At St Mary’s we believe that all students should be given access to ICT facilities and the Internet, to enhance education and learning at the school. Frequently students will be required to use the computers and access the Internet independently, for research and to broaden the students understanding of computers and the Internet. Unfortunately, as you may be aware there is a small proportion of unsuitable material on the Internet. To help prevent accidental or deliberate access to the material, the school Internet connection is directed via the civic centre proxy service which has a built in content filter. This is not a 100% guarantee that all inappropriate material is filtered out. There are staff in school that also monitor Internet material to prevent access to inappropriate material; this combination of methods allows access to the Internet to be as safe and secure as we can make it. All students have their own username and password which is used to give them access to their own private file storage space. Regular checks are performed on these network areas to ensure that they are used appropriately.
Students should:
- Use the computers as a tool to enhance their own learning
- Effectively use their time on the facilities
- Respect and protect the computer facilities
- Keep their password undisclosed to prevent unauthorised access by others to their files.
Students should not:
- Deliberately try to access dangerous, offensive or unsuitable material
- Deliberately damage computers or network equipment
- Download and install software / programs onto the computers
- Bring in virus- infected portable storage mediums
- Waste time
- Waste time of the teachers
- Try to gain access to somebody else’s account or try to temporarily lock out or disable their account.
Students should bear in mind that gaining access to other people’s network files when they are not authorised to do so is in violation of the Computer Misuse Act (1990) and therefore illegal. Access to material which may offend or discriminate against others is also illegal.
Students are responsible for the content and use of their network file space, and must not allow others to access this as all activities which are monitored can be traced back to the user, which is then cross-referenced with the school’s database of usernames and owners. Any material which is inappropriate and found on the file is their responsibility alone. If they believe that someone may be using their account or knows their password, they should contact a member of the network support staff immediately.
Students found in violation of any of these rules / regulations will have their accounts and therefore computer access disabled temporarily or permanently and in some special circumstances parents and police may become involved.
Suspected misuse or inappropriate use of the resources provided should be reported immediately.
St Mary’s e-safety policy can be viewed below:
