E-Safety for Governors

March 2010

Governors roles and responsibilities

Governors are responsible for the approval of the E-Safety Policy and for reviewing the effectiveness of the policy. This will be carried out by the Governors / Governors Sub Committee receiving regular information about e-safety incidents and monitoring reports. A member of the Governing Body may take on the role of E-Safety Governor (it is suggested that schools consider this being a separate appointment to the ICT Link Governor as this should not be seen as an ICT role), I appreciate that in many schools, governors have to take on more than one responsibility for an area, however, don't be tempted to mix these two roles up as this is very much a whole school policy and a Limiting judgement in an Ofsted inspection.The role of the E-Safety Governor will include:

– meetings with the E-Safety Co-ordinator / Officer/Headteacher – monitoring of e-safety incident logs and filtering / change control logs – reporting to relevant Governors committee / meeting – ensuring they have a clear understanding of e-safety issues and risks – Keep up to date with the latest developments through meetings with staff in

school and governor training. – NGA www.nga.org.uk/uploadfiles/documents/NGA-Becta%20Sept.pdf

A useful handout for governors can be DOWNLOADED HERE

Schools should consider:

• Are pupils given an opportunity to contribute to school internet safety policies?

• Are pupils and their parents provided with a copy of the acceptable use policy/rules for ICT use when the pupil joins the school?

• Is it appropriate to the pupil’s age and prior exposure to ICT?

•Are pupils reminded of internet safety rules each time they use the technology?

•Does the school have a policy/framework for teaching internet safety skills?

•Does the school provide appropriate opportunities within a range of curriculum areas to teach about internet safety?

• How does the school go about educating pupils of the dangers of technologies which they might encounter outside school?

• How is pupils’ understanding of internet safety issues assessed or measured?

• Are pupils aware of relevant legislation when using the internet, such as that relating to data protection and intellectual property, which may limit what they want to do, but also serves to protect them?

• Are pupils aware of the impact of online bullying, from the perspective of both the victim and the tormentor? Do they know where to seek help if affected by these issues?

• Are pupils aware of where to seek help and advice if they experience problems when using the internet and related technologies, for example, their teacher, parents, carers, or organisations such as CEOP.

• Becta have a series of essential guides for school governors relating to the use of ICT.

Click Clever Click Safe

http://www.ceop.gov.uk/ie8/To install on your Internet browser