ICT and Social Media Acceptable Use Policy
Introduction
St. Joseph’s Primary School recognises that access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gives our students enhanced opportunities to learn, engage, communicate and develop skills that will prepare them for many aspects of life. To that end, we provide access to ICT for student use. We blog using kidblog.com, tweet at @kinvarans, publish on Facebook @kinvarans and maintain www.kinvarans.ie as our school website. We use GSuite for Education to enable students and staff to work collaboratively. Aladdin schools is used for administrative purposes.
This Acceptable Use Policy outlines the guidelines and behaviours that our students and staff are expected to follow when using school technologies for school activities of any nature.
Technologies Covered
St. Joseph’s National School may provide students with Internet access, desktop computers, digital imaging equipment, laptop or tablet devices, videoconferencing capabilities, virtual learning environments, online collaboration capabilities, online discussion forums, blogs and more. The policies outlined in this document are intended to cover all online technologies used in the school, not just those specifically mentioned.
ICT Network
The St. Joseph’s computer network is intended for educational purposes.
All activity over the network may be monitored and retained.
Teachers have full editorial rights over the school website, blog and twitter. Students will not have access to relevant passwords.
Students are expected to follow the same rules for good behaviour and respectful conduct online as offline – these rules are found in the St. Joseph’s National School existing Code of Behaviour.
Misuse of school resources may result in disciplinary action.
- We make a reasonable effort to ensure students’ safety and security online, but will not be held accountable for any harm or damages that result from misuse of school technologies
- When blogging, recording audio or sending any sort of online communication from a school device, students must not slander, defame or misrepresent the school or the views or activities of another individual.
- The school teachers choose and modify all twitter followers/followees and all are for the intended educational purpose. Retweets are not necessarily the views of St. Joseph’s National School, but are discussed and distributed for educational and conversational purposes.
- There is an interaction reply policy for parents and the community on twitter. We will reply to tweets directed at the school once it is deemed appropriate by teachers to do so.
- The staff and teachers of St. Joseph’s commit to not using the online platforms or school accounts for the expression of personal views and we request that the children and parents adopt a similar policy when commenting online through comments on the blog and in directed tweets to the school account, facebook messages or other social media tools which may be used by the school.
- Students are expected to alert his/her teacher immediately of any concerns for safety or security.
Photographs
St. Joseph’s National School use the school website and social media tools to celebrate the success stories and great achievements of our students. We use photographs/video/other multimedia to compliment text content.
We advise the following:
- Children will not be named in full – first name will suffice. Should their full name be used at any stage, verbal permission will be sought by parents/guardians.
- No child shall be photographed and named under that photograph specifically if they are the only student photographed.
Online collaboration through blogging and other platforms
St. Joseph’s N.S recognises that online collaboration is essential to education and may provide students with access to a variety of online tools that allow communication, sharing, and messaging among students. Students are expected to communicate with the same appropriate, safe, mindful and courteous conduct online as offline. This is of particular relevance to our use of blogs, G suite for Education and other online platforms.
With the advent of Web 2.0, the Internet has become a two way communication system for the school and the wider community. Services such as Facebook, WordPress, Twitter and other social media are being used by the school to communicate with parents and also for parents to communicate with the school. These services, although not owned by St. Joseph’s N.S, form part of our web services and all content that is placed on these services falls under this policy.
The safety of our children on the web is of utmost importance so the following rules apply to the school and parents. Web 2.0 is open to potential dangers when used inappropriately.
We would ask: Many social media sites have minimum age requirements. While the school will not monitor this, we would advise parents to not allow their children to have personal accounts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. until they are the appropriate age. Many social media sites will be used by teachers in class, for example, Twitter. However, all interactions will be under the supervision of the teacher.
Parents and guardians are encouraged to regularly check their child’s online activity / digital footprint. Parents are encouraged to check social media apps (e.g. Facebook, Snapchat, Viber, Whatsapp, Instagram etc) on mobile phones and electronic devices to ensure they are aware of their child’s online interaction with others and approve of same. Please do not “tag” photographs or any other content which would identify any children or staff in the school. Please ensure that online messages and comments to the school are respectful. Any messages written on social media are treated in the same way as written messages to the school. Avoid any negative conversations about children, staff or parents on social media accounts, this includes media such as WhatsApp groups, Facebook and other forms of media.
