Internet Acceptable Use Policy

Plans and Policies

Internet Acceptable Use Policy

Introduction

This Policy was first developed in May 2013 and reviewed in September 2019. The policy was reviewed by teaching staff, pupils, parents/guardians, and representatives of the Board of Management.

The aim of this Internet Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is to ensure that pupils will benefit from the 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. If the school AUP is not adhered to this privilege may be withdrawn and appropriate sanctions will be imposed.

When using the internet pupils, parents and staff are expected:

Treat others with respect at all times
Not undertake any actions that may bring the school into disrepute
Respect the rights and privacy of all other members of the school community
Respect copyright and acknowledge creators when using online content and resources

This Acceptable Use Policy applies to pupils who have access to and are users of the internet in Scoil Naomh á ine. It also applies to members of staff, volunteers, parents/guardians and others who access the internet in Scoil Naomh Áine.

Misuse of the internet may result in disciplinary action, including written warnings, withdrawal of access privileges, detention and, in extreme cases, suspension or expulsion. The school also reserves the right to report any illegal activities to the appropriate authorities.

Scoil Naomh Áine will deal with incidents that take place outside the school that impact on the wellbeing of pupils or staff under this policy and associated Codes of Behaviour and Anti-Bullying Policies. In such cases Scoil Naomh Áine will, where known, inform parents/guardians of incidents of inappropriate online behaviour that take place out of school and impose the appropriate sanctions.

Scoil Naomh Áine implements the following strategies on promoting safer use of the internet :

Pupils will be provided with education in the area of internet safety as part of our implementation of the SPHE Curriculum
Teachers will be provided with continuing professional development opportunities in the area of internet safety.

Should serious online safety incidents take place, the Principal must be informed.

The implementation of this Internet Acceptable Use policy will be monitored by all staff especially teachers and the principal.

Content Filtering

Scoil Naomh Áine has chosen to implement the following level on content filtering on the Schools Broadband Network:

Level 4: This level allows access to millions of websites including games and YouTube but blocks access to websites belonging to the personal websites category and websites such as Facebook belonging to the Social Networking category.

Pupils taking steps to by-pass the content filter by using proxy sites or other means may be subject to disciplinary action, including written warnings, withdrawal of access privileges, detention and, in extreme cases, suspension or expulsion.

Web Browsing and Downloading

Pupils will not intentionally visit internet sites that contain obscene, illegal, hateful or otherwise objectionable materials.
Pupils will report accidental accessing of inappropriate materials in the classroom to their teacher.
Pupils will report accidental accessing of inappropriate materials in school but outside the classroom to the class teacher.
Pupils and staff will not copy information from the internet without acknowledging the creator and referencing the source of the content.
Pupils and staff 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.
Pupils will use the school’s internet connection only for educational and career development activities.
Pupils will not engage in online activities such as uploading or downloading large files that result in heavy network traffic which impairs the service for other internet users.
Pupils will not download or view any material that is illegal, obscene, and defamatory or that is intended to annoy or intimidate another person.
Use of file sharing and torrent sites is allowed with staff permission.
Downloading by pupils of materials or images not relevant to their studies is not allowed.

Email and Messaging

The use of personal email accounts by pupils is not allowed at Scoil Naomh Áine .
Pupils will not send any material that is illegal, obscene, and defamatory or that is intended to annoy or intimidate another person.
Pupils should immediately report the receipt of any communication that makes them feel uncomfortable, is offensive, discriminatory, threatening or bullying in nature and must not respond to any such communication.
Pupils should avoid opening emails on school email accounts that appear suspicious. If in doubt, pupils should ask their teacher before opening emails from unknown senders.

Social Media

The following statements apply to the use of messaging, blogging and video streaming services in Scoil Naomh Aine :

Staff and pupils must not use social media and the internet in any way to harass, insult, abuse or defame pupils, their family members, staff or other members of the Scoil Naomh Aine community.
Staff and pupils must not discuss personal information about pupils, staff and other members of the Scoil Naomh Aine community on social media.
Staff and pupils must not use school email addresses for setting up personal social media accounts or to communicate through such media.
Staff and pupils must not engage in activities involving social media which might bring Scoil Naomh Aine into disrepute.
Staff and pupils must not represent their personal views as those of being Scoil Naomh Aine on any social medium.

Parents’ Association Messaging Group

What’s App groups and similar messaging service groups established by the Parents’ Association must be used for the sole purpose for which they were established. The Parents’ Association may wish to establish a group for the parents/guardians of each class where they can share information about upcoming events arranged by the Parents’ Association. One parent/guardian must be appointed as the controller of the group. These groups will be Admin Only. There will be no facility to reply to messages on these groups. If a member posts a message which is in contravention to the established purpose of the group, they will be banned from the group.

