HINCHINGBROOKE

SCHOOL

Policy  Statement

on

ICT

Drawn up by :                      JPS/JBM

Date:                                    May 2006

Revised :                              

Hinchingbrooke School ICT Policy 2006

Introduction

This document describes the terms and objectives of computer use within the school.

All computer users agree to be bound by the terms of use.

ICT Policy Summary 

• Computer access must only be made via the user's authorised account and password, which must not be given to any other person.

• All school computer system use must be appropriate to the student's education or to staff professional activity.

• Irresponsible use of any computer system may result in disciplinary action or prosecution.

• The security of ICT systems must not be compromised, whether owned by the school or other organisations or individuals.

• Only equipment funded and/or authorised by the school may be used on the computer network.

• The ICT technical team is responsible for the acquisition, installation and repair of all hardware and software comprising the IT infrastructure.

• All teachers are issued with a notebook computer and are responsible for it.

• The school may exercise its right to monitor the use of the school's computer systems.

• Confidential email material should be sent with extreme care and accuracy of addresses is essential.

• Copyright and intellectual property rights must be respected.

• Use for personal financial gain, gambling, political purposes or advertising is forbidden.

• Safety and practical guidelines exist for publishing website materials.

• Public Internet chat rooms are not permitted.

• Student achievement can be improved via ICT use.

• The School Improvement Plan sets out details of a number of specific objectives, targets and actions related to ICT.

• The IT Strategy Group implements, monitors and evaluates any ICT initiatives.

• The Head of ICT manages all teaching of ICT and is responsible for the provision of appropriate courses for all students.

• ICT in teaching and learning is the responsibility of Heads of Department and their Departmental team.

Section 2 ICT Policy Detail

1.     ICT and the School Community

• Our fundamental objective is to use ICT to raise the standard of student achievement across the school.
• “Impact 2” a report produced by Becta on the impact of ICT on teaching and learning finds a difference of a grade or more at GCSE in ICT rich schools compared to non ICT rich schools.
• ICT is a motivator for students to learn and do well.

2.     The School Improvement Plan

The plan sets out details of a number of specific objectives, targets and actions related to ICT. These are stepping-stones to achieving the overall aim.

3.     The IT Strategy Group

1. The school IT Strategy Group implements, monitors and evaluates the ICT strands of the School Improvement Plan and any ICT initiatives by school teams. These strands comprise:

ICT Facilities

ICT Core Skills

ICT in Teaching & Learning

ICT in Management, Administration & Communication.

2. The group is responsible for policy on data management and collection, staff development issues, including Internet and email acceptable use and legal and copyright issues, and communication systems, internal and with parents and the wider community.
3. The head teacher chairs the IT Strategy Group.

4.     The ICT Technical Team

1. The team are responsible for the acquisition, installation and repair of all hardware and software comprising the IT infrastructure.
2. They manage passwords and access rights to the school systems for staff and students. Computer access must be only made via the user’s authorised account and password, which must not be given to any other person. Computers should not be logged on and left unattended.
3. Staff must consult the IT Systems Manager regarding the suitability of equipment for use on the school system and must not acquire, connect or install any hardware or software without his express permission.
4. It is the school policy to replace computers on a 3 to 5 year cycle depending upon the financial situation pertaining at the time.
5. All teachers will be provided with a school laptop to aid their teaching, communication and administration. This equipment is the responsibility of the teacher to whom it is allocated.
6. It is the policy of the school to standardise the use of word processing, spreadsheet, data base, presentation and desktop publishing by adopting MicrosoftTM  Office software products
7. This standard must be strictly adhered to in the interests of staff, students, training and maintenance, so that documents and ICT tools are accessible across the school.
8. Lists of the version(s) of this and other licensed software are available form the ICT technical team.
9. Use of any unauthorised, or unlicensed, hardware or software on any of the school’s systems is the responsibility of the user and may lead to disciplinary action.
10. Circumstances leading to any damage or loss to ICT equipment must be reported, in detail and in writing, to the IT Systems Manager by the member of staff responsible for the equipment.
11. Where the damage or loss is the result of carelessness or misuse by a member of staff or a student, a charge may be applied to cover the cost of repair/replacement or insurance excess. The insurance excess is currently £350.

5.     Core skills in ICT

1. The Head of ICT manages all teaching of ICT and is responsible for the provision of appropriate courses for all students.
2. Queries regarding internal staff training on generic software (e.g. spreadsheets) should be made through Heads of Department to the Head of ICT.
3. The Head of ICT may make more general IT courses available to staff to improve their skills and qualifications in ICT.
4. The Deputy Head i/c CPD is in overall charge of training for subject specific software or training on admin systems.
5. All staff will be expected to undertake appropriate training on ICT.

