Telephone : 056-7762150
Fax : 056-7762895
E-Mail : stcanices.ias@eircom.net

Chairperson: Fr. James Murphy
Principal : Mrs Maria Comerford

St Canice’s Co-Ed N.S.

Internet Acceptable Use Policy

The aim of this Acceptable Use Policy is to ensure that pupils will benefit from 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.Therefore, if the
school AUP is not adhered to this privilege will be withdrawn and appropriate sanctions –as outlined in the AUP – will be imposed.
It is envisaged that school and parent representatives will revise the AUP annually. Before signing, the AUP should be read carefully to indicate that the conditions of use are accepted and understood.

School’s Strategy

The school will employ a number of strategies in order to maximise learning
opportunities and reduce risks associated with the Internet.These strategies are as
follows:
General
• Internet sessions will always be supervised by a teacher.
• Filtering software and/or equivalent systems will be used in order to minimise the
risk of exposure to inappropriate material.Zone Alarm is currently in use
• The school will regularly monitor pupils’ Internet usage.
• Students and teachers will be provided with training in the area of Internet safety.
• Uploading and downloading of non-approved software will not be permitted.
• Virus protection software will be used and updated on a regular basis. Sophus is used at the moment.
• The use of personal floppy disks or CD-ROMs in school requires a teacher’s
permission.
• Students will observe good “netiquette” (i.e., etiquette on the Internet) at all
times and will not undertake any actions that may bring the school into disrepute.

World Wide Web
• Students will not visit Internet sites that contain obscene, illegal, hateful or
otherwise objectionable materials.
• Students will use the Internet for educational purposes only.
• Students will be familiar with copyright issues relating to online learning.
• Students will never disclose or publicise personal information.
• Students 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.

Email
• Students will use approved class email accounts under supervision by or
permission from a teacher.
• Students will not send or receive any material that is illegal, obscene, defamatory
or that is intended to annoy or intimidate another person.
• Students will not reveal their own or other people’s personal details, such as
addresses or telephone numbers or pictures.
• Students will never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone.
• Students will note that sending and receiving email attachments is subject to
permission from their teacher.

Internet Chat
• Students will only have access to chat rooms, discussion forums or other
electronic communication forums that have been approved by the school.
• Chat rooms, discussion forums and other electronic communication forums will
only be used for educational purposes and will always be supervised.
• Usernames will be used to avoid disclosure of identity.
• Face-to-face meetings with someone organised via Internet chat will be forbidden.

School Website
• Pupils will be given the opportunity to publish projects, artwork or school work
on the World Wide Web.
• The publication of student work will be co-ordinated by a teacher.
• Pupils’ work will appear in an educational context on Web pages with a copyright
notice prohibiting the copying of such work without express written permission.
• Digital photographs, audio or video clips of individual students will not be
published on the school website. Instead photographs, audio and video clips will
focus on group activities.Video clips may be password protected.
• Personal pupil information including home address and contact details will be
omitted from school web pages.
• Pupils will continue to own the copyright on any work published.
Legislation
The school will provide information on the following legislation relating to use of the
Internet which teachers, students and parents should familiarise themselves with:
• Child Trafficking and Pornography Bill 1997
• 1993 Interception Act
• Video Recordings Act 1989
• The Data Protection Act 1988
Support Structures
The school will inform students and parents of key support structures and organisations that deal with illegal material or harmful use of the Internet.
Sanctions
Misuse of the Internet may result in disciplinary action, including written warnings,
withdrawal of access privileges and, in extreme cases, suspension or expulsion.
The school also reserves the right to report any illegal activities to the appropriate authorities.