E-SAFETY POLICY /

E – SAFETY POLICY

1 / Mission

1.1‘Realising student potential and achieving excellence’

2 / Context
2.1
2.2
2.3 / This policy is written in the context of the College Corporate Strategy 2015-18 and with particular reference to the College Strategy forInformation Technology.
The context of this policy supports the following:-
Safeguarding Statement
The College recognises its responsibilities and duties under the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015 requirements, which defines safeguarding as:
•protecting children from maltreatment;
•preventing impairment of children’s health or development;
•ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
•taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
The College believes that safeguarding students is our paramount concern and therefore safeguarding issues take priority in relation to any other policies and/or procedures.
The College works in line with the Statement of Government Policy on Adult Safeguarding; Safeguarding Adults Principles to safeguard and prevent abuse of vulnerable adults.
  • Empowerment- Presumption of person led decisions and informed consent.
  • Prevention- It is better to take action before harm occurs.
  • Proportionality- Proportionate and least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented.
  • Protection- Support and representation for those in greatest need.
  • Partnership- Local solutions through services working with their communities. Communities have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse.
  • Accountability- Accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding.
H&S Statement
Doncaster College recognises its responsibilities and duties under the Health and Safetyat Work Act 1974, to provide a healthy and safe working and learning environment so far as is reasonably practicable. This duty extends to cover employees, students, contractors, Visitors and members of the public and covers all its related activities and undertakings.
Equality & Diversity Statement
Doncaster College strives to promote an ethos and image that positively reflects its commitment to advancing equality of opportunity and celebrating diversity. The College does not tolerate any prejudicial behaviour by any member of its community and has a zero-tolerance policy to bullying, harassment and victimisation. Every step is taken to eliminate unlawful discrimination and foster good relations among all social groups. The College is committed to ensuring that it does not discriminate either directly or indirectly against individuals on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership.
3 / Purpose

3.1Doncaster College recognises the benefits and opportunities which new technologies offer to teaching and learning. We encourage the use of technology in order to enhance skills and promote achievement. However, the accessible and global nature of the internet and variety of technologies available mean that we are also aware of potential risks and challenges associated with such use. Our approach is to implement safeguards within the college and to support staff and students to identify and manage risks independently. We believe this can be achieved through a combination of security measures, training and guidance and implementation of our associated policies. In furtherance of our duty to safeguard students and the Every Child Matters agenda, we will do all that we can to make our students and staff stay e-safe and to satisfy our wider duty of care. This e-safety policy should be read in conjunction with other relevant college policies.

4 / Scope

4.1The policy applies to all users of the College community who have access to the College IT systems, both on the premises and remotely. Any user of college IT systems must agree to adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The e-Safety Policy applies to all use of the internet and electronic communication via the College internet connection regardless of ownership of the communication device be it the property of the College, privately owned or material relating to.

4.2The following are examples of electronic communication:

Email

Chat room

Instant Messaging

Video conferencing

Blogging/Micro Blogging

Social Networking

Text Messaging

VLE (Blackboard).

4.3The following are examples of communication devices:

Computer

Laptop

Games Console

Mobile Device (includes mobile phones, tablets and similar devices)

E-Book Reader

MP3/Video Player.

5 / Responsibility

5.1There are clear lines of responsibility for e-safety within the College. The Director of Information Services(IS) is responsible for ensuring that technical and systems processes and procedures are in place to meet the College policy requirements. The Director of Information Services (IS) is also responsible for advising the College on the on-going developments in threats and prevention and will keep records of any incidents of e-safety issues reported. The Director of IS will inform the senior management of the College on the reporting of any incident. All staff are responsible for ensuring the safety of students and should report any concerns immediately to the Director of ISvia the IS Service Desk (also see Appendix 1).

