Student ICT Responsible Use Policy and Agreement
| • All of Brighton Grammar School’s policies are intended to be up to date and be consistent with all relevant laws. |
| • All members of the School Community are expected to comply with all applicable policies. |
| • Various parts of the policies require managers and staff to exercise discretion and the policies are not intended to be applied in a legalistic or prescriptive manner. |
| • These policies may be varied by Brighton Grammar School from time to time, at its absolute discretion. |
| • The policies do not form part of an employee’s contract of employment |
Purpose
New technologies have become integral to the lives of children and young people in today’s society, both within schools and in their lives outside school. The Internet and other digital information and communications technologies are powerful tools, which open up new opportunities for everyone. These technologies can stimulate discussion, promote creativity and create awareness of context to promote effective learning. Young people should have an entitlement to safe Internet access at all times.
This Responsible Use Policy is intended to ensure:
- Students will be responsible users and stay safe while using the internet and other communications technologies for educational, personal and recreational use.
- School ICT systems and users are protected from accidental or deliberate misuse that could put the security of the systems and users at risk.
The school will try to ensure that students will have good access to ICT to enhance their learning and will, in return, expect the students to agree to be responsible users.
Responsible Use Policy Agreement
I understand that I must use school lCT systems in a responsible way, to ensure that there is no risk to my safety or to the safety and security of the ICT systems and other users.
For my own personal safety:
- I understand that the school will monitor my use of the ICT systems, email and other digital
- I will not share my user name and password, nor will I try to use any other person’s username and
- I will be aware of “stranger danger”, when I am communicating on-line.
- When on-line I will not disclose or share personal information about myself or
- I will immediately report to my Head of House or Head of Year any unpleasant or inappropriate material or messages or anything that makes me feel uncomfortable when I see it on-line.
- I will not remove my computer from the school domain or uninstall compulsory
I understand that everyone has equal rights to use technology as a resource and:
- I understand that the school ICT systems are primarily intended for educational use and that I will not use the systems for personal or recreational use unless I have permission to do
- I will not try (unless I have permission) to make large downloads or uploads that might take up Internet capacity and prevent other users from being able to carry out their
- I will not use the school lCT systems for on-line gaming, on-line gambling, Internet shopping, peer-to-peer file
- I will not use the school lCT systems for video or audio streaming (e.g. YouTube), unless I have permission of a member of staff to do
I will act as I expect others to act toward me:
- I will respect others’ work and property and will not access, copy, remove or otherwise alter any other user’s files, without the owner’s knowledge and permission.
- I will be polite and responsible when I communicate with others, I will not use strong, aggressive or inappropriate language and I appreciate that others may have different
- I will not take, distribute or alter images or videos of anyone without their permission
I recognise that the school has a responsibility to maintain the security and integrity of the technology it offers me and to ensure the smooth running of the school:
- I will only use my personal hand held / external devices (mobile phones, tablets / USB devices etc) in school if I have I understand that, if I do use my own devices in school, I will follow the rules set out in this agreement, in the same way as if I was using school equipment.
- I understand the risks and will not try to upload, download or access any materials which are illegal or inappropriate or may cause harm or distress to others, nor will I try to use any programmes or software that might allow me to bypass the filtering / security systems in place to prevent access to such materials.
- I will immediately report any damage or faults involving equipment or software, however this may have
- Iwill not open any attachments to emails, unless I know and trust the person / organisation who sent the email, due to the risk of the attachment containing viruses or other harmful
- I will not install or attempt to install programmes of any type on a machine, or store programmes on a school computer, nor will I try to alter school computer
- I will only use chat and social networking sites with permission and at the times that are allowed.
When using the Internet for research or recreation, I recognise that:
- I should ensure that I have permission to use the original work of others in my own work
- Where work is protected by copyright, I will not try to download illegal copies (including music and videos)
- When I am using the Internet to find information, I should take care to check that the information that I access is accurate, as I understand that the work of others may not be truthful and may be a deliberate attempt to mislead.
- When engaging in discussion boards or other online networks, I will not pretend to speak for others or the school.
I understand that I am responsible for my actions, both in and out of school:
- I understand that the school also has the right to take action against me if I am involved in incidents of inappropriate behaviour, that are covered in this agreement, when I am out of school and where they involve my membership of the school community (examples would be cyber-bullying, use of images or personal information).
- I understand that if I fail to comply with this Responsible Use Policy Agreement, I will be subject to disciplinary action. This may include loss of access to the school network / Internet, detentions, suspensions, contact with parents and in the event of illegal activities involvement of the police.