Safe use of smartphones
While every effort is made by the school to ensure students are able to use their devices safely by ensuring firewalls and safety settings are installed on registration, we wish to bring to your attention similar strategies for your child/rens smartphones.
We allow students to bring phones to school but restrict their use for emergencies or at times to support their learning. We are concerned however that students may misuse phones which have not been registered with our IT Managers and fall outside our security systems.
We would advise that families investigate the following web sites which provide you with peace of mind with regards what sites your child/ren can access on their phones and regulate and monitor their on-line activity either at home or at school.
Here are some platforms that families can subscribe to :-
a. Qustodio https://www.qustodio.com
b. OurPact https://ourpact.com
c. FamilyZone https://www.familyzone.com
All 3 of these plans include the following :-
a. Limiting screen time by blocking internet and app access at appropriate times (when students are doing homework they do not need distractions!)
b. Blocking texting
c. Location services allowing parents to locate the devices
d. The opportunity to manage several devices belonging to the family network
We operate on a high trust model at MHJC and our intention is to develop responsible digital citizenship in our student body. We do warn, however that if a student misuses their device/s or breaches our Cyber Safety Agreement we may require one of the security platforms to be installed on their phone before they be allowed to bring it to school.