Code of practice for safe and effective use
A school code of practice
When using the Internet, email systems and digital technologies, all users must comply with all relevant legislation on copyright, property theft, libel, fraud, discrimination and obscenity.
Schools should therefore make explicit to all users (staff and pupils) what is safe and acceptable and what is not. Schools should ensure that all pupils understand how they are to use the Internet safely, effectively, appropriately and why the rules exist.
These issues should include:
- creating, retrieving, downloading, sending, copying, printing or displaying onscreen offensive messages or pictures;
- use of obscene or racist language;
- harassing, insulting or attacking others;
- damaging computers, computer systems or computer networks;
- violating copyright laws;
- using another user’s password;
- trespassing in another user’s folders, work or files;
- intentionally wasting resources (such as online time and consumables);
- using the network for unapproved commercial purposes.
A Code should balance the desirability of fully exploiting the vast educational potential of new technologies with providing safeguards against risks and unacceptable material and activities.
The scope of the Code should cover fixed and mobile Internet; technologies provided by the school (such as PCs, laptops, webcams and digital video equipment); as well as technologies owned by pupils and staff, but brought onto school premises (such as mobile phones, camera phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and portable media players). It should be made clear in the Code that the use of devices owned personally by staff and pupils is subject to the same requirements as technology provided by the school. Staff should for instance, be aware of how and when they might use their own digital cameras/ camera phone and, for those who have their personal website and/or personal area in a social software environment, be aware that pupils may have access to these.
The school should consider whether it wishes to have staff use an agreement document and/or a pupil/parent use agreement document as a means of demonstrating that policy has been communicated to all users. It could include doing anything outside of school and/or online, that may bring the school's name into disrepute. This might include posting derogatory information about teachers or the school.
However, understanding the issues and displaying safe effective practice is as important as having a written document and therefore, an education programme is an essential element of a code of practice. Advice on education programmes is contained in the next section.
Schools should also ensure that all users are aware that they track and record the sites visited, the searches made on the Internet and emails and messages sent and received by individual users.
In promoting awareness of best practice, pupils should:
- be involved in creating the Code of Practice, perhaps through a pupil safety team;
- know how to identify and report any inappropriate use of technology;
- be aware that their online behaviour is tracked and recorded at all times;
- know the sanctions for misuse or abuse (ranging from suspension of the use of technology to involvement of the police and legal action in serious cases).
Parents ought to be made aware that when pupils use the C2k online learning environment "LNI", whether in school or outside school, that they will be agreeing to certain terms and conditions of appropriate usage. These terms are available on the C2k LearningNI website.
More advice on a Code of Practice for Pupils can be accessed at:
Legal monitoring of email and Internet use
All school staff are expected to communicate in a professional manner consistent with the rules of behaviour governing employees in the public sector. All users should be aware that network administrators may review files and communications to maintain system integrity and to ensure that users are using the system responsibly and legally.
While normal privacy is respected and protected by password controls users may not expect files and messages stored on publicly-funded networks to be private.
In order to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 there is a clear and absolute need for employers to have an acceptable use policy in place that is made known to all their employees. It should:
- be in writing;
- be clearly communicated to all employees;
- set out permissible uses of both e-mail and Internet;
- specify the prohibited/inappropriate uses;
- state what monitoring, if any, will take place;
- set out acceptable online behaviour;
- stipulate unauthorised access areas;
- set out privacy rules in relation to other users;
- set out privacy rules in relation to employers’ right to monitor and the nature and extent of such monitoring;
- stipulate possible disciplinary consequences for breach of rules.
Filtering of non-Classroom 2000 systems and services
Where a school chooses to access online services through service providers other than C2k, then it is responsible for ensuring that effective firewalls, filtering and monitoring software mechanisms are put in place.
Schools should regularly review their filtering and blocking policies and procedures. Procedures for both blocking and unblocking sites should be clearly communicated to all staff members.
