Primary 4

Internet Safety Policy - Steps We Take to Protect Children in School

Article Index

Steps We Take to Protect Children in School

Use of a Filtered Service

Access to the Internet is provided through a filtered service.  All access is provided through the C2k managed service which is designed to filter out unsuitable material.

Supervision

No filtering service is 100% effective, therefore all children's use of the Internet is supervised by an adult.

Planned Activities

Use of the Internet is a planned activity.  Aimless surfing is not allowed.  Children are taught to use the Internet in response to a need e.g. a question which has arisen from work in class.

Websites are previewed by teachers and revisited to ensure that they are suitable for children's curriculum needs and ability levels.

Search engines are used selectively.  Teachers will choose the search engine and topic and discuss sensible search words which have been tried out beforehand.

Restrictions on E-mail

Children are not given individual web-based e-mail addresses.  In some instances children may have access to a group e-mail address to communicate with other children as part of a particular project.  Messages sent and received in this way are supervised by the teacher.

WebCam

The use of the webcam will always be supervised and prearranged by appointment.  The teacher will always supervise. Webcam will only be used as a means of linking up with other schools and libraries, e.g. in connection with a topic.

Internet Safety Rules

Children are taught to be Internet Wise.  Children are made aware of Internet Safety Rules and are encouraged to discuss how to cope if they come across inappropriate material.