6.      ICT in Teaching and Learning

1. ICT in teaching and learning is the responsibility of Heads of Department and their Departmental team.
2. Proposals for developing the use of ICT in each subject area should be included as part of each Team Improvement Plan.
3. Heads of Department should consult the Head of ICT and the IT Systems Manager to assist their planning work in this area.
4. The use of ICT in lessons should be embedded in Department Schemes of Work and its use will be monitored and evaluated by Heads of Department and Senior Staff as part of the School self evaluation programme.

7.      Management, Administration and Communication.

1. All staff will be trained to use ICT as a management tool and as a means of communication with colleagues.
2. The Information Services team manage the student and academic databases.
3. Management Information Systems are employed to assist teachers with assessment, recording and reporting of student progress and other appropriate information.
4. Data from these systems will contribute to the production of School Attainment targets at each Key Stage and will assist the production of the School Improvement Plan.

8.     Discipline

1. All members of the school are required to read and accept the conditions of this policy, in writing, before they will be granted computer access.
2. Failure to comply with any part of the policy may result in temporary or permanent suspension of access to part or all of the IT service provided by the school. This will have consequences for a pupil’s work and progress and may affect external examination results (GCSE, AS or A2).
3. Staff or pupil abuse of computer access will be referred to the school manager concerned for consideration of further disciplinary action in so far as the abuse contravenes other policies of the school.

9.     Email Introduction

1. The school e-mail system should be used predominantly in conducting school business or occasional, responsible, private use.
2. User attention is drawn to the fact that e-mail messages are stored electronically and can be accessed by authorised staff.

10.     Email Responsibilities

1. All e-mail will be associated with the school (by the e-mail address) and therefore users should ensure that all messages are suitable in tone and content to prevent possible embarrassment to the school. 
2. Inappropriate or offensive e-mail, whether business or personal, sent using the school’s e-mail system might result in disciplinary action. This includes nuisance actions, such as the origination or circulation of “chain-mail” or “spam”.
3. Incoming e-mail correspondence and attachments are routinely checked for viruses but do not automatically assume that all e-mail attachments are safe. Any message asking you to follow a set of instructions is potentially unsafe and advice should be sought from the IT department before complying. This is especially true when the sender is unknown to you.
   

11.     Email Composition & Style Guidance

1. Message size should be kept to a minimum. As a general rule documents that contain anything other than text, for example pictures or graphs, should not be sent by e-mail. These larger document types should be shared with other users by placing them on a network file server. The school has several file areas for this purpose; contact the IT department for more information.
2. Although a convenient tool, e-mail should only be sent selectively (targeted to a minimal audience) and not as a substitute or alternative for more appropriate means of communication for example a meeting or telephone conversation which allow immediate responses.
3. E-mail should not be used for mass mailing procedures, (for example e-mailing a regular newsletter) unless a recipient has asked to participate in the process. If an e-mail of this type is received without a prior request it is known as “spam”.
4. A problem for e-mail systems is the concept of “chain-mail”. These messages encourage recipients to forward copies to a number of contacts, usually for unrealistic rewards. “Chain-mail” damages the effectiveness of the e-mail system and serves no other purpose. Any user responsible for originating, or forwarding, “chain-mail” on the network will be in breach of this e-mail operational policy and may be removed from the system as a temporary or permanent measure.
5. Email sent externally (via the internet) should be treated as insecure. Confidential or sensitive information should not be transmitted via this method as it could be intercepted.
6. Extreme care must be exercised in ensuring accuracy of address details, particularly when personal and/or sensitive information forms part of the correspondence.
7. Like a letter, e-mails contain no visual expressions, body language, tone of voice etc.  To guard against potential misunderstandings, e-mail should be kept as clear and simple as possible.
8. Email should always contain a subject line to aid housekeeping procedures.
9. Given that e-mail could be stored indefinitely and retrieved for documentary evidence in disciplinary proceedings, libel cases etc., users need to be mindful of the associated implications when composing.

12.     Email Housekeeping

1. Ideally users should check their mailbox at least once each day.
2. Users need to be responsive to incoming messages, and ensuring appropriate action is taken.
3. An effort should be made to delete redundant messages and to ensure that the number of messages stored is kept at a manageable level.
4. Do not use the “deleted item” folder as a filing system.
5. To maximise performance of the e-mail system the IT department reserve the right to delete e-mail records held on the system. Users will, where possible be informed in advance that deletion will take place. Users are therefore required to ensure that any correspondence sent or received, which they wish to retain, must be transferred to a separate file area, for example your personal space on the network file server. Transfer important messages or attachments out of the e-mail system as soon as possible, especially items you cannot afford to lose.