Please do not request to “friend” a member of staff in the school. The staff would like to keep their personal lives personal. It may be awkward for a staff member to be asked to ignore a Facebook or other social network request. In line with this, please only contact the teacher through the school office or via a note in your child’s homework journal.
Students may use approved email accounts under supervision by or with permission from the class teacher. Students will not send or receive any material that is illegal, obscene, defamatory or 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.
St Joseph’s N.S Own Mobile Devices
St. Joseph’s N.S may provide students with mobile computers, digital recorders or other devices to promote learning both inside and outside of the school.
Students should abide by the same expected use policies, when using school devices off the school network, as on the school network.
Students are expected to treat these devices with respect. They should report any loss, damage, or malfunction to their teacher staff immediately. Use of school-‐issued mobile devices will be monitored.
Mobile Devices in the Possession of Students
Students may not use/have personally-‐owned devices in school (e.g. laptops, tablets computers, digital-‐cameras, and smartphones) without explicit permission of their class teacher and parent/guardian. E-readers without access to the internet may be used, the school accepts no responsibility for the safety of such devices if a student brings one to school.
School Security
We ask that our students use common sense if they think a website does not look ‘right’. They must inform their teacher of any concerns. They must twice before they click on anything they feel is not right. If they believe a computer or mobile device they are using might be infected with a virus, they must alert their teacher.
Netiquette
Netiquette may be defined as appropriate social behaviour over computer networks and in particular in the online environment. To this end:
- Students should always use the Internet, network resources, and online sites in a courteous and respectful manner
- Students should also recognise that among the valuable content online is unverified, incorrect, or inappropriate content.
- Students should not to post anything online that they wouldn’t want parents, teachers, or future colleges or employers to see. More detailed examples of expected use and unacceptable use are given in Appendices One and Two.
Plagiarism
- Students should not plagiarise content (copy or use as your own without citing the original creator), including words or images, from the Internet.
- Students should not take credit for things they didn’t create themselves, or misrepresent themselves as an author or creator of something found online.
Personal Safety
If students see a message, comment, image, or anything else online that makes them concerned for their personal safety, they must bring it to the immediate attention of
- a teacher if they are at school
- a parent / guardian if they are at home
- Students should never share personal information about themselves or others, including phone numbers, addresses, PPS numbers and birth-‐dates over the Internet without adult permission
- Students should never agree to meet someone they meet online in real life without parental permission.
- Students’ images will not be shared online with their names visible or labelled (on the St. Joseph’s N.S website, blog, Facebook or twitter account) without explicit expressed permission from their parents.
- Consequently, other students must not take, use or share images of or from other students in school on school online platforms.
- School videos on Vimeo or YouTube are not available for search or comment on the host sites.
Cyber-bullying
Cyber bullying is the use of ICT (usually a mobile phone and/or the internet) to abuse another person. It can take place anywhere and can involve many people. Anybody can be targeted, including pupils, school staff, and members of the wider school community.
It can include threats, intimidation, harassment, cyberstalking, vilification, defamation, exclusion, peer rejection, impersonation, and unauthorised publication of private information or images.
There are many types of cyber-bullying. The more common types are:
- Text messages – can be threatening or cause discomfort. Also included here is ‘Bluejacking’ (the sending of anonymous text messages over short distances using Bluetooth wireless technology)
- Picture/video-clips via mobile phone cameras – images sent to others to make the victim feel threatened or embarrassed.
- Mobile phone calls – silent calls, abusive messages or stealing the victim’s phone and using it to harass others, to make them believe the victim is responsible.
- Emails – threatening or bullying emails, often sent using a pseudonym or somebody else’s name.
- Chat room bullying – menacing or upsetting responses to children or young people when they are in a web-based chat room.
- Instant messaging (IM) – unpleasant messages sent while children conduct real-time conversations online.
