Acceptable Use Policy

1. Purpose

• Students, their parents or carers must  understand the Mobile Phone acceptable use policy as a condition upon which permission is given to bring mobile phones to school. The home school agreement should be signed to acknowledge recognition of this policy.
• The acceptable use policy for mobile phones also applies to students during school excursions, educational visits and extra-curricular activities on the school site and on external visits.
• Mobile phones are not permitted in any internal or external exam or test environment. If you have a mobile phone, you will be asked to store these appropriately, or turn them over to an exam invigilator, before entering the test room. Bringing a phone into the test room can result in your exam being declared invalid.

2. Responsibility

• The decision to provide a mobile phone to their children should be made by parents or carers. It is incumbent upon parents to understand the capabilities of the phone and the potential use/misuse of those capabilities.
• Parents/Carers should be aware that if their child takes a mobile phone to school, the school cannot accept responsibility for any loss, damage or costs incurred due to its use.
• Parents/Carers are reminded that in case of emergency, student services remains the first point of contact and can ensure your child is contacted quickly and assisted in the relevant way.

3. Acceptable Uses

• The school recognises the importance of emerging technologies present in modern mobile phones. Teachers may wish to utilise these functions to aid teaching and learning and students will have the opportunity to use these at the direct instruction of the class teacher. The use of mobile phones in one lesson for specific purposes does not mean blanket usage is then acceptable.
• Students in Years 7-11 will not be able to use a mobile phone between 8.35a.m. and 15.15p.m. unless with the express permission of a member of staff.
• This means that mobile phones should be switched off and kept out of sight once the student enters the perimeter gates at the start of the day (all paraphernalia should be put away so that it is out of sight in the building).

• Mobile phones (and any mobile phone paraphernalia) should not be switched off and not seen or heard and will be confiscated if seen or heard
• With the permission of their form tutor, phones can be accessed again at 3.05p.m. for students to check firefly and homework
• Please note that in line with this, students in Years 7-11 are not permitted to wear smart watches

4. Unacceptable Use

Staff will confiscate phones immediately – with no pushback

The examples below are not acceptable excuses:

• Checking firefly – all students are issued a  timetable
• Checking the time – use a watch or school clock
• Its lunchtime and I want to watch a video/ play a game
• You may not use your mobile phone in the toilets or changing rooms. This is to protect the privacy and welfare of other pupils.
• You cannot take photos or recordings (either video or audio) of school staff or other pupils without their consent.

• Listening to music through headphones will not be allowed in any lesson. Music may be played by the class teacher to improve ambience for learning but will be done through the main speakers.

Integrity 

You should not 

• Use your mobile phone to bully, intimidate or harass anyone. This includes bullying, harassing or intimidating pupils or staff via:
  • Email
  • Text/messaging app
  • Social media
• Use your phone to send or receive anything that may be criminal. 
• Use your phone to view or share harmful content.

You should remember 

• Rules on bullying, harassment, and intimidation apply to how you use your mobile phone even when you aren’t in school.
• That vulgar, obscene or derogatory language use while on the phone or when using social media is not permitted under the school’s behaviour policy.

Acceptable uses with Staff Approval

• I just need to send a message to let my parent know I will be attending a club (Message gets sent and phone switched off)
• Specific learning tasks

Sanctions 

• Students who infringe the rules will have their phone confiscated and sent to student services immediately. Phones will be named and kept in student services .
• Students arguing with any member of staff over a mobile phone infringement will be dealt with very seriously. Members of staff have been asked to implement the policy consistently and therefore there should be no cause for argument.

Sound advice

• Avoid sharing your contact details with people you don’t know, and don’t share other people’s contact details without their consent. Don’t share your phone’s passwords or access codes with anyone else.