Parents’ Association Facebook Page

Scoil Naomh Áine’s Parents’ Association manages their own Facebook Page. The principal must be informed each year following the PA AGM who the administrator of the page is. The PA Facebook Page is used to inform the wider community about fundraising and other events arranged by the Parents’ Association. The Parents’ Association may also share information about other local events from the community, GAA and other local clubs which may be of interest to the wider school community. The administrator must not represent their personal views as being those of the Parents’ Association or Scoil Naomh Áine. The administrator must not use the Parents’ Association Facebook Page in any way to harass, insult, abuse or defame pupils, their family members, staff or other members of the Scoil Naomh Áine community. Posts which harass, insult, abuse or defame will be removed. The poster will be banned from the page and the Gardaí will be informed, if appropriate.

Personal Devices

Pupils using their own technology in school should follow the rules set out in this agreement, in the same way as if they were using school equipment.

The following statements apply to the use of internet-enabled devices such as tablets, gaming devices, and digital music players in Scoil Naomh Áine:

Pupils are only allowed to bring personal internet-enabled devices into Scoil Naomh Aine with expressed permission from staff.
Pupils are only allowed to use personal internet-enabled devices during lessons with expressed permission from teaching staff.
Pupils are not allowed to use personal internet-enabled devices during break time.

Mobile Phones – Use by Pupils

Mobile phones must be turned off before entering the school grounds.
Mobile phones may not be used in school or on the school grounds.
A child who brings a mobile phone to school must present it to his/her class teacher, with written permission from his/her parent/guardian to have the phone in school, immediately on entering the classroom.
The mobile will be returned to the pupil at home time.
If pupils use mobile phones in school, without permission from the teacher, the phone will be confiscated and returned to the parent/guardian only.
Every mobile phone must be labelled with the child’s name.
Pupils may not switch his/her phone on until he/she is outside the school grounds unless he/she is given permission from a teacher to do so.
On occasions where pupils have permission to bring mobile phones to school related activities, outside the school grounds, school rules still apply. Phones remain switched off until the teacher give permission to do otherwise.
Mobile phones should not be used on the bus unless, for a specific reason, the teacher has given permission to do so.
Rules for the use of mobile phones will be explained to the relevant classes.
The school accepts no responsibility for lost or damaged mobile phones.

Mobile Phones – Use by Staff

Staff may bring mobile phones to school but their use will be discrete and phones will be turned to silent.
Staff personal calls and texts are normally confined to break times
In cases of emergency, staff may use their mobile phones

Images & Video

Care should be taken when taking photographic or video images that pupils are appropriately dressed and are not participating in activities that might bring the individuals or the school into disrepute.
At Scoil Naomh Áine pupils must not take, use, share, publish or distribute images of others without their permission.
Written permission from parents/guardians will be obtained before photographs of pupils are published on the school website.
Pupils must not share images, videos or other content online with the intention to harm another member of the school community regardless of whether this happens in school or outside.
Sharing explicit images and in particular explicit images of pupils and/or minors is an unacceptable and absolutely prohibited behaviour, with serious consequences and sanctions for those involved. Intentionally sharing explicit images of other pupils automatically incurs suspension as a sanction.

Cyberbullying

When using the internet pupils, parents and staff are expected to treat others with respect at all times.
Engaging in online activities with the intention to harm, harass, or embarrass another pupil or member of staff is an unacceptable and absolutely prohibited behaviour, with serious consequences and sanctions for those involved.
Measures are taken to ensure that staff and pupils are aware that bullying is defined as unwanted negative behaviour, verbal, psychological or physical, conducted by an individual or group against another person (or persons) and which is repeated over time. This definition includes cyber-bullying even when it happens outside the school or at night. Placing a once-off offensive or hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as bullying behaviour.
Isolated or once-off incidents of intentional negative behaviour, including a once-off offensive or hurtful text message or other private messaging, do not fall within the definition of bullying and will be dealt with, as appropriate, in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.
The prevention of cyber bullying is an integral part of the anti-bullying policy of our school.

School Website - www.rathgaroguens.com

Pupils will be given the opportunity to publish projects, artwork or school work on the internet 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, privacy, or reputation of students or staff.

Webpages allowing comments or user-generated content will be pre-moderated and checked frequently to ensure that they do not contain any inappropriate or offensive content.

The publication of student work will be coordinated by a teacher.

Personal student information including home address and contact details will not be published on Scoil Naomh Áine web pages.

Scoil Naomh Áine will avoid publishing the first name and last name of pupils in video or photograph captions published online.

Review

This policy and its implementation will be reviewed regularly by the following stakeholders:

Board of Management, teaching staff, support staff, pupils, and parents

Ratification

This policy was ratified by the Board of Management of Scoil Naomh Áine on 22 nd November 2019.

Permission Form

I agree to follow the school’s Acceptable Use Policy on the use of the Internet. I will use the Internet in a responsible way and obey all the rules explained to me by the school.

Student’s Signature: __________________________

Parent/Guardian : __________________________

Date: __________________________

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.

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 understand and accept the terms of the Acceptable Use Policy relating to publishing students’ work on the school website.

Signature: _______________________________ Date: ___________________

Address: ______________________________

______________________________

Please review the attached school Internet Acceptable Use Policy, and sign and return this permission form to the Principal.

Name of Student: ______________________

Class: ______________________

Student: ______________________