- Bullying via websites – use of defamatory blogs, personal websites, gaming websites, and online personal ‘own web space’ sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Ask.fm, Twitter, and SnapChat among others.
Procedures for Preventing Cyber Bullying
- Staff, pupils, parents, and Board of Management (BOM) are made aware of issues surrounding cyber bullying.
- Pupils and parents will be urged to report all incidents of cyber bullying to the school.
- Staff CPD (Continuous Professional Development) will assist in learning about current technologies.
- Pupils will learn about cyber bullying through Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), Assemblies, Safer Internet Day activities and other curriculum projects.
- Pupils, parents, and staff will be involved in reviewing and revising this policy as school procedure.
- All reports of cyber-bullying will be noted and investigated, in accordance with the school’s Anti-Bullying, Mobile Phone, Child Protection, and Positive Behaviour Policies, where applicable. 7. Procedures in the school’s Anti-Bullying and Child Protection policies shall apply. Incidents of cyberbullying will be addressed in the context of the school’s Anti-Bullying and Behaviour Policies, where applicable.
The school will support students, teachers and parents in dealing with cyberbullying. St. Joseph’s National School is committed to the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-‐Primary Schools (Circular 0065/2011) and will act as required by the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Department of Justice and Equality and the Health Service Executive.
Violations of this Acceptable Use Policy
Violations of this policy in St. Joseph’s N.S may have disciplinary repercussions, including:
- Suspension of computer privileges
- Notification to parents in most cases
- Suspension from school and/or school-‐related activities
- Expulsion
Appendix 1
Examples of Acceptable Use
I will:
- Use school equipment for school-‐related activities only
- Follow the same guidelines for respectful, responsible behaviour online that I am expected to follow offline.
- Treat school resources carefully, and alert teachers if there is any problem with their use
- Encourage positive, constructive discussion if allowed to use blog or represent the school online.
- Alert a teacher if I see threatening/bullying, inappropriate, or harmful content (images, messages, postings) online.
- Use school technologies at appropriate times, in approved places, for learning reasons
- Recognise that use of school technologies is a privilege and treat it as such.
- Be cautious to protect the safety of myself and others.
- Help to protect the security of school resources.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Students should use their own good judgement when using school technologies.
Ratified by Board of Management
Brian Connolly
Chairperson, Board of Management Date 26.09.2023
Appendix 2
Examples of Unacceptable Use
I will not:
- Use school technologies in a way that could be personally or physically harmful to myself or others.
- Search inappropriate images or content.
- Engage in cyberbullying, harassment, or disrespectful conduct toward others.
- Try to find ways to change the school’s safety measures and filtering tools.
- Use school technologies to send spam or chain mail.
- Plagiarise content (copy, use as their own, without citing the original creator) I find online.
- Post personally identifying information, about myself or others or agree to meet someone I meet online in real life.
- Use language online that would be unacceptable in the classroom.
- Use school technologies for illegal activities or to pursue information on such activities.
- Attempt to access sites, servers, accounts, or content that isn’t intended for my use. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Students should use their own good judgement when using school technologies.
Appendix 3
Internet Acceptable Use Policy Permission Form
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Please review the school’s Internet Acceptable Use Policy, (http://kinvarans.ie/school-policies/)
and sign and return this permission form to the office/class teacher.
School Name: St. Joseph’s National School
Name of Student: ______________________
Class: ______________________
Parent/Guardian
As the parent or legal guardian of the above student, I have read the Acceptable Use Policy and
grant permission for my son or daughter or the child in my care to access the Internet. I understand that Internet access is intended for educational purposes. I also understand that every reasonable precaution has been taken by the school to provide for online safety but the school cannot be held responsible if students access unsuitable websites.
I accept the above paragraph □ I do not accept the above paragraph □
(Please tick as appropriate)
In relation to the school website, I accept that, if the school considers it appropriate, my child’s
schoolwork may be chosen for inclusion on the website.
I accept the above paragraph □ I do not accept the above paragraph □
(Please tick as appropriate)
Signature: _____________________________ Date: ___________________