information from the Internet, especially when not connected to the
school’s network.
Ensure that all personal school storage devices (i.e. memory sticks) which are utilised by
staff members to hold sensitive information are encrypted or password protected in the
event of loss or theft.
Report incidents of personally directed "bullying" or other inappropriate behaviour via the
Internet or other technologies using the academy’s accident/incident reporting procedure
in the same way as for other non-physical assaults.
Children and Young People
Children and young people should be:
Involved in the review of Acceptable Use Agreement through the school council or other
appropriate group, in line with this policy being reviewed and updated.
Responsible for following the Acceptable Use Agreement whilst within school as agreed
at the beginning of each academic year or whenever a new child attends the school for
the first time.
Taught to use the Internet in a safe and responsible manner through ICT, PSHE or other
clubs and groups.
Taught to tell an adult about any inappropriate materials or contact from someone they
do not know straight away, without reprimand (age and activity dependent).
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Appropriate and Inappropriate Use by Staff or Adults
Staff members have access to the network so that they can obtain age appropriate resources for
their classes and create folders for saving and managing resources.
All staff have a password to access a filtered Internet service which should not be disclosed to
anyone. Staff must not leave a computer or other device unattended whilst they are logged in.
Temporary staff will be given a guest password. Only staff and adults identified as having a need
will be given a password to access the Internet.
All staff should receive a copy of the Online-Safety and Acceptable Use Policy and a copy of the
Acceptable Use Agreement, which they need to sign, return to the school, to keep under file,
with a signed copy returned to the member of staff.
The Acceptable Use Agreement will be displayed in the staff room as a reminder that staff
members need to safeguard against potential allegations and a copy of this policy is provided to
all staff for home use.
In the Event of Inappropriate Use
If a member of staff is believed to misuse the Internet, or photographic equipment such as
mobile phones or digital cameras, in an abusive or illegal manner, a report must be made to the
Headteacher immediately. The Headteacher will follow the Managing Allegations Procedure and
the Safeguarding Policy to deal with any misconduct; all authorities will be contacted as
appropriate.
Any device belonging to the academy will be closed down and isolated and the police will be
informed.
In the lesser event of misuse or accidental misuse refer to appendices for a list of actions
relating to the scale of misuse.
By Children or Young People
The Acceptable Use Agreement is outlined in the appendices. This details how children and
young people are expected to use the Internet and other technologies within school, including
the downloading or printing of any materials. The agreements are there for children and young
people to understand what is expected of their behaviour and attitude when using the Internet.
This will enable them to take responsibility for their own actions. This also includes the
deliberate searching for inappropriate materials and the consequences for doing so.
The academy should encourage parents/carers to support the agreement with their child or
young person. This can be shown by signing the Acceptable Use Agreements together so that it
is clear to the school that the agreement are accepted by the child or young person with the
support of the parent/carer. This is also intended to provide support and information to
parents/carers when children and young people may be using the Internet beyond school.
Downloading of materials, for example, music files and photographs, needs to be appropriate
and ‘fit for purpose’, based on research for work and be copyright free.
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File-sharing via e-mail, weblogs or any other means online should be appropriate and be
copyright free when using them in or beyond school.
Each pupil has a unique password to access a filtered Internet service and know that this should
not be disclosed to anyone. Children are taught not to leave a computer or other device
unattended whilst they are logged in.
In the Event of Inappropriate Use
Should a child or young person be found to misuse the Internet whilst at school, and/or to fail to
follow the Acceptable Use Agreement, the following consequences will occur:
suspension of the child or young person’s Internet use for a particular lesson or activity
further misuse will result in not being allowed to access the Internet for a set period of
time
In both cases, parents will be informed by letter and the pupil will be carefully observed once the
suspension is lifted.
In the event that a child or young person accidentally accesses inappropriate materials, the child
should report this to an adult immediately and take appropriate action to hide the screen or
minimise the window so that an adult can take the appropriate action. Where a child or young
person feels unable to disclose abuse, sexual requests or other misuses against them to an
adult, they can use the Report Abuse button (www.thinkuknow.co.uk) to make a report and seek
further advice. The issue of a child or young person deliberately misusing online technologies
should also be addressed by the school.
The Trust reserves the right to confiscate and search any electronic device which has been
brought into an academy, where it has been reported that the device has been used to bully,
humiliate or deliberately upset another child or adult, invade privacy or to post indecent or racist
images or words. (Section 89 Education and Inspections Act 2006). Such a search will be
made by two members of staff; an academy may request that a search is completed by police
officers.
The Curriculum and Tools for Learning
Internet Use
Academies will teach children and young people how to use the Internet safely and responsibly.
They should also be taught, through ICT and/or PSHE lessons, how to research information,
explore concepts and communicate effectively in order to further learning. The following
concepts, skills and competencies should have been taught by the time they leave Year 6:
internet literacy
making good judgements about websites, social media and e-mails received
knowledge of risks such as viruses and opening mail from a stranger
access to resources that outline how to be safe and responsible when using any online
technologies
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knowledge of copyright and plagiarism issues
file sharing and downloading illegal content
uploading information – know what is safe to upload (being careful with personal
information)
where to go for advice and how to report abuse
These skills and competencies are taught within the curriculum so that children and young
people have the security to explore how online technologies can be used effectively, but in a
safe and responsible manner. Children and young people should know how to deal with any
incidents with confidence, as we adopt a ‘never blame the child for accidentally accessing
inappropriate materials’ culture, in the event that they have accidentally accessed something.
Personal safety – ensuring information uploaded to web sites, social media, apps and e-mailed
to other people does not include any personal information such as:
full name (first name is acceptable, without a photograph)
address
telephone number
e-mail address (unless sending an e-mail)
name of school
clubs attended and where
age or DOB
names of parents
routes to and from school
identifying information, e.g. I am number 8 in the school football team
Photographs should only be uploaded on the approval of a member of staff or parent/carer and
should only contain something that would also be acceptable in ‘real life’. Parents/carers should
monitor the content of photographs uploaded.
Pupils with Additional Learning Needs
The academy will provide access to a broad and balanced curriculum for all learners and
recognise the importance of tailoring activities to suit the educational needs of each pupil. Where
a student has specific learning requirements, or poor social understanding, careful consideration
will be given to the planning and delivery of online-safety awareness sessions and Internet
access.
Any relevant information regarding individual pupils will be passed on to the receiving school
when a child transfers.
School Website and Twitter Account(s)
The uploading of images to the school website and Twitter account(s) should be subject to the
same acceptable agreement as uploading to any personal online space. Permission is to be
sought from the parent/carer prior to the uploading of any images. Images may be uploaded with
faces blurred so that pupils cannot be identified. Staff must not identify pupils by name alongside
a photo on the school website or school social media account.