Recommendation to switch off 3G/4G/5G for staff to improve safeguarding

[bald_pig]

It's got to be incase the phones are compromised I think

 

If you read the document it's specifically in response to "communicating with children"

[elsiegee40]

Threads merged

 

I refer the second thread’s posters to my earlier answer in post 14 which I have copied below:

 

”The guidance referred to is by The Safer Recruitment Consortium which is a partnership between four organisations:

NSPCC

Lucy Faithfull Foundation

NASS

CAPE

 

Obviously the Statutory Guidance is KCSIE. This does not make any recommendations about turning off mobile data.

 

Section 12 of the document referred to by OP says

12. Communication with children (including the use of technology)

 

In order to make best use of the many educational and social benefits of new and emerging technologies, pupils need opportunities to use and explore the digital world. Online risks are posed more by behaviours and values than the technology itself.

 

Staff should ensure that they establish safe and responsible online behaviours, working to local and national guidelines and acceptable use policies which detail how new and emerging technologies may be used.

 

Communication with children both in the ‘real’ world and through web based and telecommunication interactions should take place within explicit professional boundaries. This includes the use of computers, tablets, phones, texts, e-mails, instant messages, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, chat-rooms, forums, blogs, websites, gaming sites, digital cameras, videos, web-cams and other hand-held devices. (Given the ever-changing world of technology it should be noted that this list gives examples only and is not exhaustive.)

 

Staff should not request or respond to any personal information from children other than which may be necessary in their professional role. They should ensure that their communications are open and transparent and avoid any communication which could be interpreted as ‘grooming behaviour’

 

Staff should not give their personal contact details to children for example, e-mail address, home or mobile telephone numbers, details of web-based identities. If children locate these by any other means and attempt to contact or correspond with the staff member, the adult should not respond and must report the matter to their manager. The child should be firmly and politely informed that this is not acceptable.

 

Staff should, in any communication with children, also follow the guidance in section 7 ‘Standards of Behaviour’.

 

Staff should adhere to their establishment’s policies, including those with regard to communication with parents and carers and the information they share when using the internet.

 

The notes say

This means that adults should:

[emoji830] not seek to communicate/make contact or respond to contact with pupils outside of the purposes of their work

[emoji830] not give out their personal details

[emoji830] use only equipment and Internet services provided by the school or setting

[emoji830] turn off 3G/4G data access on school premises

[emoji830] follow their school / setting’s Acceptable Use Policy

[emoji830] ensure that their use of technologies could not bring their employer into disrepute

[emoji830] not discuss or share data relating to children/ parents / carers in staff social media groups

 

This means that education settings should:

• wherever possible, provide school devices such as cameras and mobile phones rather than expecting staff to use their own (e.g. on school trips)

 

I cannot see where they got turning off mobile data access on the premises from. It about as useful as recommending that the family computer is kept in a public place. [emoji849] Apart from this, the guidance is sound from the point of view of protecting the children and from the point of view of staff protecting themselves from allegation.

 

Use of personal mobile devices by staff should be part of the School’s AUP and all aspects should be considered. @esafety_officer, aka KCC’s Rebecca Avery, and her team have put together a detailed analysis of the implications of KCSIE with updates for 2018 and will no doubt update it for the newest version shortly.

 

AUP templates and guidance with questions that schools and governors should be asking themselves before use have also been created and can be found here”

Edited July 4, 2019 by elsiegee40