Schools e-Safety Policy
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- Why write an e-safety policy?
- What is e-safety?
- How do I use the policy template and online generator?
- Statement of authority
- Responsibilities of school staff
- Routes to e-safety - primary pupils
- Routes to e-safety – secondary pupils
- e-Safety for vulnerable children and young people
- Response to an incident of concern
- School responsibilities
- Use of Social Media Tools as a school or establishment
School responsibilities
e-Safety covers a wider scope than Internet use and a summary of a school’s e-Safety responsibilities may be useful. This list should assist in developing a co-ordinated and effective approach to managing e-Safety issues.
The following should be considered:
- KCC encourages schools to appoint an e-Safety Coordinator. Often this may be the Designated Child Protection Coordinator as the roles overlap, but could also be a member of SLT, the ICT or PSHE subject leader or a subject teacher. The e-Safety Coordinator should not be a member of the technical staff.
- The e-Safety Coordinator can request and access support and advice from the CFE e-Safety Officer, the Children’s Safeguard Service and where necessary, the Police. e-Safety training is also available through the Advisory Service CPD Programme and the KSCB. A full list of recommended responsibilities for the e-Safety Coordinator can be found in Becta’s “AUP’s in Context: Establishing Safe and Responsible Online Behaviours” http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=39286
- The e-Safety Coordinator should maintain the e-Safety Policy, manage e-Safety training and keep abreast of local and national e-Safety awareness campaigns.
- Schools should review their policy regularly and revise their policy annually to ensure that it is current and considers any emerging technologies.
- Schools should audit their filtering systems regularly to ensure that inappropriate websites are blocked.
- To ensure that pupils and staff are adhering to the policy, any incidents of possible misuse will need to be logged and investigated where appropriate by Senior Leadership Team, the Children’s Safeguard Service or the Police.
- Schools should consider e-Safety whenever they are using the Internet and ensure that every pupil has been educated about safe and responsible use e.g. as part of the PSHE curriculum. Pupils and staff need to know how to minimise online risks and how to report a problem.
- Schools should refer to e-Safety policies and procedures within their Self-evaluation Form (SEF). Schools can use the e-Safety Audit Tool to support this.
- All staff should agree and sign the School’s Code of Practice for ICT or Acceptable Use Policies.
- Parents should sign and return the Acceptable Use Policy and comment form.
- The e-Safety Policy should be made available to all staff, governors, parents and visitors.
Implementation and Compliance
No policy can protect pupils without effective implementation. It is essential that staff remain vigilant in planning and supervising appropriate, educational ICT experiences. The following suggestions may be useful:
- e-Safety awareness is an essential element of all staff and volunteer induction.
- The audit tool provided in the Core e-Safety Policies is a good place to start when checking the school’s e-Safety readiness
- Pupils should be reminded of their responsibilities whenever they are using the Internet. Displaying and referring to posters in rooms with Internet access is one useful approach.
- Ensure all staff, pupils and parents know how to report an incident of concern regarding Internet use.
- Make sure a member of the senior leadership team (if filtering is managed locally) approves the school filtering configuration and supervise the staff who manage the filtering system.
For further information and e-Safety audit tools please visit the e-Safety site:
www.kenttrustweb.org.uk?esafety
Page last updated: 06/05/2010
