K. Harrison 31/03/99

Use of the Internet -A Policy for Any Junior School
1.	Introduction.
2.	Using the Internet for Education.
3.	Pupils’ Access to the Internet.
4.	Expectations of Pupils using the Internet.
5.	Web Site Guidelines
6.	Internet Agreement- Pupil Version
1.	Introduction.
Usually, the resources used by pupils in school are carefully chosen by the teacher and determined by curriculum policies. Use of the Internet, by its nature, will provide access to information which has not been selected by the teacher. Whilst pupils will often be directed to sites which provide reviewed and evaluated sources, at times, they will be able to move beyond these, to sites unfamiliar to the teacher.
The problems and issues that have been highlighted by the media concern all schools.  Whilst some of the media interest is hype, there is genuine cause for concern that children might access unsuitable material either accidentally or deliberately.
The purpose of this policy is to:
· Establish the ground rules we have in school for using the Internet
· Describe how these fit into the wider context of our discipline and PSE policies 
· Demonstrate the methods used to protect the children from sites containing pornography, racist or politically extreme views and violence. The school believes that the benefits to pupils from access to the resources of the Internet, far exceed the disadvantages. Ultimately, the responsibility for setting and conveying the standards that children are expected to follow, when using media and information resources, is one the school shares with parents and guardians.
At Any, we feel that the best recipe for success lies in a combination of site-filtering, of supervision and by fostering a responsible attitude in our pupils in partnership with parents.
Parents will be sent an explanatory letter and the rules which form our Internet Access Agreement (Attached to the end of this document). This can be seen as an extension to the Home School Agreement.
2.	Using the Internet for Education The benefits include:
ü access to a wide variety of educational resources including libraries, art galleries
and museums
ü rapid and cost effective world-wide communication
ü gaining an understanding of people and cultures around the globe
ü staff professional development through access to new curriculum materials,
experts’ knowledge and practice
ü exchange of curriculum and administration data with LEA/DFEE
ü social and leisure use.
ü greatly increased skills in Literacy, particularly in being able to read and appraise critically and then communicate what is important to others The school intends to teach pupils about the vast information resources available on the Internet, using it as a planned part of many lessons.  All staff will review and evaluate resources available on web sites appropriate to the age range and ability of the pupils being taught and the IT Co-ordinator will assist in the dissemination of this information.
Initially the pupils may be restricted to sites which have been reviewed and selected for content. They may be given tasks to perform using a specific group of web sites accessed from a common ‘Favourites’ menu on the school ‘Intranet’.  Pupils will have the opportunity to exchange information via email. They will be taught how to use the address book, how to attach files to an email and how to follow conventions of politeness.
As pupils gain experience, they will be taught how to use searching techniques to
locate and specific information for themselves. Comparisons will be made between
researching from different sources of information, (CD Rom, books, WWW). We hope
that pupils will learn to decide when it is appropriate to use the Internet, as opposed to other sources of information, in terms of: the time taken; the amount of information found; the usefulness and reliability of information located.
At times, information, such as text, photos etc may be “downloaded” from the Internet for use in pupils’ presentations. Tasks will be set to encourage pupils to view web sites and information with a critical eye.
Pupils will be involved as much as possible with the design, construction and maintenance of a Any School web site.
3 Pupils’ Access to the Internet
Any School will use a Notts. County Council’s “filtered” Internet Service, which will minimise the chances of pupils encountering undesirable material.  Any School will normally only allow children to use the Internet when there is a responsible adult present to supervise. However it is unrealistic to suppose that the teacher’s attention will always be directed toward the computer screen.
Members of staff will be aware of the potential for misuse, and will be responsible for explaining to pupils, the expectation we have of pupils.
Teachers will have access to pupils’ emails and other Internet related files and will
check these on a regular basis to ensure expectations of behaviour are being met.

