E-Safety  policy

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Policy statement: 

The internet is an incredible resource for children to access, exploring their interests and chatting to friends etc., but it can also be a very dangerous place for them.  They can be exposed to inappropriate material, harassment and bullying, viruses and hackers and be vulnerable to online grooming by paedophiles.  We want all the children to enjoy their experiences on the computers, without the dangers they may face.

Procedures: 

Accessing the internet

In order to make the internet as safe a place as possible for the children that use it at Little Rockets we:

    Only allow children to play age appropriate games and learning tools with adult supervision
    Have a filter on all the computers that block most inappropriate material
    Do not allow children to go into chat rooms or send emails
    Check the history on the computers on a regular basis
    Limit the time children have on the computer
    Supervise children when they are accessing the internet

Social media sites

We feel that restrictions should be placed on staff when they access social networking sites.  The nursery has a high reputation to upkeep, and comments made on sites such as ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ could have an impact on how parents using the nursery view the staff.  Therefore, staff must adhere to the following:

    Staff must not post anything onto social networking sites that could be construed as having a negative impact on the nursery and its reputation
    Staff must not give out personal details about the nursery or anyone connected with it over a social networking site, and must bear in mind that they are bound by a confidentiality agreement
    Staff must not post anything onto social networking sites that may offend any other member of staff, parent or anyone who uses our nursery
    Staff must not allow parents to view their pages on social networking sites, and must not ask to view parent’s pages either.  The only exception is if the parent was already a ‘friend’ and given privileges to view the staff members pages before they started working for Little Rockets
    Staff who do not adhere to these points may face disciplinary action, which could result in dismissal.

Parents/Relatives who use social networking sites

We appreciate that parents and relatives of children attending our nursery use social networking sites, and often post positive feedback of their own and their child’s experiences of the nursery.  There may be times when their experiences have not been as positive and therefore we:

    Ask that any grievances from parents/relatives are resolved by bringing them to the attention of the Manager and by using our complaints procedure
    View any negative feedback made about the nursery, its staff, other parents, relatives or children on social networking sites as abuse and may inform other agencies to resolve the matter quickly.  This may affect the parents/relatives right to bring their child to the nursery.

   Digital Images

   For all parents/carers who have signed a permission form allowing staff at Little Rockets to take digital photographs of their child, we will delete all media of their child either when:

●    they leave the setting
●    they leave the setting to go to a new setting that does not subscribe to Tapestry or
●    if permission is revoked.

This will be done within 30 days of the child leaving the setting or within 24 hours if permission has been revoked.

When children move on to Reception class, the Tapestry Online Learning Journal will be transferred to a memory stick and given to the parent for a nominal fee, or emailed to the parents directly.  We will seek permission from parents that want to be emailed their child's Tapestry as it is not possible to be done by secure email.  If the child is moving to a new setting where they subscribe to Tapestry Online Learning Journal, then we will electronically transfer the learning journal to the new setting as soon as we have been requested to do so.  For any other reason that a child leaves the setting, we will hold their Tapestry account for 30 days and then delete it permanently. During this time, the parent/carer can request in writing that we transfer the journal to memory stick for them to collect, or by email.  We will not post memory sticks or give them to anyone other than the named parent(s) or carer(s) on the application form who have parental responsibility.