Online Safety and ICT Acceptable Use

It is essential that all students are safeguarded from potentially harmful and inappropriate online material.  This policy recognises the commitment to Homefields students and staff in their use of technology and establishes mechanisms to identify, intervene in, and escalate concerns where appropriate.

It shows our commitment to developing a set of safe and responsible behaviours, supported by the proper, appropriate, and managed use of technology that will enable us to reduce risks while continuing to benefit from opportunities.

It highlights that Online safety is a running and interrelated theme whilst devising and implementing our whole college approach to safeguarding and related policies and procedures.

Online safety is a safeguarding issue and is embedded within the College’s wider safeguarding and child protection arrangements. All staff have a responsibility to identify, respond to and report online safety concerns in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy and procedures.

Online safety can be broadly described as the safe use of technology.   This includes the use of the internet and other means of communication or accessing data or information using electronic media.

The breadth of issues classified within E-safety is considerable and ever evolving, but can be categorised into four areas of risk:

Content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate, or harmful material this includes:

Contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users or generative AI applications including:

Conduct: Online behaviour that increases the likelihood, or causes, harm including:

Commerce: risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and or financial scams.

Regulation and technical solutions are important when considering online safety, however their use must be balanced by educating beneficiaries to take a responsible approach. The education of beneficiaries in e-safety is therefore an essential part of the Online safety provision.

Online safety should be a focus in all areas of the curriculum as appropriate, and staff should reinforce Online safety messages across all subjects.

Online safety should be covered for students via:

As part of induction, staff should familiarise themselves with this policy.  This policy and any updates will be communicated through targeted staff development days and regular team meetings.

All staff will receive regular online safety training as part of safeguarding training. This will include emerging risks such as AI, deepfakes, online scams, cyber security threats, misinformation and online exploitation.

Homefield issues mobile phones and tablets to staff based on job requirements.  Where such a device has been issued, it is for business use and always remains the property of the organisation.  The user is responsible for its safekeeping, appropriate use, condition, and eventual return to the college.

The College will maintain appropriate filtering and monitoring systems to help protect staff and students from illegal, inappropriate or harmful online content when using College networks, systems and devices. Filtering restricts access to harmful websites, services and content, while monitoring, undertaken by a third party, supports the College to identify concerning activity, patterns or incidents that may indicate an online safety or safeguarding risk. The DSL and IT Manager will liaise on any safeguarding concerns arising from these arrangements.

The effectiveness of filtering and monitoring arrangements will be reviewed at least annually by senior leaders and trustees with responsibility for IT and safeguarding. Reviews will consider safeguarding concerns, monitoring reports, requests to block or unblock content, and any gaps in protection. Concerns must be recorded, reviewed and escalated through safeguarding procedures where appropriate.

All staff will have a knowledge of GDPR and the Data Protection act separate from, and parallel to online safety based upon mandatory training around the processing of personal data in their role. They will be aware of the lawful basis under which they can access, process, or share data under the guidance within associated policies.

Artificial intelligence may be used to support learning, communication and administration, provided it is used safely, transparently and responsibly. Staff and students must follow College policies, including the AI Acceptable Use Policy and AI Transparency and Accountability Policy, as well as data protection and safeguarding requirements. AI tools used with students must be age-appropriate, supervised where required, and risk assessed before use. Personal, sensitive or confidential information must not be entered into unapproved AI systems.

For students under 18, parental or carer consent must be obtained at enrolment before they access supervised AI tools or content, where this is required by College policy or the relevant platform terms.

The College recognises that AI may create safeguarding risks, including misinformation, harmful or age-inappropriate content, deepfakes, image manipulation, impersonation, grooming, bullying, and misuse of students’ images or personal information. Any suspected AI misuse that could place a student or member of the College community at risk must be reported and managed as a safeguarding concern.

The College’s approach to cyber security is to protect its systems, data and digital services so that teaching, learning, administration and support services can operate safely and reliably. Cyber security is treated as a whole-college responsibility and organisational risk, supported through senior leadership oversight, trustee awareness, staff training, technical controls, secure account management, access permissions, software updates, endpoint protection, backups, incident planning and regular review.

All users must use College systems securely and in line with this policy, the ICT Acceptable Use Policy, Data Protection Policy, Data Breach Policy and related information governance procedures. This includes protecting passwords, using their own account credentials, completing annual cyber security and phishing training, avoiding unauthorised software or services, and promptly reporting suspicious messages, lost devices, suspected account compromise, malware, phishing attempts, data breaches or other cyber incidents to IT Support and, where relevant, the Data Protection Officer or senior leadership.

Cyber security also supports the College’s safeguarding and online safety arrangements by reducing the risk of unauthorised access to student information, disruption to support services, exposure to harmful content, impersonation, scams or other technology-enabled harm. Where a cyber security incident may involve student data, harmful contact, impersonation, image misuse, online abuse or exploitation, staff must report this to the DSL as well as following technical reporting routes.

The DSL will:

Will ensure:

There is hardware and software that can improve students’ abilities to learn and communicate through using IT. Staff will assess whether you need a specific piece of IT to support you.

Requests for supportive technologies should be made direct to the College’s IT department.

Guidance: Below is a simplified version of this policy.

Staff need to read this part of the policy before supporting students to complete the e-safety policy below. It is identified that some adaptations will be required, as appropriate to students’ individual needs and abilities.

Keeping children safe in education 2026 (comes into force from 1 September 2026)

Keeping Children Safe Online | NSPCC

Support for parents and carers to keep children safe online – GOV.UK

Safeguarding and remote education – GOV.UK

Last updated: Sept 2026

Staff Lead: Vice Principal