Sparklebox

[StevieM]

I removed the sparklebox toolbar from a teacher laptop just last week. It was there because Twinkl have started charging £30pa apparently.

 

Twinkl Standard is still free, although they charge for Twinkl Premium membership.

[Chris_]

Had to unblock this one today: http://sparkleboxteacherresources.ltd.uk/ why must such a legitimate site use so many different domains??

[FN-GM]

Had to unblock this one today: http://sparkleboxteacherresources.ltd.uk/ why must such a legitimate site use so many different domains??

 

Do you mean block it? Rather than unblock it?

[Chris_]

Do you mean block it? Rather than unblock it?

 

Nono. I had to unblock it SMT agreed that is was a very valuable resource for teaching. Saves the teachers loads of time etc.. All the news articles, guidelines from county councils, SWGfL etc are a couple of years old so therefore irrelevant apparently.

[FishCustard]

Point them to twinkl.co.uk - pretty much the same thing without any murkiness.

[elsiegee40]

Current advice is still to block it. It was discussed at a recent Kent eSafety Strategy Group meeting (multi agency across the county)... it is a shame if swgfl have to repeat their advice for your school to follow it.

 

The guy is a convicted paedophile. He should not be profiting from schools no matter how pretty the resources are.

[MrEprise]

SMT agreed that is was a very valuable resource for teaching

 

Teaching what exactly? Like how not to leave the placeholder index.htm file as the default homepage on an Apache web server?

 

Honestly though, that's all I get when I click on the link you posted.

[Chris_]

I've mentioned that they could use Twinkl but apparently Sparklebox is better.

 

I agree with you @elsiegee40 especially as the kids at our school are paying to be there! Apparently because he's been released from prison it's ok now.

 

On the other hand I guess the school wouldn't employ a paedophile that has been released from prison on the assumption that they are no longer a threat.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Chris_

[elsiegee40]

I've mentioned that they could use Twinkl but apparently Sparklebox is better.

 

I agree with you @elsiegee40 especially as the kids at our school are paying to be there! Apparently because he's been released from prison it's ok now.

 

On the other hand I guess the school wouldn't employ a paedophile that has been released from prison on the assumption that they are no longer a threat.

 

My independent prep still has it firmly banned... I don't see that changing any time soon fortunately.

[LeMarchand]

Nono. I had to unblock it SMT agreed that is was a very valuable resource for teaching. Saves the teachers loads of time etc.. All the news articles, guidelines from county councils, SWGfL etc are a couple of years old so therefore irrelevant apparently.

 

So your school is happy to help finance a twice-convicted paedophile? Maybe if the Jimmy Savile fan club wanted to pay to use the school hall they'd be down with that, too?

 

Surely the multiple domain names gives you a clue as to how above-board this site is?

[Nimon]

SMT agreed that is was a very valuable resource for teaching

 

I know I'm a stroppy git, but I'd definitely require that order to be in writing, on actual paper with an actual signature at the bottom of it before I complied, by way of covering my metaphorical hindquarters.

Asking for stuff in legally admissible format seems to focus the mind of the person doing the asking on occasion.

[synaesthesia]

As above, have it in writing and have that framed and on your wall. Also, go above them and run it past the governors - with something like this you can NOT be too safe.

Personally I think it's amusingly bad that anyone in such a position would ever actually want to use resources from there...

[Nimon]

As above, have it in writing and have that framed and on your wall. Also, go above them and run it past the governors - with something like this you can NOT be too safe.

Personally I think it's amusingly bad that anyone in such a position would ever actually want to use resources from there...

 

Dear LEA/Chairman of the board of governors,

The Head would like me to unblock a website run by a convicted Paedophile. Is that alright?

[synaesthesia]

That's pretty much the shape of it!

Tell you what, when you do it, let us know. I'd love to see how fast anyone let alone SMT run when a parent governor sees that....

[Nimon]

It might be worth checking your filters if you use Websense. I just looked at mine and despite my having blocked it manually some time back, it had reset itself back as an 'educational resource' site since I last looked.

 

Handy.

 

The access logs show some of our staff all over it like a rash, so there's a carefully worded email going out in a minute.

[Gibbo]

What's CEOPs current stance on it? At the time it was:

 

Following his sentencing in January, a spokeswoman for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceops) said it felt schools could use the site.

 

"Ceops feels that schools can resume use of this website in line with their normal risk assessment and management processes and in consultation with local authorities," she said

[LeMarchand]

What's CEOPs current stance on it?

 

Surely that shouldn't be the only concern, though? What if the KKK started up a website with great resources - would it be right to use it?

[AngryTechnician]

SMT need to consider how it could be perceived by parents if they found out their school was funding a convicted sex offender. A good rule of thumb is "if you wouldn't employ them at the school, you shouldn't be funding their business". Heads that condone SparkleBox probably don't understand how the ad-funded 'free' resource sites work.

 

Another thing to consider is what the school's response would be if the Daily Fail ran a headline of "SCHOOL USES DISPLAYS MADE BY PAEDOPHILE TEACHER". Do they think they could come out of that looking good? I would suggest probably not.

[SimpleSi]

You have to ask why the Daily Mail hasn't run such an article yet?

 

Simon

[AngryTechnician]

Someone would have to tell them first*. They're not exactly renowned for investigative journalism.

 

* Don't all rush at once

[DJ-1701]

I got told by a teacher at one site they couldn't download resources from Sparklebox and asked if I could help. I remember that the resources were blocked by certain providers a few years back and just wondered if guidance is still to ensure this site is block, or if this has changed now.

 

Obviously I wouldn't unblock this if there is any question about it, but wanted to check if anyone knows for sure the current status.

 

Apologies for the resurrection of this old thread.

[FN-GM]

To be honest, if you are not sure of the current status many others would be. Does the school want to be seen using questionable content?

[DJ-1701]

To be honest, if you are not sure of the current status many others would be. Does the school want to be seen using questionable content?

 

Obvously not, but as this was 5 or so years ago the situation might have changed, hense my question. As I said, I wouldn't unblock it if there was any doubt.

[hardtailstar]

I know our Internet provider blocks it.

[FN-GM]

Obvously not, but as this was 5 or so years ago the situation might have changed, hense my question. As I said, I wouldn't unblock it if there was any doubt.

 

I think you missed my point. Even if it is all ok, other people might not know that. If they see you using the resources and they think that its still a dodgy area it could make the school look bad.