Many schools have a blanket lockdown policy on their
internet connections so learners can’t see sites like LGBT History Month and
Schools OUT. It is up to individual head teachers and governors how they deal
with the internet. If they have a system that blocks sites they can also
unblock certain sites however Oftsed has come out with this new report which
you might find useful to get sites unblocked.
Ofsted urges schools to relax internet restrictions
By Joe Lepper
Children & Young People Now
9 February 2010
Schools are being called on to relax their restrictions on pupils' internet
use, in a report by Ofsted.
The report, The Safe Use of New Technologies,
argues that the children are safer online
when they are given more responsibility in their use of the internet.
Looking at 35 schools, Ofsted found that five were outstanding in terms of
e-safety, 16 were good, 13 satisfactory and one inadequate. All five of the
best schools used a "managed" system, which banned only a small
number of websites and encouraged pupils to think more responsibly when online.
The worst schools in contrast had a blanket "lockdown" policy on a
far greater range of websites.
While this initially kept children safe online, pupils were not learning how to
use the internet safely and "were therefore more vulnerable overall"
when using the internet outside schools, says the report.
Training for staff on e-safety was also a concern among a number of schools
visited for the report. Training did "not always involve all the staff and
was not provided systematically", says the report.
The government and councils are being called on to encourage schools to adopt a
"managed" system of internet use and ensure all staff are trained in
e-safety.
Schools are also being urged to work more closely with families to promote
e-safety.