Student ICT Policy

Student ICT Policy 2015-16 Student ICT Policy

Student ICT Policy

Abbey College Cambridge

Senior Persons Responsible for this Policy: Karen Lonsdale, Vice Principal (Pastoral), Mike Corbett, Director of Operations

Telephone: 01223 578280

Email: [email protected] [email protected]

This policy is reviewed on an annual basis Annual Policy reviewed by: Karen Lonsdale, Mike Corbett Annual Review date: February 2016 Next date of Annual Review: August 2016

This policy has been adopted by the governors, is addressed to all members of staff and volunteers where appropriate, is available to parents on request and is published on the school's website. It applies wherever staff or volunteers are working with pupils, including when this involves being away from the school.

2 Student ICT Policy

Network Policy

All students are encouraged to use the network facilities, including the Internet for tasks associated with their learning programmes. You are expected to demonstrate a responsible approach when using the resources and to show consideration for the other network and Internet users. You have no right to use these facilities purely for leisure and you will be required to follow all the conditions laid down on this Policy.

The network must not be used for:

 Offensive, racist, sexist, obscene or indecent material.  Extremist online activity including intolerant views of faith or life choices or expressing anti-British views.  Illegal activities.  Gambling.  Cyberbullying.  Material that can mislead or cause unnecessary anxiety.  Copyright material.  Advertising.  Hacking (deliberate unauthorised access to facilities or services within the College or via the Internet).  Activities that might: oWaste staff effort or network resources. oCorrupt or destroy other users’ data. oViolate the privacy of other users. oDisrupt the work of other users. oDeny service to other users (for example, by overloading the connection to the internet).  Activities that might affect the operation of the network, software of terminals e.g.: o Install or use any items of software (including games) not authorised by a member of staff. o Alter system settings, desktop wallpapers, icons etc. o Set passwords on screensavers. o Introduce ‘viruses’.

Use of Network Associates Anti-virus Protection Software

 This software is running on all College computers with regular updates managed by the Group I.T. support. E-mail scanning is also automatic although if you get any suspicious mail you should alert the college reception for them to inform the college’s ICT contractors.

 To scan a file, folder, floppy disk or USB Flash drive open My Computer then right-click on the object with the mouse and select “scan for viruses” from the menu.  If you think your computer may have a virus click on Start, All Programs, Network Associates, VirusScan Console then Scan All Fixed Disks then Start.  If you get a message on screen at any time to say a virus has been found the message should also give you the options to “Clean, Delete or Move” the file. Always choose to either Clean or Delete. If you then get a message to say the file cannot be cleaned or deleted contact the college’s reception immediately. Failure to do this may result in the virus infecting the rest of the College network.

Internet access Acceptable Use Policy for Staff and Students

 The college provides access to ICT and to the resources of the Internet to facilitate teaching, learning, research and communication. A policy on use of these resources has been formulated and all staff and students must agree to abide by this policy. Individual logons are provided for each member of the college.  Internet access is only available through the college network and firewall and it is forbidden for users to change any settings on computers or to attach a modem to any computer.  All downloaded files must be scanned for viruses before being accessed.  The Internet and e-mail may not be used for transmitting, retrieving or storing of any communications or images which are:

o Harassing – harassment is unwanted conduct (including insults and ‘jokes’) which relates to gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or other similar issues. o Defamatory – defamation is the publication of material which adversely affects the reputation of a person or company. o Copyright – copyright means that the owner of such material has the exclusive right to determine how that material might be copied and used. Copyright material may not be transmitted if the owner’s permission has not been obtained. o Pornographic – pornographic means any material of a sexual nature. As there can be no possible legitimate business use for accessing or transmitting sexually explicit materials at work, the question of whether or not such material constitutes pornography is not relevant to the use of the college’s internet services and all such material is prohibited. o Illegal – including extremist views that undermine Fundamental British Values.  Use of the college’s Internet facilities to deliberately propagate computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses or trap-door programmes is prohibited.

 Use of the college’s internet facilities to disable or overload any computer system or network, or to attempt to disable, defeat or circumvent any system intended to protect the privacy or security of another user is prohibited.  Users must not install additional internet or e-mail related software or change the configuration of existing software without the authorisation if the I.T. Manager.  Use of the college’s internet facilities to download or distribute pirated software or data is prohibited.  Use of the college’s internet facilities to upload software licensed to the college, or to upload data owned by the college without good reason is prohibited.  Use of the college’s internet facilities to download entertainment software of games or to play games against others over the internet is prohibited.  All users will respect the privacy of other users.

