St Peters NS Snugboro

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Acceptable Use Policy

General Information

Click here to view updated Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY (A.U.P.) - ST. PETER’S N.S., SNUGBORO.

The Acceptable Use Policy will henceforth be referred to as the A.U.P in this document.
This policy was originally created in December 2011 and is reviewed regularly. It is envisaged that school and parent representatives will revise the A.U.P regularly and will update if deemed necessary. The school reserves the right to amend this policy from time to time entirely at its discretion.
The Policy should be read in conjunction with other school policies including our Child Protection Policy, Anti-Bullying Policy, Code of Behaviour, our Health and Safety Statement and our Covid 19 Response plan.
The A.U.P should be read carefully to ensure that the conditions of use are accepted and understood.
It is assumed that the parent/legal guardian accepts the terms of the A.U.P. unless the school is specifically notified.
The A.U.P. is designed to take into account changes in technology and social media over time.
The policy applies to the use of internet and technology resources while on school premises and the use of any school resources that can be accessed outside of school. This policy provides guidelines to parents on the safe use of technology in the home.
AIM:
The aim of this A.U.P is to ensure that pupils will benefit from learning opportunities offered by the school’s Internet resources and I.T. in a safe and effective manner. Internet and I.T. use and access is considered a school resource and privilege. Therefore, if the school A.U.P. is not adhered to this privilege will be withdrawn and appropriate sanctions – as outlined in this A.U.P. – will be imposed.
School’s Strategy:
The school employs a number of strategies in order to maximise learning opportunities and reduce risks associated with the Internet. These strategies are as follows:
Education and Internet Awareness
General
 The school uses IXL Literacy, IXL Numeracy and Seesaw as learning platforms. All pupils and teachers will be given an IXL and Seesaw account.
 All teachers have a professional g-mail address which will only be used for communication with parents and fellow staff .(Article 8 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation, commonly referred to as the GDPR, sets out that the legal age of digital consent is 16. It further states that member countries may enact legislation setting their own age of digital consent between the ages of 13 and 16. The Data Protection Act 2018 set the legal age of digital consent in Ireland at 16. This precludes a primary school child from setting up and operating an email account. Therefore, in relation to communication by email, our school will only communicate with families via parent(s)/guardian(s) email.)
 Internet sessions will always be supervised by a teacher.
 Pupils will seek permission before entering any Internet site unless previously approved by a teacher
 Filtering software and/or equivalent systems will be used in order to minimise the risk of exposure to inappropriate material and to block unsuitable sites.
 The school will regularly monitor pupils’ Internet usage.

 Pupils and teachers will be provided with training in the area of Internet safety.
 Uploading and downloading of non-approved software will not be permitted.
 Virus protection software will be used and updated on a regular basis.
 The use of personal U.S.B. sticks, CD-ROMs, or other digital storage media in school requires a teacher’s permission.
 Pupils will treat others with respect at all times and will not undertake any actions that may bring the school into disrepute.
 Websites will be previewed / evaluated by a teacher using a filtering system, before being integrated into lessons conducted on school devices.

Education and Internet Awareness Resources
St. Peter’s NS will undertake an education programme to educate children on the safe, responsible use of the Internet. Cyber-bullying has become a significant threat for young people. Through education and awareness, we aim to limit our children’s susceptibility to it as they progress in primary school. 21
st century life presents dangers including violence, racism and exploitation from which children and young people need to be protected. At the same time, they need to learn to recognise and avoid these risks – to become internet wise. It is important to note that the school’s Anti-Bullying Policy should be read in conjunction with this Policy.
Parents/Guardians and pupils should be aware that placing a once-off, offensive or hurtful internet message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as a bullying behaviour.
Resources that may be used to implement this programme include:
PDST (Tech in Ed) Resources on www.ncte.ie
Use of the internet Safety Resources on www.webwise.ie website and others including
 www.internetsafety.ie
 http://www.ncte.ie
 http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/
 http://www.getsafeonline.org/
 www.watchyourspace.ie
 Talks on Internet Safety may be provided for parents and the local Community Garda may be invited in to speak to the children in senior classes regarding the importance of Internet Safety.

The safety of our children on the web is of utmost importance so the following rules apply to the school and parents. Web 2.0 is open to potential dangers when used inappropriately. To this end:
Many social media sites have minimum age of 13 requirements. E.g. Snapchat, Instagram, Tik tok ,YOLO, Houseparty, etc.(This list is not exhaustive.)

While the school will not monitor this, we would advise parents to not allow their children to have personal social media accounts until they are of the appropriate age. Social media sites may be used by teachers in class, for example, Youtube, Twitter. However, all interactions will be under the supervision of the teacher.


Please do not “tag” photographs or any other content which would identify any children or staff in the school.

Please ensure that online messages and comments to the school are respectful. Any messages written on social media are treated in the same way as written messages to the school.

