Policy For Laptops - advice needed please.

[mattx]

I'm looking for some advice in regards to creating a laptop policy please.
I'm looking for advice in the wording and statements. I would like to state that the laptops are the teacher’s responsibility; the school ICT dept will not support any third party software or third party internet connections.
The data on the laptop is the sole responsibility of the user and only work copied over to their personal disk space will be backed up and that if the laptop is given to us for repair it will be simply be put back to its original status when handed over [ re-imaged ]
I think you get the picture !!
So if anyone has something I could use, or some advice on wording such a policy I would appreciate it.

[kmount]

Before I left the school I'd been working on this which was an extract from our County derived AUP.

Acceptable Use Rules for Staff (Staff AUR)

To ensure that all adults within the school setting are aware of their responsibilities when using any ICT equipment or services, such as the Internet or Email, they are asked to sign these Acceptable Use Rules.

This is so that they provide an example to children and young people for the safe and responsible use of ICT equipment or services which will educate, inform and protect and so that they feel safeguarded from any potential allegations or inadvertent misuse themselves.

I know that I should only use the school equipment in an appropriate manner and for professional uses.
I understand that I need to give permission to children and young people before they can upload images (video or photographs) to the Internet or send them via Email.
I know that images should not be inappropriate or reveal any personal information of children and young people if uploading to the Internet.
I have read the Procedures for Incidents of Misuse so that I can deal with any problems that may arise, effectively.
I will report accidental misuse to ISD.
I will report any incidents of concern for children’s or young people’s safety to the Headteacher, Designated Person for Child Protection or e-Safety Leader in accordance with procedures listed in the Acceptable Use Policy.
I know who my Designated Person for Child Protection is.
I will not contact students via personal telephone or email address as I understand this is against DCSF advice and puts me at immediate risk.
I know that I should not be using the school system for personal use.
I know that I should complete virus checks on my laptop other portable storage devices (memory stick/CDROM etc) so that I do not inadvertently transfer viruses, especially where I have downloaded resources.
I will only install hardware and software I have been given permission for from ISD and understand that should any non <SCHOOL> approved software be linked to a support incident logged with ISD it will be removed. – If copyright/illegal files are found, they too will be deleted and the incident logged.
I will ensure that I follow the Data Protection Act 1998 and have checked I know what this involves.
I will ensure that I keep my password secure and not disclose it or any other security information to anyone other than ISD. If anyone else requests my password I will alert ISD immediately.
I will change my password in line with the college password policy (currently 60 days) and will ensure that no hardcopy is kept.
I have been given a copy of the Acceptable Use Policy to refer to about all e-safety issues and procedures that I should follow.
I will adhere to copyright and intellectual property rights.
I will only store confidential/personal data on my laptop/computer which has an encrypted hard disk in the event of it being stolen this data will remain protected.
I will not use memory sticks/etc to store confidential/personal data of students/adults.


I have read, understood and agree with these Rules as I know that by following them I have a better understanding of e-Safety and my responsibilities to safeguard children and young people when using ICT equipment and associated services.

Signed………………………………………………….Date…………………….
Name (printed)…………………………………………………….

[mattx]

Thats excellent - thanks for that kmount.

[GrumbleDook]

A little addendum to Kim's work is to include a link where the online versions of the various school policies are (data protection guidance, contact details for child protection officer, etc).

This is really just belt and braces to cover those folk who moan because you don't explicitly say where to find the information. Admittedly, they may have had a poor induction at the school, have never seen the staff handbook and also been brushed aside when they have asked for some of this info in the past.

Nice guide though ... copies will be available at the next meeting methinks.

[kmount]

Yep completely agree, belt and braces approach is essential, to the point we even considered how to interact with parents to ensure they explained the student version sufficiently for it to make sense.

Fortunately the above was actually an appendix to the whole AUP so there was no excuses for missing info.

The Northants county standard policy is excellent in itself, the ICT in schools team excelled themselves (Lisa is an e-safety goddess) I merely adapted it to more snugly fit our needs and Tony you know you're more than welcome to it (if you don't have a copy as is).