13.     Internet Access

1. Pupils may only access the Internet during lessons with their teacher’s permission.
2. Access is provided for private study for Sixth Form only in Room 51 and 57 (when available). Other access is available in the Resources Centre.
3. The service provider (through CCC) provides some filtering of Internet content, and the school has further control to block access to particular sites. Any sites identified as inappropriate will be blocked.
4. Filtering, in any form, will not entirely eliminate the risk of users accessing inappropriate material either on purpose or by accident.
5. Any pupil who discovers inappropriate material on a website must inform their teacher or other responsible adult, who will inform the Technician team and arrange for the site to be blocked.
6. Any pupil who fails to report accidental access to inappropriate material will be dealt with under the discipline section of this policy.
7. Any pupil who deliberately accesses inappropriate material on the Internet will be dealt with severely.
8. Any staff who discover inappropriate material on a website should inform the Technician team directly.
9. Users must not attempt to circumvent systems put in place to block access to inappropriate sites.
10. The school will endeavour to make the use of search engines as safe as possible.

14.     Supervision of Pupils

1. The IT department have access to a log of Internet pages visited by all users and will use this to identify misuse.
2. Teaching staff will control and monitor Internet access by pupils in their classes as far as possible.
3. Resources centre staff will also monitor use by students.

15.     Publishing Information on the Internet

1. The danger to pupils of exploitation or abuse involving use of the Internet through personal information being used to trace, contact and meet children, have been well documented in the media.
2. It is the school policy to prevent such information being made available for misuse.
3. The first name and surname of an individual should not be published together.
4. On no account should either first names or surnames be attached to photographs of pupils published on websites nor should identification be possible from the filename of the picture.
5. Full face photographs and photographs of individual pupils should not be published as they may be copied and misused. Photographs of pupils should be of general groups and taken in a way that protects their identity.
6. Written permission to publish photographs of students may have been granted by parents when the pupils return the acceptance of the summary of the Internet policy. This form is then held on the pupil's file in the admin office. Staff should double check that this permission has been given before publishing photographs on the web site.
   

16.     Public Chat Rooms

1. Chat rooms enable users to communicate with each other as a group, rather like using email for a conversation, with instant replies and contributions from participants.
2. There is no control over participants in public Internet chartrooms and the participants are not always as they describe themselves.
3. The use of public Internet chat rooms in school is not permitted.
4. Parents and pupils are advised that under no circumstances should children give personal details to other participants in public Internet chat rooms whether they are accessing the Internet at home or anywhere else, as it could lead to dangerous situations.
5. The school seeks to educate pupils in the safe use of the Internet and to help to provide guidance to parents and families.
6. Further information is available at http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/chatsafe.

17.     School Online Learning Environment

1. Online Learning Environments provide closed websites with password-protected access. They offer the opportunity to create learning communities for communication and collaboration with (school) controlled membership.
2. The school intends to develop the use of Online Learning Environments to the benefit of its pupils and staff, by giving protected access to communication channels and school information of every type, wherever the user may be accessing the Internet.
3. Access to an online Leaning Environment provides a secure environment for use of email, web publishing, online discussion and chat compared to the public Internet.
4. It is sometimes possible for information posted on an OLE to be made publicly available. Such publication is subject to the same rules as the public Internet (see above).
5. Pupils should not divulge any personal information to people whom they do not know and with whom they may communicate using an OLE.
6. Training will be provided to staff and students on how to use the OLE safely, by keeping information private within the school/educational domain.

18.     School Web Site

1. The school website is managed by the IT Technical Team. They will maintain the site and will upload content on request.
2. Access to create/upload pages for specific areas of the school may be delegated to staff working in those areas (e.g. Departments) subject to the terms of this policy.
3. All information uploaded to the website should be time limited, i.e. it should be published for a finite period of time that is appropriate, if possible so that it is automatically removed after that period of time.
4. Exceptionally some items published for an unrestricted time but should be reviewed at least annually.
5. Heads of Department/Managers are responsible for monitoring/editing content to be published on the website relating to their department or wider school responsibilities. They should arrange for any inappropriate content to be removed and advise/deal with any staff or students responsible.
6. Leadership Group links should, from time to time, monitor the website pages relating to their areas of responsibility. They should arrange for any inappropriate content to be removed and advise/deal with staff or students responsible.
7. Website materials that are created by students should have the content reviewed by the appropriate member of staff prior to publication.