POLICY: SCS: / Issued: June2015
REVIEW: August 2016 / APPROVED: Sue Holmes (Acting Principal)

Internet Policy and Procedures

Purpose of this policy

To ensure awareness and to use available technology-based teaching and learning resources in a safe and responsible way, that will improve student learning.

Policy

Sherbrooke Community School takes a holistic approach to cybersafety education. It recognises the need to use digital technologies as an integral component of their learning and teaching programs safely and responsibly.The school also recognises that it has a responsibility to educate children and young people and address the underlying values (ethics) and responsible behaviours expected of them online and off.Strategies and resources have been developed to support all students’ wellbeing including cybersafety practices which are included within the school’s curriculum and planning and taught explicitly.

ICT Infrastructure and management: Information Technology Division (ITD) coordinates the ICT procurement and infrastructure provision to Victorian Government schools which is central to the effective integration of digital technologies into the curriculum.

All staff will comply with the Department’s Information Communications Technologies security policies.

Curriculum: When using the internet or digital technologies in class teachers will adhere to the age limits placed on the use of online services and make use of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority AusVELS website which provides the framework for curriculum development for the Information and Communications Technology domain.

Supervision and duty of care online: ThePrincipal and teachers have a duty of care to take reasonable steps to protect students from any harm that should have reasonably been foreseen, including those that may be encountered within the online learning environment.

Responding to online incidents:The nature and scope of the duty in these circumstances will vary according to a number of factors, for example: the role and responsibility of the employee and whether the incident occurred inside or outside of school hours etc.

Managing personal information – privacy: The school is bound by thePrivacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic)(Victorian privacy laws). These privacy laws mean that the principal or teacher will obtain fully informed, freely given, current and specific consent from the parent, guardian or carer of a student to use and disclose their personal information or registration and use of online learning tools and services.

Services which operate online or within cloud technologies usuallyrequire certain personal details to create an account. Such services alsousuallyprovide an opportunity for personal information to be created within the space by the teacher and/or the student. Parents must give their consent knowing what information has been provided, who is able to see it and where it is stored. The intent of the space must also be understood.

The need for consent applies even when students sign themselves up for an account under teacher direction or supervision. It alsoapplies if the personal information will not be accessible to or viewed by others, as stored data in a system.

Acceptable Use policy: All students will required to sign the Acceptable Use policy prior to access to digital technologies and the internet (see Appendix 1)

EVALUATION

This policy was last ratified by School Council in August 2015 and should by reviewed by August 2016.

Implementation will be reviewed annually by the Leadership Team.

Signed:

………………………………………………….School Council President ………………………… Date

………………………………………………….Principal ………………………… Date

Acceptable Use of Digital Technologies and Internet Agreement

School profile statement

At Sherbrooke Community School we support the rights of all members of the school community to be provided with and engage in a safe, inclusive and supportive learning environment. This extends to the use of digital tools and online communities and is underpinned by our expectation of safe and responsible behaviour of all members of the school community.

At our school we:

  • have a Student Engagement Policy that states our school’s values and expected standards of student behaviour, including actions and consequences for inappropriate online behaviour.
  • educate our students to be safe and responsible users of digital technologies through various programs and external courses within the school.
  • raise our students’ awareness of issues such as online privacy, intellectual property and copyright
  • supervise and support students when using digital technologies within the classroom and establish clear protocols and procedures when working in online spaces including reviewing and considering the safety and appropriateness of online tools and communities:
  • Teachers will ensure that classroom programs clearly establish the educational purpose for the activity, the appropriate tools, online spaces, search engines etc. which support the activity’s educational purpose and additional support that is available for students who may need assistance.
  • It is not reasonable to expect a teacher or principal to inspect every site that will be presented in a search result or to expect them to supervise a space 24 hours a day. The nature of the internet means that there can be no guarantee against inappropriate content or changing circumstances in websites. However, it is reasonable to expect a teacher to respond to an online incident as soon as they have knowledge of its occurrence.
  • provide a filtered internet service but acknowledge that full protection from inappropriate content cannever be guaranteed
  • respond to issues or incidents that have the potential to impact on the wellbeing of our students including those reported through online services
  • know that some online activities are illegal and as such we are required to report this to the appropriate authority
  • support parents/guardians to understand safe and responsible use of digital technologies, potential issues and the strategies that they can implement athome to support their child; providing this Acceptable Use Agreement and current information from both the Department of Education and Training and Cybersmart:
  • Bullystoppers Parent Interactive Learning Modules (
  • Parents Cybersafety guide (

Student declaration

WhenI use digital technologies and the internetI agree to be asafe,responsibleandethicaluseratalltimes,by:

  • respecting others and communicating with them in a supportive manner; never writing or participating in online bullying (e.g. forwarding messages and supporting others in harmful, inappropriate or hurtful online behaviours)
  • protectingmy privacy;notgivingoutpersonaldetails,including my full name, telephonenumber, address,passwordsandimages
  • protectingthe privacy ofothers;neverpostingor forwardingtheir personaldetailsorimageswithout theirconsent
  • talking toa teacher or a trusted adult if I personally feel uncomfortableorunsafeonline
  • talkingtoateacher or a trusted adult if Isee othersparticipatinginunsafe,inappropriateorhurtfulonlinebehaviours
  • carefully consideringthecontentthatIuploadorpostonline; knowing that this isa personal reflection of who I am and what people think of me
  • investigatingthetermsand conditions of use(e.g. agerestrictions, parental consentrequirements) and if my understandingis unclear seekingfurther explanation fromatrusted adult
  • confirming that I meet the stated terms and conditions and completingtherequiredregistration processes
  • handling ICTdevices with careand notifying ateacher of anydamageor required attention
  • abiding by copyright andintellectualproperty regulations; requesting permission touse images, text,audioand video and citereferences where necessary
  • not downloading unauthorised programs, including games
  • not interfering with network systems and security, the data of another user or attempting to log into the network with a user name or password of another student.

Inaddition,when I use my personal mobile devices (including my phone) I agree tobe asafe, responsibleandethicaluseratalltimes,by:

  • keeping devices on silent during school times; only making or answering calls or messages outside of school times (except when approved as part of a lesson) and abiding by the Sherbrooke Community school mobile devices policy.
  • respecting the privacy of others; only taking photos or recording sound or video when others are aware and formal consent has been provided as part of an approved lesson
  • respecting others and communicating with them in a supportive manner,

Acknowledgement

This Acceptable Use Agreement applies to all digital technologies and environments, including (although not limited to):

  • school owned ICT devices (e.g. desktops, laptops, printers, scanners)
  • mobile phonesand student owned devices
  • email andinstant messaging
  • internet, intranet
  • socialnetworking sites(e.g. Facebook)
  • video andphoto sharing websites(e.g. YouTube)
  • blogs or micro-blogs(e.g.Twitter)
  • forums,discussionboardsandgroups(e.g.Googlegroups)
  • wikis(e.g.Wikipedia)
  • vod (Prerecorded video) andpodcasts
  • videoconferences and web conferences.

ThisAcceptableUseAgreementapplieswhendigitaltechnologies are being used atschool,duringschoolexcursions, at campsandextra-curricularactivities.

Iunderstandandagreetocomplywiththetermsofacceptableuseandexpectedstandardsofbehavioursetoutwithinthisagreement.

Iunderstandthatthereareactionsandconsequencesestablishedwithintheschool’sStudentEngagementPolicyifIdonotbehaveappropriately.

School name: Sherbrooke Community School

Schoolcontact name: Sue Holmes

Schoolcontactno.: 0397552007

Student name:……………………………………………………………

Student signature:………………………………………………

Parent/GuardianName: ……………………………………………

Parent/GuardianSignature: ……………………………………………………………Date: …………………