Newsgroups/Online

 Newsgroups can offer a wealth of potentially valuable information and advice but can also consume inappropriately large amount of time and energy. In addition, newsgroup messages often provide links to inappropriate web pages and users should be aware of the risk of inadvertently accessing unacceptable sites by this means.  Users must not access newsgroups which are not related to learning.  Users must not participate in discussions which are politically sensitive or controversial, whether nationally or locally, and users must not give advice or information which they know to be contrary to the college’s policies or interests.  Newsgroups are by definition public forums. Users must therefore not reveal any information which might reasonably be deemed to be sensitive or confidential.  Because of the risks associated with the Internet and the need for the college to maintain the integrity of its image, no user may establish or maintain a separate Internet or FTP site except where this is specifically authorised by the I.T. Manager.

Occasional and reasonable use of the Internet for personal purposes is regarded as acceptable provided that:  Systems are not used for private business or other commercial purposes including the sale or purchase of goods and services.  Use of the system does not interfere with the normal performance of the user’s duties.

Monitoring

 Use of the Internet can be of great value to students. There is an ever-increasing wealth of good quality educational resources, opportunities for research and access to the equivalent of a library far bigger than we could ever provide within college.  All internet access is now being monitored and all usage is recorded and may if necessary be viewed to ensure that users are complying with the requirements of this policy and that no misuse is taking place. Users should not expect the use of the Internet or the contents of files to be private.  Controls have been set up to prevent access to sites on the internet that could include undesirable sites but it must be understood that even with frequent updates it is impossible to guarantee all such material cannot be accessed. Users placed in this situation should report the incident to the Site Manager.

Social Media

This policy refers to personal webspace such as social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Snapchat), microblogs (e.g. Twitter) as well as content sharing sites (e.g. Flickr and YouTube) and online encyclopaedias (e.g. Wikipedia). It is not possible to name all emerging media so the principles of this policy must be followed regardless of the medium.

 Students should be aware that Abbey Cambridge Staff may have personal and professional social media accounts. Staff professional accounts will feature the staff name and ACC (Abbey College Cambridge) as the username and the staff will have the Vice Principal Pastoral, Karen Lonsdale, linked into their account where applicable. Staff will upload a professional photograph of themselves where possible. Staff are trained in social media awareness and safeguarding, and will not engage in any personal messaging with students. Sites such as Facebook and twitter are used by staff as a tool for learning, and to contribute to our online community for Facebook. Students should not be ‘friends’ with staff or strangers online. Students can contact any member of staff, or any of the recommended contacts in student planners, if concerned about social media and unwelcome or inappropriate contact. Students will not be in trouble for raising concerns and Abbey Cambridge is committed to helping students who are worried about online safety.  Staff may use file sharing services and share their password and details with the Vice Principal Pastoral and all professional online accounts are monitored weekly.  Students should only respond to staff professional email accounts and not personal email accounts. Professional email accounts are listed in the student

planners and follow the format of [email protected]. Caterers, cleaners and external visitors or external people who run clubs do not contact students via email, any contact should be reported by students to someone in the school who will notify the Vice Principal Pastoral and Designated Safeguarding Lead, Karen Lonsdale.  Students should ask first before setting up any social media groups linked to the school. Students should meet with their Heads of Year for permission.  Students should not send anonymous communication to the school or any staff.  Students will face serious consequences for any inappropriate contact with staff or if they impersonate anyone online.  Set privacy levels of your personal sites as strictly as you can to control who sees your information. Check privacy settings regularly.  When you choose a profile picture for a social networking website like Facebook or Twitter, avoid photos that could give strangers clues about where you live.  Don’t reveal your place and date of birth as someone could steal your identity.  Visit http://www.childline.org.uk to get advice about online dangers such as grooming.

General

 Breach of the rules may lead to a withdrawal of access to the College networks and further disciplinary measures. If you are not sure, ask.  Open access areas are to be treated as quiet study areas and no food or drinks are allowed. Individual network IDs and passwords must not be passed on to anyone else. You will be held responsible for any issue associated with your user ID.  Students must take responsibility for backing up their work onto USB storage or approved disks.

I have read and understood the Student ICT Policy and agree to be bound by it.

Signature: …………………………………………………………………………..

Print Name: ………………………………………………………………………..

Date: ……………………………………………………………………………….