SOCIAL MEDIA
It has come to our notice that an increasing number of our pupils make use of the Internet for Social Networking purposes i.e. they communicate with each other and others through Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Viber, Skype, MSN, Bebo etc. There are many positives to Internet use and there is nothing intrinsically wrong in using it for Social Networking, apart from perhaps a breach of legal minimum age requirements e.g Facebook users must be 13 years of age or older. Firstly, we would like you to be assured that Scoil Ursula’s Acceptable Use Policy and our Web Filtering ensures that such sites cannot be accessed through school computers. Secondly, we are aware that we have no jurisdiction over a pupil’s home, mobile phone, tablet or Internet Cafe use of the Internet. However, we did feel that it would be prudent to make our parents aware that such web interactions do occur between our pupils and that occasionally they have implications for the school Code of Behaviour in relation to unkind and sometimes insulting comments and inappropriate photographs being posted and the fallout that this may bring into the school.
If you are concerned that your child may be using the Internet inappropriately, you could ask them to show you their Facebook page or simply look it up yourself by searching on facebook.com (you will need to have an account yourself or ask someone you know that has one to help you). Be aware that your child may use a false name and will also have to lie about his/her age to set up a profile on many of these sites. In the case of the majority of cases where children use these sites, there is no reason for parents to be concerned. We have only ever become aware of a few cases where, what we would regard as, inappropriate use is present. Be aware that much of the inappropriate use takes the form of commenting on other pupils’ pages and images and need not necessarily be evident on a pupil’s own page. There is also an increasing practice of children setting up false accounts in other children's names and using these accounts to post inappropriate comments and material about others under the cloak of anonymity. This is categorised as identity fraud and, should the school become aware of such instances, we are obliged to pass on this information to the Gardaí. Occurrences of Cyber-Bullying are dealt with under the terms of our Anti-Bullying Policy.
We just wanted to ask that you make yourselves and your children aware of the risks of the apps and services available online and how best to protect themselves. While we do our best in school to educate children in internet safety we cannot supervise what they do outside of school time. We would urge you to inform yourselves as best you can on the topic and have open and honest discussions about keeping your son/ daughter safe online and how to behave appropriately and responsibly online.
Some websites that may help: www.internetsafety.ie ; http://www.webwise.ie/ ; http://www.hotline.ie/
If you are concerned that your child may be using the Internet inappropriately, you could ask them to show you their Facebook page or simply look it up yourself by searching on facebook.com (you will need to have an account yourself or ask someone you know that has one to help you). Be aware that your child may use a false name and will also have to lie about his/her age to set up a profile on many of these sites. In the case of the majority of cases where children use these sites, there is no reason for parents to be concerned. We have only ever become aware of a few cases where, what we would regard as, inappropriate use is present. Be aware that much of the inappropriate use takes the form of commenting on other pupils’ pages and images and need not necessarily be evident on a pupil’s own page. There is also an increasing practice of children setting up false accounts in other children's names and using these accounts to post inappropriate comments and material about others under the cloak of anonymity. This is categorised as identity fraud and, should the school become aware of such instances, we are obliged to pass on this information to the Gardaí. Occurrences of Cyber-Bullying are dealt with under the terms of our Anti-Bullying Policy.
We just wanted to ask that you make yourselves and your children aware of the risks of the apps and services available online and how best to protect themselves. While we do our best in school to educate children in internet safety we cannot supervise what they do outside of school time. We would urge you to inform yourselves as best you can on the topic and have open and honest discussions about keeping your son/ daughter safe online and how to behave appropriately and responsibly online.
Some websites that may help: www.internetsafety.ie ; http://www.webwise.ie/ ; http://www.hotline.ie/