It is expected that any online communication between pupils and their teachers will use appropriate language, grammar and punctuation conventions and not ‘text speak.’ For example this might include homework to be submitted via seesaw/parents’ email.

Avoid any negative conversations about children, staff or parents on social media accounts.

Please do not request to “friend” a member of staff in the school. The staff would like to keep their personal lives private. It may be awkward for a staff member to be asked to ignore a Facebook or other social network request.

World Wide Web
 Pupils will not intentionally visit Internet sites that contain obscene, illegal, hateful or otherwise objectionable materials.
 Pupils will report accidental accessing of inappropriate material to their teacher.

They will engage in a two-step process
The student:
1. Clicks on Home
2. Immediately notifies the teacher who takes appropriate steps
 Pupils will use the Internet for educational purposes only.
 Pupils will be familiar with copyright issues relating to online learning. Pupils will not copy information into assignments and fail to acknowledge the source (plagiarism and copyright infringement).
 Pupils will never disclose or publicise personal information.
 Downloading/Uploading materials or images not relevant to their studies, is in direct breach of the school’s acceptable use policy.
 Pupils will be aware that any usage, including distributing or receiving information, school-related or personal, may be monitored for unusual activity, security and/or network management reasons.

Email
 Pupils may use approved class email accounts or other online accounts under supervision by or permission from a teacher.
 Pupils will not send or receive any material that is illegal, obscene, and defamatory or that is intended to annoy or intimidate another person.
 Pupils will not reveal their own or other people’s personal details, such as addresses or telephone numbers or pictures.
 Pupils will never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they only know through emails or the internet.
 Pupils will note that sending and receiving email attachments is subject to permission from their teacher.

Pupils’ Online Accounts: e.g. Seesaw, IXL etc.
Pupils may be provided with approved password protected accounts for educational reasons.
 Pupils/Parents may only access their own account. Any attempt to access the approved account of another user will be considered a serious breach of this policy.


The school may use digital photographs, audio or video clips focusing on group/class/whole-school activities as well as digital photographs, audio or video clips of individuals. These may be shared via seesaw/email/school website with parent(s)/legal guardian(s).

Internet Chat
 Pupils will only have access to chat rooms, discussion fora, messaging or other electronic communication fora that have been approved by the school.
 Chat rooms, discussion fora and other electronic communication fora will only be used for educational purposes and will always be supervised.
 Usernames will be used to avoid disclosure of identity.
 Pupils will never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they only know through Internet chat.

Social Media
 Many social media sites have a minimum age of 13 requirements. While the school will not monitor this, we would advise parents to not allow their children to have personal accounts on Snapchat, Instagram, Tik Tok, YOLO, Houseparty etc. until they are of the appropriate age. Social media sites may be used by teachers in class, for example, Youtube, Twitter etc. However, all interactions will be under the supervision of the teacher.
 Please do not “tag” photographs or any other content which would identify any children or staff in the school.

Please do not upload photographs or any other content which would identify any children or staff in the school on social media sites as you do not have the express permission of others to do so.
Cyberbullying:
Bullying is repeated aggression, verbal, psychological or physical conduct by an individual or group against
others. Bullying is always wrong and is unacceptable behaviour which should never be overlooked or ignored.
Cyberbullying refers to bullying which is carried out using the internet, mobile phone or other technological devices. Cyberbullying generally takes a psychological rather than physical form but is often part of a wider pattern of ‘traditional’ bullying. It can take the form of sending nasty, mean or threatening messages, emails, photos or video clips, silent phone calls, putting up nasty posts or pictures on a message board, website or chat room, saying hurtful things in a chat room, pretending to be someone else in a chat room or message board or text message and saying hurtful things, or accessing someone’s accounts to make trouble for them. Parents/Guardians and pupils should be aware that placing a once-off, offensive or hurtful internet message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as a bullying behaviour.
 Any form of harassment using electronic devices, commonly known as cyberbullying is prohibited and will not be tolerated.
 Pupils are encouraged to report an incident or any communication that constitutes cyberbullying to the school or any member of staff.
 The school will take any report of cyberbullying seriously and will investigate credible reports immediately.


School Website
 Pupils may be given the opportunity to publish projects, artwork or school work on the World Wide Web in accordance with clear policies and approval processes regarding the content that can be loaded to the school’s website.
 The publication of student work will be co-ordinated by teachers.
 The website will be regularly checked to ensure that there is no content that compromises the safety of pupils or staff.
 Pupils’ work will appear in an educational context on Web pages with a copyright notice prohibiting the copying of such work without express written permission.
 Pupils will continue to own the copyright on any work published.
The school may use digital photographs, audio or video clips focusing on group/class/whole-school activities but may also include digital photographs, audio or video clips of individuals. Video clips may be password protected.
 Personal pupil information including home address, telephone numbers and contact details will be omitted from school web pages.
The school website will avoid in so far as possible publishing both the Christian and surname of individuals in a photograph.
 The school will ensure that the image files are appropriately named – will not use pupil’(s)’ full names in image file names or ALT tags if published on the web.

