New Page 1

MILLER ACADEMY PRIMARY SCHOOL

INTERNET ACCESS POLICY

This policy reflects the values and philosophy of the school in relation to the teaching and learning of the Internet.

General Statement

Internet access at the school is important as it raises educational standards, it supports the professional work of staff and it enhances the school's management information and business administration systems. In this technological age, it is a necessary tool for both staff and pupils. A number of studies have indicated the benefits to be gained through the appropriate use of the Internet in education:

	Access to worldwide educational resources
	Information and cultural exchanges between students across the UK and the world
	Cultural, vocational, social and leisure use
	Staff professional development - access to a wealth of educational research and resources
	Inclusion in government initiatives such as NGFL and the SVTC
	Access to expert advice in many fields
	Communication with other teachers which allows the sharing of sound educational practice
	Communication with the advisory and support service and also professional associations
	Improved access to technical support

Filtered Access to the Internet

Internet access is a necessary part of the 5-14 curriculum. It is an entitlement for pupils based on responsible use.

Internet access will be provided by an Internet Service Provider - the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) which provides a service designed for pupils. This access will include filtering appropriate to the age of the pupils. Whilst it is widely acknowledged that some material available through the Internet is unsuitable for pupils, all reasonable precautions will be taken by the school to ensure that users access appropriate material. However, it is not possible to wholly guarantee that unsuitable material will never appear on terminals. Neither the school, nor the Highland Council can accept liability for the material accessed or any consequences thereof.

The use of computer systems without permission or for purposes not agreed by the school could constitute a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and, as such, each pupil and member of staff will be made aware of the conditions of use of the school's computer equipment. Clear rules will be displayed beside each computer - see Appendix One - which will underline the proper usage of the Internet, Staff will ensure that all children have read/been read these rules. All staff including teachers, supply staff, classroom assistants and support staff will be provided with this Internet Access Policy which will be retained in their Policy Folder. In addition, they will all be issued with a copy of the Acceptable Internet Use Statement.

It will be the duty of the Head Teacher to ensure that this policy is implemented effectively. Occasional checks will be made the by the Head Teacher to ensure that the filtering methods are effective in practice and any discrepancy in its filtering system will immediately be notified to the Highland Council's NFGL department and to the ISP. Any material that the school suspects may be illegal will be referred to the Internet Watch Foundation (www.iwf.org.uk or 0845 600 88440).

Pupils Working on the Internet

As was stated in the opening statement, the staff value the benefits which Internet access will bring to their classrooms. Teachers will carefully plan Internet access for their pupils to enrich and extend learning activities. They will select sites which will support the learning outcomes planned across the curriculum. These sites will be appropriate to the age and maturity of the children within their class.

Pupils will be given clear objectives for Internet use before they begin to access the World Wide Web and they will be informed that Internet use will be supervised and monitored. At PI-P3 the majority of the access to the Internet will be by teacher or adult demonstration. However, there may be situations when children have supervised access to specific sites selected by the teacher. In the P4-P7 stages, supervised Internet access will be granted to a whole class as part of the planned ICT experience but only after the pupils have been educated in taking responsibility for Internet access.

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

If a pupil is found to be abusing their access to the Internet or email, their parents will be informed immediately. There may be occasions when the police may have to be contacted if a pupil has abused the system (depending on the nature of the incident) but it is hoped that with the appropriate supervision measures in place, this would be a last resort. Contact with the police would only be made to establish the legal position and to discuss strategies for dealing with the incident.

A pupil may have Internet, email or computer access denied for a period of time depending on the nature of the incident.

Pupils Using Email

Pupils will be required to use email as part of the ICT 5-14 Curriculum from Level B onwards. Pupils will be encouraged to use email at school as part of planned ICT lessons but they will not be given their own individual email accounts - any emails will be sent using the class teachers email address and will be supervised at all times by the class teacher. In-coming pupil email will be regarded as public and any outgoing messages sent using the school domain name will be regarded in the same way as messages written on school headed paper.

Whilst in school, email will only be used for educational purposes. Pupils will not be allowed to access their personal mailboxes from the school system, nor will they be allowed to forward letters or access chat lines.

The School Web Site

We must take stringent measures to ensure that our pupils' identities are protected on the Web site and, as such, the following steps will be taken:

	The point of contact on the Web site will be the school address and telephone number.
	Full names will not be used anywhere on the Web site - particularly alongside photographs.
	Permission from parents will be sought before photographs of pupils are published on the school Web site.
	The Head Teacher will be responsible for ensuring that the content of the web site is accurate and that the quality of presentation is maintained.
	Pupils will be made aware that the quality of their work published on the web site needs to reflect the diversity of the audience.
	All material must be the author's own work, or where permission to use has been obtained, this will be clearly marked with the copyright owner's name.

Liaison with Parents

As access to the Internet is a relatively new initiative within the school, it is essential that parents are kept informed of the school's ICT and Internet Access Policies. Parents' attention will be drawn to these policies in newsletters, in the school brochure and on the school web site and copies of both policies will be made available for parental perusal.

This policy will be issued to each new entrant which will inform parents that pupils will be provided with supervised Internet access.

Parents will also be advised of relevant web sites in newsletters, these being;

Government site for Parents (UK)

Information about education for parents www.dfee.aov.uk/parents/

NCH Action for Children A parental guide to the Internet, leaflet www.nchafc.orq.uk/intemet

Parents and IT www.becta.org.uk/info-sheets/parents.html

Parents Information Network (PIN)

Guidelines on using the Internet safely www.pin-parents.com

Go to Top