All teaching staff will be made aware of the need to draw attention to the students’ e-responsibility (where the opportunity arises) and to adhere to a reporting procedure as contained in Appendix 1. When informed about an e-safety incident, staff members must take particular care not to guarantee any measure of confidentiality towards either the individual reporting it, or to those involved and should not attempt to investigate the incident as that might incriminate themselves.

All students will be informed via Induction and tutorial of who to report to and what to do if they have e-Safety concerns. Where any report of an e-safety incident is made, all parties should know what procedure is triggered and how this will be followed up. Where management considers it appropriate, the Director of IS may be asked to intervene with appropriate additional support from external agencies.

5.2Director of Information Services

The Director of Information Services is responsible for recording incidents, reporting any developments and incidents to the Cross College Safeguarding Group.

5.3Designated Officers

The College’s Designated Officers will ensure that if staff and or students are distressed due to e-safety issues that they are appropriately supported through the Counselling and Welfare Service.

Where appropriate Designated Officers will make referrals to external agencies such as PPU, Social Services, LADO and Safer Neighbourhood Team.

If the issue breaches College policy the Designated Officers will instigated disciplinary action through the Academy structure or through HR.

5.4Cross College Safeguarding Group

The Cross College Safeguarding Group isresponsible for agreeing staff development and training, and liaising with the Director of Information Services and external agencies to promote e-safety within the College community.

5.5Students

Students are responsible for using the College IT systems and mobile devices in accordance with the College’s Acceptable Use Policy, which they must agree to and sign. Students are responsible for attending e-Safety awareness sessions as part of their extended tutorial programme and particularly at the start of the year.

They are expected to seek help and follow procedures where they are worried or concerned, or where they believe an e-Safety incident has taken place involving them or another member of the College community. Students must adhere to College policies at all times when using the internet and/or mobile technologies.

5.6Staff

All staff are responsible for using the College IT systems and mobile devices in accordance with the College Acceptable Use Policy, which they must actively promote through embedded good practice through Inductions, tutorials and learning and teaching. Staff are responsible for attending staff training on e-Safety and following good e-safety practice at all times.

All digital communications with students must be carried out in line with the College communications policy and be professional in tone and content at all times. Online communication with students is restricted and must only be done through approved College networks, VLE, student email, and social networking sites approved and risk assessed by the College.

This policy will, however, be monitored and kept under review by the Cross College Safeguarding Group.

All staff must apply relevant College policies and understand the incident reporting procedures. Any incident that is reported to or discovered by a staff member must be reported to the Director of Information Services without delay. (See Appendix 1)

6 / Monitoring, Review and Dissemination

6.1The College Safeguarding Group is made up of key staff across the College, including Executive Members. The policy is subject to approval by the Group and ultimately the College Executive.

6.2The impact of the policy will be monitored regularly with a full review being carried out annually. The policy will also be reconsidered where concerns are raised through safeguarding concerns or the Group.

7 / Policy
7.1 / Security

The College will do all that it can to make sure that the College network is safe and secure. Every effort will be made to keep security software up to date. Appropriate security measures will include the use of enhanced filtering and protection of firewalls, servers, routers, work stations etc. to prevent accidental or malicious access of college systems and information. Digital communications, including email and internet postings, over the College network, will be monitored in line with the Acceptable Use Policy.

7.2 / Risk Assessment

When implementing the use of new technologies and online platforms, the Director of Information Services will undertake a risk assessment where significant risks are identified. The assessment will be undertaken in line with the College Risk Assessment policy and the outcome of the risk assessment will determine the appropriate control measures required to reduce the risks to an acceptable level.

7.3 / Behaviour

Online communication can take many forms, whether it is by email, mobile devices, social networking, video conferencing or instant chat. It is essential that all students and staff are aware of and understand what constitutes acceptable behaviour when communicating online.

Doncaster College will ensure that all users of technologies adhere to the standard of behaviour as set out in the Acceptable Use Policy.

The College will not tolerate any abuse of IT systems. Whether offline or online, communications by staff and students should be courteous and respectful at all times. Any reported incident of bullying or harassment or other unacceptable conduct will be treated seriously and in line with the student and staff disciplinary codes.

