Microsoft Word - EDU-FOI-2009-166 RESPONSE.doc

Education Resources
Executive Director Larry Forde
Operations Service

Mrs Fitzsimons
Our ref:
EDU/FOI/2009/166
request-21490-
Your ref:

[email address]
If calling ask for:  Molly Magee

Phone:
01698 454512
Date:
24 November 2009

Dear Mrs Fitzsimons

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Request for Information

Thank you for your request for information, received on 21 October 2009. Your request has been
dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Please find listed below your request for information and our response:
•  full details of the Internet Safety Actions and Initiatives currently in place throughout the
region.

1.  Internet Safety Education provided as part of the school curriculum.
Within  your  schools  has  a  specific  program  aimed  at  teaching  children  about  staying
safe online, including cyber bullying been integrated into the curriculum?
In response to the above questions, I can advise you that our aim, through the use of modern
technology, is that children will grow to be effective learners and responsible citizens.

Whilst  there  are  considerable  benefits  to  children’s  learning  through  the  use  of  ICT  in
educational  establishments,  there  continues  to  be  a  need  to  have  in  place  protocols  and
procedures that help keep children and staff safe.  The care, safety and welfare of all children
is paramount.

To help ensure this, the Council has invested in, and has in place, a managed ICT service in
our educational establishments.  This prevents access to certain sites and helps to ensure that
we have robust quality assurance procedures in place in terms of internet safety.  In schools,
pupils are required to sign a responsible use agreement parent/pupil consent form.

Education Resources has in place an operating procedure to provide advice and guidance on
the use of ICT, USB devices, mobile telephones and other electronic communication devices in
all  educational  establishments  and  libraries  throughout  South  Lanarkshire.      This  operating
procedure covers:
•  Ethics of the internet,
•  Consent form for young people,
•  Consent form for employees,
•  Safe use of the intranet,
•  Rules for safety online,
•  Employee Code of practice on the use of ICT and the Internet

Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton ML3 0AE  Phone: 01698 454512  Fax: 01698 454465
Text Phone: 01698 454039  Email: [email address]

The operating procedure also contains guidelines on:
•  the use of mobile phones; and
•  Blogging (web log or on-line journal of information)
•  Cyber bullying (through email, mobile phone/text messages, blogs etc)

The Council has in place, for all employees, Acceptable Use Policies which provide clear
guidance and instructions on the use of ICT.  All Council employees are required to adhere to
the code of practice for the use of ICT equipment.

It is important that children and staff are advised on what we mean by safe use of ICT and their
role in taking responsibility for their actions.  Equally, children need to feel safe and if for any
reason they have concerns or fears they should know that they can speak to their teacher or
other  adult,  confident  in  the  knowledge  that  they  will  be  listened  to  and  action  taken,  if
necessary.   School staff are also aware of the need to be vigilant and supervise children and
young people’s use of the Internet.

•  If  yes,  who  is  responsible  for  delivery  and  what  accreditations/training  have  they
received? For example, teacher, CEOP trained ambassador.
Education  Resources  has  52  teachers  who  have  completed  CEOP  Ambassador  training  in
conjunction with Strathclyde Police.  These ambassadors are accredited to train other teachers
to  deliver  the  education  programme  to  children  in  the  11-16  age  group.  They  can  also
download resources from the CEOP website for use when working not only with young people
but also with their parents (the www.thinkuknow.co.uk website is an important resource).

•  If no, what steps/timeframes are being taken for implementation?
Please refer to the information provided above.

2.  Internet Filtering
•  Do the primary and secondary schools within your authority have internet filtering in
place?
Primary  and  secondary  schools  within  South  Lanarkshire  have  internet  filtering  in  place.
This is provided as part of the managed service contract with RM Ltd.

•  If yes, what tools do you use? For example Hardware or Software?
All establishments on the Education Wide Area Network are protected by the RM SafetyNet
family of products.  SafetyNet filtering has been specifically developed for education.

SafetyNet  Universal  runs  locally  on  RM  Smartcache  boxes  in  the  Secondary  schools  and
allows  local  customisation  of  the  filtering  policy.    Filtering  for  all  other  establishments  is
provided by SafetyNet.

It should also be noted that RM is a member of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and
the continuously updated IWF block list forms part of all RM SafetyNet products.

•  If  yes,  what  is  the  name  of  your  internet  filtering  supplier  and  when  was  their
contract last renewed/due for renewal?
The Council has a contract with RM through to September 2013.

3.  Internet Filtering Breaches
•  Have any of the Schools within the past 24 months experienced a breach of Internet
Filtering where children were able to access pornography or Indecent images. Please
provide details of School Type (Primary or Secondary), Date of Breach and Type of
Unsuitable material accessed.
•  If a breach of security occurred how was your authority notified? For example, by a
parent,  by  the  school,  through  an  automated  alert  provided  by  hardware/software
supplier.
In response to the above request, I can advise you that the Council has no record of any
breaches of internet filtering, for the reasons stated above, in primary or secondary schools.
Accordingly, Section 17(1)(b) of the Act (information not held) applies to this request.

I hope this information is helpful, however, if you require further information or assistance please
contact  Molly  Magee,  Information  and  Communication  Officer,  Operations  Service,  Education
Resources, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton, ML3 0AE.

In line with the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the Council has in place a
procedure by which a review of the way in which we handle requests for information can be carried
out.    If  you  are  dissatisfied  by  the  way  the  Council  has  dealt  with  your  request  or  about  any
decision made in connection with your request, and wish a review to be carried out, please inform
the  Council  of  this  by  26  January  2010.    In  requesting  a  review,  it  would  be  helpful  if  you  could
quote the reference number found at the top of this letter and state the matter which has given rise
to your dissatisfaction.  Requests for review should be sent to:

Mr. W. Dunn

Legal Services Adviser

Corporate Resources

Montrose House

154 Montrose Crescent

Hamilton, ML3  6LL
Alternatively, you can request a review via email: [email address].

Any review will be handled by staff not involved in the original decision.

Should you not be satisfied with the outcome of our review, you will then have the right to appeal to
the Scottish Information Commissioner.  The Commissioner will decide whether your request has
been dealt with properly, in accordance with the Act.  The Commissioner’s contact details are as
follows:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road

St Andrews, Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Fax: 01334 464611
e-mail: [email address]
For further details, please see the Commissioner’s website at www.itspublicknowledge.info.

Yours sincerely

Des Dickson
Operations Manager