[mattx]

Here is what I have come up with so far - now someone please inform me what is vital that I have missed off !!

• I know that I should only use the school equipment in an appropriate manner and for professional uses.
• I will only install hardware and software I have been given permission for from <NAME> or <NAME> and understand that should any non SCHOOL approved software be linked to a support incident logged with the <SCHOOL NAME> ICT department will be removed. – If copyright/illegal files are found, they too will be deleted and the incident logged.
• I will ensure that I follow the Data Protection Act 1998 and have checked I know what this involves. [ Provide details ]
• I will ensure that I keep my password secure and not disclose it or any other security information to anyone other than <NAME> or <NAME>. If anyone else requests my password I will alert <NAME> or <NAME> immediately.
• I have been given a copy of the Acceptable Use Policy to refer to about all e-safety issues and procedures that I should follow. [Staff Handbook?]
• I will adhere to copyright and intellectual property rights.
• I will not use memory sticks/etc to store confidential/personal data of students/adults.
• I will report accidental misuse to <NAME> or <NAME>
• Files saved to on the laptop hard drive should be transferred to a network drive as the earliest opportunity. Local copies of confidential files should be deleted from the hard drive once they have been transferred. No responsibility will be taken if files that solely exist on the hard drive are lost due to mechanical failure or accidental deletion. [ Show staff member how to do this & provide instructions ]
• I understand the laptop could be put back to its original state when first allocated resulting in loss of software / data etc if a problem logged cannot be rectified quickly.
• I will ensure that I will take good care of the laptop and take all reasonable precautions to ensure that it is not damaged, lost or stolen.
• I will ensure the laptop will always be within the protective bag supplied when being carried.
• I will ensure I will return the laptop to the <SCHOOL NAME> ICT Department should I terminate my employment.
• I will not use any wireless connectivity to connect to any networks outside the school unless they are expressly authorised by either <NAME> or <NAME> and that it is conducted in accordance with their instructions. I will provide evidence that measures such as encryption and address control have been enforced on the wireless network I wish to connect to.
• I understand that the ICT department reserves the right to disable wireless facilities on the laptop if deemed necessary.
• I understand that limited personal use of the laptop is permitted, subject to the restrictions contained in this or any other related policy.
• I understand I must not attempt to repair any hardware faults under any circumstances.

[GrumbleDook]

A horrible back-end procedure that might be an idea, if nothing else to stop some of the possible grief this can cause, is to have somewhere an outline of how you decide what is appropriate software, who is 'education expert' in this decision process (stops the complaining about it being a valid teaching tool ... Limewire is not a valid teaching tool!) and also makes it above board.

No need to include it in this document but handy to have and handy to be signed off by the Head / SLT.

[GrumbleDook]

• I will not use any wireless connectivity to connect to any networks outside the school unless they are expressly authorised by either <NAME> or <NAME> and that it is conducted in accordance with their instructions. I will provide evidence that measures such as encryption and address control have been enforced on the wireless network I wish to connect to.

Instead of 'encryption and address control' use the term security and then point them to one of the numerous guides as to how to secure a wireless network that are out there. I'm not too sure what your staff are like but are they likely to claim that they could not understand what you were talking about because you spoke 'too technically'? You used all the right stuff as far as we are concerned but they might prefer simpler language.

[mattx]

Instead of 'encryption and address control' use the term security and then point them to one of the numerous guides as to how to secure a wireless network that are out there. I'm not too sure what your staff are like but are they likely to claim that they could not understand what you were talking about because you spoke 'too technically'? You used all the right stuff as far as we are concerned but they might prefer simpler language.

Good point, I'm quite guilty of going down the techno babble route too often.

[pete]

We have something along the lines of: "I understand that my school-provided laptop is not a substitute for me buying a home computer"*.

Which neatly addresses the "$family member uses laptop, fscks it, teacher can't use it for $job"

*none of ours are LFT, before anyone goes "Aha, but...!"