St Albert the Great Catholic School believes in the educational benefits of internet use within the curriculum. We also recognise the dangers and plan accordingly to help ensure appropriate, effective and safe pupil use. Pupils’ safety is paramount.
The statutory curriculum requires pupils to learn how to locate, retrieve and exchange information using ICT. In delivering the curriculum, we need to integrate the use of communications technology such as web-based resources and email. Computer skills are vital to access life-long learning and employment; indeed we think ICT is now an essential life-skill; it is an entitlement for students who show a responsible and mature approach to its use. We believe the school has a duty to provide students with quality internet access as part of their learning experience.
In common with other media such as magazines, books and video, some material available via the internet is unsuitable for pupils. The school will take all reasonable precautions to ensure that users access only appropriate material. However, due to the international scale and linked nature of internet content, it is not possible to guarantee that unsuitable material will never appear on a school computer. We recognise the need to provide pupils with as safe an internet environment as possible and a need to teach them to be aware of, and respond responsibly to, the risks. Neither the school nor Hertfordshire County Council can accept liability for the material accessed, or any consequences of internet access.