Media / Professional Bodies:
Where the school deems it appropriate, the school may authorise other professional bodies to use digital photographs, audio or video clips focusing on group/class/whole-school activities but may also include digital photographs, audio or video clips of individuals to promote our school. E.g. Snugboro Parents’ Association, Sporting Bodies, The Library, The Linenhall Arts Centre, R.S.A., Credit Union, Mayo County Council, Castlebar Parish, Local and National Media, Social media platforms. (This list is not exhaustive.)
Mobile Phones/Personal Devices:
Pupils are forbidden from bringing a mobile phone/personal device to school.
Pupils may not use any personal device with recording or image taking capability while in school or on a
school outing. Any such breach of the Acceptable Use Policy (A.U.P.) will be sanctioned accordingly. Any
images or recordings taken by class teachers on smartphones or other personal devices must be downloaded onto the school server/cloud or on to the school website/twitter account and then immediately deleted from source.
Distance Learning:
In circumstances where teaching cannot be conducted on the school premises, teachers may use
Seesaw, emails ,phone calls and any other platform approved by the Board of Management to assist with remote learning where necessary.
 The school has signed up to the terms of service of the Online Platforms in use by the school.
 The School has enabled the most up to date security and privacy features which these Online Platforms provide.
Legislation
The school draws your attention to the following legislation relating to use of the Internet which teachers, pupils and parents should familiarise themselves with:
EU General Data Protection Regulations 2018
 Anti-Bullying Guidelines for Primary Schools 2013
 Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003

Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998
 Video Recording Act 1989
 The Data Protection Act 1988
 Interception Act 1963
 Google Privacy Policy
 Google Privacy Principles
Google Apps Security page

Sanctions
Misuse of the Internet and I.T. may result in disciplinary action, including written warnings, withdrawal of access privileges and, in extreme cases, suspension or expulsion. The school also reserves the right to report any illegal activities to the appropriate authorities.
Conclusion:
This Acceptable Use Policy use will be amended from time to time as required. Any member of staff who uses I.T. is deemed to have made him/ herself aware of these policies.
This Policy was reviewed and adopted by the Board of Management in December 2020.
Chairperson of the Board of Management - Michael Kelly

Principal - Catherine McHale


A.U.P. Appendix

The Board of Management of St. Peter’s N.S. is satisfied that the school’s remote learning plan is meeting all of the
requirements of the Department of Education and Skills remote learning guidance but the Board of Management is
cognisant of the fact that pupils have no face to face engagement with their teacher and classmates during a
prolonged closure.
Therefore, having reviewed our school’s remote learning plan, the Board of Management is authorising the use of
Zoom as as a home school communication platform in addition to Seesaw, emails and phone calls for check-in whole
class calls.
Whilst considering its use, the Board of Management has taken into account that the use of zoom has Child
Protection issues and G.D.P.R. issues and one does not necessarily complement the other. The B.O.M. authorises
the use of Zoom in good faith, providing that the following is adhered to:
 Pupils, parents and staff comply with the school’s Acceptable Use Policy and the school’s Code of Behaviour
which are available to view at www.stpetersnssnugboro.ie
 Zoom will be optional for pupils and will be used solely as a check in/wellbeing call for pupils with their class
teacher and another staff member. It will not be used as a method of live formal teaching of concepts.
 Teachers will share a link to the zoom call via parent(s)/legal guardian(s) email (only with parents who have
consented to their child participating in a zoom call ).These links are not to be shared with anyone outside of
that child’s class. The school will not share this link with anyone outside of the class.
 There will be at least two members of staff co-hosting a class zoom call, e.g. class teacher and an S.N.A./ a
Special Education Teacher and /or the principal.
 Parents’ written consent is required (due to legal digital age of consent being 16) for a child to use Zoom.
 It is mandatory that children are supervised by an adult at home during Zoom sessions. (Child Protection
purposes).As there are privacy/G.D.P.R. issues when all pupils have a parent/legal guardian present, we ask
that the adult maintains a discreet distance (out of eyesight and within earshot) from their child.
 Parents are asked to set the login name as the child’s full name.

Only children in the class participate in the zoom calls.
 The camera must remain on for the duration of the call and no child should have access to another device
whilst on the zoom call.
 Recording of the zoom call is strictly forbidden e.g. video, audio, photo/screen shot
 In the event of a data breach of any kind, (e.g. a stranger entering the call etc.) this will result in the zoom
class being immediately ended. It is the law that Data breaches have to be referred to the Data Protection
Commissioner and they may have to be referred to the gardaí and/or Túsla (Child and Family Agency).
 If a host teacher loses their zoom connection, the co-host will ask all children to leave the meeting.(If both
staff members lose connection parents are asked to end the meeting for their child)
 The host teacher will end the meeting for all.
 Sanctions will be imposed for misuse of this privilege.

February 2021

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