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01 Dec 2008, Time:23:58
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Development Service for Young People - Safe and Acceptable Use of the Internet
This page has been written by several youth workers and young people from www.youth.org.uk. If you think it can be improved or have comments please email David Whewell at davidwhewell@wiltshire.gov.uk
Rules of the Net
- All young people, when using the Internet at this Centre/Project (or even at home) should use the following 'Rules of the Net'.
- I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number or anyone else's address and phone number.
- I will tell a youth worker or my parents/carers if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
- I will never agree to get together with someone I meet online without first checking with a youth worker or my parents/carers.
- I will not respond to any messages that are vulgar, insulting or make me feel uncomfortable in any way. I will inform a youth worker or my parents/carers if I get a message like that.
- I will not copy information created by other people and claim it as my own work. This includes stories, information, pictures, and art.
- I will seek permission before going on-line and agree how long I can spend surfing (It costs!).
- I will not seek, search, publish or download information/pictures which may be offensive or illegal*. If in doubt I will ask for advice from a youth worker or parent/carer.
Warning
Files that are downloaded from the net are logged with a time and a date on your computer's hard disk. Deleting these files will never completely erase them. This means that if an authority, such as the Police, ever searches your computer's hard disk it will be found!
Think before you search,
before you click,
before you download!
Guidance for Youth Workers
- Young people are supervised whilst using the Internet to ensure that the ‘Safe and Acceptable Internet Use policy’ is being upheld.
- Youth projects display the ‘Rules of the Net’ alongside every computer.
- Young people and youth workers are aware of and agree to abide by this policy.
Safe and appropriate use of the Internet - Guidelines for Staff
Youth Development Co-ordinators have a responsibility for safety and security in relation to internet use and need to consider the following guidelines regarding the safe use of the Internet.
- All use of the Internet must be through the South West Grid for Learning.
- All staff and volunteers who will at some time be responsible for supervising young people’s use of the Internet, must be trained or experienced in its use and be aware of the issues surrounding it’s use in order that they are competent in ensuring the ‘Rules of the Net’ are followed.
- Training will be offered to Youth Development Service staff to enable everyone involved in supervising use of the internet to be competent and confident in their role.
- All staff and volunteers must be aware that there is a considerable amount of material on the Internet that is unsuitable for young people. This includes pornographic, racist, extremist, political, and drug related information as well as information which is deliberately misleading or incorrect.
- All Service staff have a duty of care and must take all reasonable steps to protect young people against deliberate or accidental access to such material. In practice this is likely to be through the use of an electronic filtering mechanism supported by the careful supervision of Internet use. All computers connected to the South West Grid for Learning benefit from sophisticated filtering software. However, staff and volunteers must be aware that no filtering system will be 100% secure unless it works on the basis of only giving access to previously viewed sites. Undesirable sites should be reported to the helpdesk for addition to the filtered list.
- Appropriate supervision of young people using the Internet by staff/volunteers who are aware of the Internet and the issues surrounding its use is essential. Staff should know what young people are looking at and how to trace the history of web site access during a particular session.
- There are systems to monitor the use of the Internet made from individual computers. Staff, volunteers and young people need to be aware of this activity.
- It may be appropriate to restrict access to the Internet from particular computers or for particular users. This is possible using a password or network access control function. Contact the Helpdesk for assistance if needed.
- Young people should be encouraged to develop an understanding of what is and what is not appropriate material and should be encouraged to inform the youth worker should inappropriate material be found.
- All staff, volunteers and young people should sign a 'Safe and Acceptable Use Policy'. For young people this can be included in the membership form.
- Members of the community coming into the project/centre to use the ICT facilities must be made aware of these rules and procedures when using the Internet.
Contact Details
By Post
Development Service for Young People
Operational Office
Estcourt Crescent
Devizes
SN10 1LR
By Email
youthdevelopmentservice@wiltshire.gov.uk
By Telephone
01380 735780