•	3 -
4.	Expectations of Pupils using the Internet
q All pupils are expected to read and agree the Internet Agreement.
q At Any, we expect all pupils to be responsible for their own behaviour on the
Internet, just as they are anywhere else in school. This includes materials they choose to access, and language they use.
q Pupils using the World Wide Web are expected not to deliberately seek out offensive materials. Should any pupils encounter any such material accidentally, they are expected to report it immediately to a teacher, so that the Service Provider can block further access to the site.
q Pupils are expected not to use any rude language in their email communications
and contact only people they know or those the teacher has approved. They have
been taught the rules of etiquette in email and are expected to follow them
q Pupils must ask permission before accessing the Internet and have a clear idea why
they are using it
q Pupils should not access other people’s files unless permission has been given.
q Computers should only be used for schoolwork and homework unless permission
has been granted otherwise.
q No program files may be downloaded to the computer from the Internet. This to
prevent corruption of data and avoid viruses.
q No programs on disc or CD Rom should be brought in from home for use in
school. This is for both legal and security reasons.
q Homework completed at home may be brought in on floppy disc but this will have
to be virus scanned by the class teacher before use.
q No personal information such as phone numbers and addresses should be given out
and no arrangements to meet someone made unless this is part of an approved school project.
q Pupils consistently choosing not to comply with these expectations will be warned,
and subsequently, may be denied access to Internet resources. They will also come
under the general discipline procedures of the school which comprises an escalating
set of measures including a letter to parents and withdrawal of privileges.

1.	Web Site Guidelines
A web site can celebrate good work, promote the school, publish resources for projects and homework, and link to other good sites of interest.
q No names and photographs that identify individual children will appear on it q Home information and e-mail identities will not be included only the point of contact to the school i.e. phone number, school address and e-mail to Head/ Co-ordinator
q Group photos will not contain a names list
q Work displayed will be of the highest quality and reflect the status of the school
5 Internet Agreement
All pupils and their parents / guardians will be asked to read and sign an agreement covering the expectations we have of pupils using the Internet in school.
Any School Pupil Internet Agreement
This is to be read through with your parent(s) and then signed. You will be allowed Internet Access after this is returned to school.
q At Any, we expect all pupils to be responsible for their own behaviour on the
Internet, just as they are anywhere else in school. This includes materials they choose to access, and language they use.
q Pupils using the World Wide Web are expected not to deliberately seek out
offensive materials. Should any pupils encounter any such material accidentally,
they are expected to report it immediately to a teacher
q Pupils are expected not to use any rude language in their email communications
and contact only people they know or those the teacher has approved. It is
forbidden to be involved in sending chain letters
q Pupils must ask permission before accessing the Internet
q Pupils should not access other people’s files unless permission has been given
q Computers should only be used for schoolwork and homework unless permission
has been granted otherwise
q No program files may be downloaded to the computer from the Internet
q No programs on disc or CD Rom should be brought in from home for use in
school
q Homework completed at home may be brought in on floppy disc but this will have
to be virus scanned by the class teacher before use
q Personal printing is not allowed on our network for cost reasons (e.g. pictures of
pop groups/cartoon characters)
q No personal information such as phone numbers and addresses should be given out
and no arrangements to meet someone made unless this is part of an approved
school project
q Pupils consistently choosing not to comply with these expectations will be warned,
and subsequently, may be denied access to Internet resources.
I have read through this agreement with my child and agree to these safety restrictions.
Signed: ________________________________________ (Parent/Responsible Adult)
Name of child: _______________________________________.C:\windows\TEMP\Internet Policy.doc

Dear Parents
Responsible Use of the Internet
As part of the government sponsored ‘National Grid for Learning’, the school has installed a new computer system which gives the children access to the Internet.
Mindful of the problems there are with children gaining access to undesirable materials, we have taken steps, along with the Local Education Authority, to deal with this.
Our Internet access is supplied by Notts. County Council and it has a built in filtering system that restricts access to sites containing inappropriate content. All our screens are in public view and normally an adult is present to supervise.
No system is perfect, however, and you should be aware that it is not possible to remove entirely the risk of finding unsuitable material. We have been asked by the LEA to inform you of the rules which the children are expected to follow to help with our precautions. Early indications are that the children benefit enormously from this facility and are using it very responsibly already.
I would ask you to look through these rules and discuss them with your child and then return the signed form to us at school.
If you would like to have a look at our full ‘Policy for Internet Access’, I will be more than willing to forward you a copy- particularly by email as this is cost free to the school. E-mail me on --------------------- marking the subject as ‘Internet Policy’.
Yours faithfully
Deputy Head Teacher
ICT Co-ordinator