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Introduction
The Internet is an essential element for education,
business and social interaction. Internet use is part of the revised
curriculum and a necessary tool for education. The purpose of Internet use
in Mother of Divine Grace Primary School is to raise educational
standards, to promote pupil achievement, to support the professional work
of staff and to enhance the school’s management, information and business
administration systems.
This Acceptable Use Policy will address all rights,
privileges, responsibilities and sanctions associated with access to and
use of the Internet in Mother of Divine Grace Primary School.
The AUP will be revised regularly.
Aims
The aim of our Acceptable Use Policy is to ensure that
pupils, teachers and parents will benefit from the learning opportunities
offered by the school’s Internet resources in a safe, responsible 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will be withdrawn and appropriate sanctions – as outlined in the AUP -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.
Strategies
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
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Internet sessions will always be supervised.
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Systems including
filtering software will be used in order to minimise the
risk of
exposure to inappropriate material.
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The
school will regularly monitor Internet usage.
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Students will not have access to passwords.
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Students and teachers
will be provided with training in the area of Internet
safety.
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Uploading and downloading of non-approved software will not be
permitted.
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Virus
protection software will be used and updated on a regular basis.
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The
use of personal floppy disks, pen drives, CD-ROMs or DVDs in school
requires permission and all external software must be scanned with
anti-virus software before use.
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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
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Sites
that the children use in school will be previewed by their teacher
before use. Where possible, children will access web sites by using
Web Quests.
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Students will use the Internet for educational purposes only.
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Teachers and students will be familiar with copyright issues relating to
online learning.
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Students will never disclose or publicise personal information.
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All
Internet users in Mother of Divine Grace School should be aware that any
usage, including distributing or receiving information, school-related
or personal, may be monitored.
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Students will not visit Internet sites that contain obscene, illegal,
hateful or otherwise objectionable materials.
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Children should inform their teacher if they inadvertently access
information that makes them in any way uncomfortable. In the unlikely
event that this should happen, the children will be reassured and their
parents will be notified. Also, where possible, the offending URL will
be noted and the service provider will be informed.
Email
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There
is one e-mail address available to classes for work online with partner
schools.
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Emails
will be opened by a teacher and printed for children who are
participating in such projects.
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Students will not send or receive any material that is illegal, obscene,
defamatory or any
material that is intended to annoy or intimidate another
person.
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Students will not reveal their own or other people’s personal details,
such as
addresses, telephone numbers or pictures.
through emails or the internet.
Internet
Chat
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Students will only have access to closed chat rooms, discussion forums
or other electronic
communication forums that have been approved by the
school.
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Chat
rooms, discussion forums and other electronic communication forums will
only be used
for educational purposes and will always be supervised.
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Students will not have access to closed chat room passwords.
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Usernames will be used to avoid disclosure of identity.
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Meetings with someone organised via Internet chat rooms and discussion
forums is forbidden.
School
Website
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Pupils
will be given the opportunity to publish projects, artwork and school
work on the World Wide Web with parental permission.
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The
publication of student work will be co-ordinated by a teacher.
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Pupils’ work will appear in an educational context on Web pages with a
copyright notice prohibiting the copying of such work
without written
permission.
published on the school website. Instead,
photographs, audio and video
clips will focus on group activities.
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Personal pupil information including name, home address and contact
details will
be omitted from school web pages.
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Pupils
will continue to own the copyright on any work published.
Legislation
Internet users have been made aware of legislation relating
to use of the Internet. Links have been provided on the “Favourites” menu,
of each computer connected to the Internet, to the following:
http://justice.ie/80256E010039E882/vWeb/pcJUSQ5YUHTP-en
Support Structures
Websites offering support and advice in the area of
Internet Safety have been listed on the “Favourites” menu of each computer
connected to the Internet. The following is a selection:
The following guides/manuals are available in school:
Sanctions
Misuse of the Internet may result in disciplinary action
according to the School’s Code of Behaviour, which includes written
warnings, notification of parents, 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.
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