Pupil Access to personal online email accounts

[Kawlindakew]

Just trying to find out what other schools do in regards to allowing pupil access to online email accounts.

 

Do you allow them access while in school or block them and the reasons why?

 

We appear to get a lot of junk mail plus the occasional bit of spyware\virus.

 

Trying to find a way of stopping this, we already block pupils using usb drives.

Would blocking online email also help to prevent this or should i be looking at other things.

 

 

Thanks in advance

[JordanT91]

We block access to web mail sites through Lightspeed. I believe it's a built in category so I don't have to manually add each email provider to the block list. There is no educational need for them to have access to their own personal accounts and we found a couple of pupils were emailing a certain type of image to themselves and showing their friends when they got to school.

[Kawlindakew]

Thank you for your reply.

I will let the powers that be decide on if they want to continue permitting access to personal emails.

[3s-gtech]

We have always blocked all access to personal emails for both staff and pupils - it makes a clear distinction between personal and professional so we don't get issues now (has been this way since before I started here moons ago). It also decreases attack vectors for viruses etc, and helps with safeguarding.

[nickbro]

All email services are blocked to students with the exception of the school's email server, and Office365. Although we don't use Office365 for emails (local exchange server).

[mikeprice]

I have always blocked personal email access for kids due to safeguarding issues - and viruses etc

 

On occasion this has caused problems which I get round by allowing them to get onto their email using my PC with me supervising them closely - just to get/save/print the relevant email - or to send it to their school email account. If I make it enough trouble but make sur ethey know how to send it to the school email account next time it is normally OK

[Kawlindakew]

Thanks everyone, this has given me something to think about.

[robjduk]

we don't allow it on child protection grounds. If a student wants to create a new account and bully someone, its hard for the school to trace it back and will cause hell if it happens during school hours.