Where conduct is found to be unacceptable, the College will deal with the matter internally. Where conduct is considered illegal, the College will report the matter to the police and/or the Public Protection Unit.

7.4 / Use of Images and Video

The use of images or photographs is popular in teaching and learning and should be encouraged where there is no breach of copyright or other rights of another person. This will include images downloaded from the internet and images belonging to staff or students.

Doncaster College staff will provide information to both students and staff on the appropriate use of the images and on the use of copyright. Our aim is to reinforce good practice as well as offer further information for all users on how to keep their personal information safe. Students will receive training as part of their personal safety lessons and staff are advised to read the College Safeguarding Handbook.

Photographs of activities on the College premises should be considered carefully and have the consent of the relevant Curriculum/Business Support Area Head/Director before being published. Approved photographs should not include names of individuals.

Doncaster College Nurseries adhere to the Reproduction of Images of Children Procedure which sets out best practice in relation to the use of images and video. All photographic activities are regulated by the Nursery management in in relation to the relevant procedures and practices outlined within the procedure.These procedures are informed by Early Years and Childcare services.

7.5 / Education and Training

With the current unlimited nature of internet access in wider society and via personal mobile devices (not attached to the College networks), it is not possible for the College to eliminate all risks for staff and students. It is our view therefore, that the College should support staff and students through training and education. This will provide them with the skills to be able to identify risks independently and manage them effectively.

For students:

Issues associated with e-safety apply across the curriculum and students should receive guidance on what precautions and safeguards are appropriate when making use of the internet and technologies. Students will receive information as part of their Induction on what to do and who to talk to where they have concerns about inappropriate content, either where that material is directed to them, or where it is discovered as part of a random search. A link to the College e-Safety Policy will be available when users log on to the College’s VLE and these rules should be highlighted in posters and leaflets around IT areas and work stations.

Within classes, students will be encouraged to question the validity and reliability of materials researched, viewed or downloaded. They will also be encouraged to respect the copyright of other parties and to cite references properly.

For staff:

Staff will take part in e-safety training during their probationary period and via CPD. This will be agreed by the Cross College Safeguarding Group. Further resources of useful guidance and information will be issued to all staff following the session. Staff must ensure that they inform the Centre for Professional Development of the date they attended the training and the Centre for Professional Development will record the date on the centrally held electronic CPD register.

New or temporary users will receive training on the College IT system, (as part of their Staff Induction Programme). They will also be asked to sign the College Acceptable Use Policy.

7.6 / Incidents and Reports

Where an e-safety incident is reported to the College this matter will be dealt with very seriously. The College will act immediately to prevent, as far as reasonably possible, any harm or further harm occurring. If a student wishes to report an incident, they can do so to their teacher or to the IS Service Desk (See Appendix 1). Where a member of staff wishes to report an incident, they must contact their line manager (See Appendix 1). Following any incident, the College will review what has happened and decide on the most appropriate and proportionate course of action. Sanctions may be put in place, external agencies may be involved or the matter may be resolved internally depending on the seriousness of the incident. This is in line with the college Acceptable Use Policy. Serious incidents will be dealt with by senior management, in consultation with appropriate external agencies.

7.7 / Feedback and Further Information

Doncaster College welcomes all constructive feedback on this and any other College policy. If you would like further information on e-safety, or wish to send us your comments on our e-Safety Policy, then please contact: our Director of Information Services at

Useful Links for Further Information:

Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre

Internet Watch Foundation

DirectGov-‘Staying Safe Online’

Get Safe Online

Appendix 1

e-Safety Reporting Procedure

Originator: Director of Information Services (version: e-Safety PolicyRev2016.v1.1.doc) Page 1 of 8

First Approval Date: September 2013 Under Review March 2016

Approved by Committee: Cross College Safeguarding GroupNext Review Date: Apr 2016