Parental permission letter regarding the use of the Internet.

Dear Parents,

As part of the pupil’s curriculum enhancement and the development of their ICT skills, Brough School is providing supervised access to the Internet including e-mail.

We are taking positive steps to ensure that pupils do not have access to undesirable materials. Our school Internet access provider operates a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate materials.

In addition children are given clear instructions on what Internet sites they are allowed to visit. They are also closely monitored when having access to the Internet.

Whilst every endeavour is made to ensure that suitable restrictions are placed on the ability of children to access inappropriate material, the school cannot be held responsible for the nature or content of materials accessed through the Internet. The school will not be liable under any circumstances for any damages arising from your child’s use of the Internet facilities.

I enclose a copy of the Rules for Responsible Internet Use that we operate at Brough School.

Should you wish to discuss any aspect of Internet use please telephone to arrange an appointment.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr. D. W. Rowland; Deputy Head; ICT coordinator.

Parental Permission for Internet Access

I give permission for _____________________(full name of child please) to access the School Internet on the terms set out above.

Signed_____________________________________Parent/guardian.

Pupils Agreement

I agree to follow the Rules for Responsible Internet Use.

Signed__________________________________________

Print name________________________________________

Brough School Rules for Responsible Internet Use.

The school has installed computers and Internet Access to help our learning. These rules will keep everyone safe and help us to be fair to others.

· I will not access other people’s files.

· I will use my computer only for school work

· I will not bring floppy discs or CD ROMs into school without permission.

· I will always ask permission from a member of staff before using the Internet.

· I will only e-mail people I know, or my teacher has approved.

· Any messages I send will be polite and sensible.

· I will not give my home address or phone number, or arrange to meet someone, unless my parent, guardian or teacher has given permission.

· To help protect other pupils and myself, I will tell a teacher if I see anything I am unhappy with or I receive a message I do not like.

• I understand that the school can check my computer files and the Internet sites I visit.
  Brough School’s Internet Policy

March 2004

Rationale:

To provide a consensus that sees the Internet as an integral part of delivering high quality teaching and learning.

Aims:

• To ensure that Internet use is safe and closely supervised.
• To encourage the use of the Internet across a broad range of cross-curricular subjects.
• To enable pupils and staff to access and research the Internet easily and confidently.
• To teach and use the skills for sending e-mail.

Teaching and Learning:

• ICT forms an important part in teaching and learning throughout the school. It is particularly relevant to the school’s approach to learning using the VAK (visual, auditory and Kinaesthetic) system of teaching and learning.
• The Internet provides access to a vast range of educational resources. These resources are available to the classrooms via the school Internet network. Some of the sites the school has bought access to and they should be used regularly throughout the school. The teachers are fully involved in purchasing software and access to web sites via the e-learning credit funding. Each curriculum co-ordinator needs to ensure that software to enhance the teaching and learning of their subject is readily available. This could also include licensed use of web sites.
• Each classroom has the use of a laptop and projector (key stage one sharing one projector for each year group.) The use of projectors is a school priority area so that as soon as possible all classrooms will have constant projector availability. The Internet needs to be fully utilised to enhance classroom visual stimulation for the children.
• The use of e-mail is another Internet skill that needs to be taught at the appropriate age. Teachers need to ensure that the Brough School Rules for Internet Use are strictly adhered to.

Cross Curricular links.

• The Internet provides extensive opportunities for cross-curricular links. Whenever possible these links need to be made. The ICT skills for carrying out Internet research, downloading information, and sending and receiving e-mail are essential and need to be modelled and taught when applicable. However the cross-curricular potential of the Internet is huge and needs to be fully realised.

Time allocation and Organisation.

• Children’s hands on use of the computer needs to be maximised as it provides such stimulating and challenging learning materials. Researching the Internet for information and to access software websites needs to form part of this computer time. Children at the appropriate age can carry out Internet searches individually or in pairs. Group situations should be avoided if possible as dominant children tend to dominate the computer. Particular care needs to be taken to ensure that girls get a fair proportion of the Internet research/access time.

Methods of Recording.

• Each child has access to its own folder on the school network. Examples of Internet research or e-mail should be kept in these folders.

Assessment, Recording and Reporting.

• The school follows the QCA ICT Scheme of work. Teachers can keep an ongoing record of how children perform for each ICT objective. Alternatively the child’s folder is available as learning objective evidence when report writing is necessary.
• Formal written Reports are sent to parents annually. These include a section detailing how well the child is performing in ICT and this should include the child’s ability to use the Internet and when appropriate send and receive e-mail.

SEN and Inclusion.

· Brough School involves all children in the Internet to the maximum of their ability. The Internet provides excellent material and resources that make it ideal for children throughout the full spectrum of ability.

Equal Opportunities

· Brough School ensures that all children, regardless of sex, race, colour or background, have equal access to the full curriculum and are encouraged to fully participate to the best of their ability.

Health and Safety.

· All chidden need to be aware of the dangers that using the Internet can bring. Brough School uses an Internet provider that screens for unsuitable material. However children need to be closely supervised at all times when accessing the Internet. They should not access the Internet without a teacher’s permission. They should know that their web visits are monitored by the teacher, the school and the Internet provider. Any attempts to visit unsuitable sites will be recorded and acted upon. Should children encounter any unsuitable material that has evaded the screening process they should inform their teacher immediately.

· The same restrictions apply to the children’s use of e-mail. The children need to be made aware that e-mail is monitored and that only sensible messages should be sent. On no account should children be visiting chat rooms unless specifically recommended and monitored by the teacher. The dangers of communicating with strangers, either by home or school computers, needs to be pointed out. Children must know that they should never give details of their telephone number or address and that they should never arrange to meet anyone they may have contacted through the Internet.

· These safety measures are included in the school rules on using the Internet safely. These rules have been agreed to by the parents and children and will be enforced rigorously.

Review.

· This policy will be reviewed annually by the ICT coordinator.

· Last reviewed November 2007.