Digital Technologies – Responsible Use

Policy

This policy outlines requirements for schools to engage with digital technologies in a safe and responsible manner, ensuring cybersafety and supporting student learning.

Summary

Schools are expected to take reasonable steps to ensure digital technologies are used in a safe and responsible manner by staff and students. To achieve this, schools must:

• appropriately manage access to communication with individuals outside the school in online environments, including blocking access for Years F to 6 or age equivalent students, and limiting access for Years 7 to 12 or age-equivalent students
• supervise students when engaged in digital learning in the classroom
• obtain parent/carer consent for any digital technology use which is visible to the public, including the publication of student work
• ensure any use of digital technologies, including social media for student learning, has an appropriate educational purpose, mitigates privacy and child safety risks, and is consistent with community expectations and staff professional conduct requirements.

Details

Schools must ensure digital technologies are used safely and responsibly. Schools must ensure student use of digital technologies is for appropriate educational purposes and balanced with offline learning opportunities.

The Child Safe Standards, in particular Standard 9: Physical and online environments, require schools to provide physical and online environments that promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for young people to be harmed. Schools are responsible for helping to protect students from risks in online environments, in an age-appropriate way.

For information about developing and implementing Acceptable Use Agreements (AUA) for student use, refer to the Digital Learning policy.

Managing external access in online environments

Schools must implement safety measures to appropriately manage access to communication with individuals outside their school (external access) in online environments. This includes managing the use of digital tools with online collaborative features, such as:

• sending or receiving emails
• document sharing
• using chat functions
• live streaming audio or video.

Students in primary years (Prep to Year 6 or age equivalent ungraded) must not have any access to communicate with individuals outside their school in online environments. For secondary students (Years 7 to 12 or age equivalent ungraded students), schools must limit online external access to the essential needs of learning programs, with additional protection in place for vulnerable students or students with disability. For more details, refer to the Guidance tab.

Students continue to have access to external websites, with in-built content filtering to limit access to harmful content. For more information about content filtering refer to the Technologies and ICT Services policy.

Supervising students using digital technologies

Schools must ensure students are adequately supervised when using digital technologies in the classroom, and when they are engaged in online learning, consistent with their duty of care. Supervision measures may include:

• regularly moving around the room to monitor screens
• putting in place technical alerts or barriers for inappropriate behaviour, such as blocking inappropriate websites or automatic flagging of inappropriate language
• actively reinforcing learning and behavioural expectations throughout the activity.

Schools must also ensure appropriate supervision of students participating in flexible and remote learning environments while on site. Parents are responsible for the appropriate supervision of students accessing virtual classrooms from home, however, schools will monitor student attendance, safety and wellbeing.

Responding to online incidents

Schools must respond to any online incident in accordance with the department’s policy on Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies), as well as any other department or local school policy relevant to the type of incident, such as:

• the school’s Student Wellbeing and Engagement policy (staff login required)
• the school’s Bullying Prevention policy (staff login required)
• the department's Privacy and Information Sharing policy.

For a department-developed step-by-step guide, which provides practical steps and action to respond to online incidents of concern, refer to the Resources tab.

For information on managing cyberbullying specifically, refer to:

• Bullying Prevention and Response policy
• Bully Stoppers
• Student Engagement policy
• template school-based Bullying Prevention policy (staff login required)
• eSafety commissioner: Toolkit for Schools
• Alannah & Madeline Foundation

Obtaining parent/carer consent when using digital technologies

Schools are encouraged to use digital technologies in ways that limit or avoid student activities or work from being visible to the public online.

Schools must obtain parent/carer consent prior to:

• the publication of student work
• the release of any personally identifiable information
• the use digital technologies where student activities will be visible to the public online.

Schools must notify parents/carers about their child's intended social media use as part of their learning program and provide them the opportunity to opt out. For example:

Our school has established an Art Gallery Blog using [platform name] for students to showcase their artwork, where parents and peers can provide appropriate feedback and comments on the work undertaken in or relating to our art classes. Parents are welcome to contact [Name] if they have any questions or concerns about students participating in this forum].

Schools must comply with their obligations under the Schools' Privacy Policy when using digital technologies that capture, use or share personal information. This includes ensuring that software is appropriately assessed before being implemented, and that appropriate consent is obtained for the use of the platform. Refer to Privacy and Information Sharing: Guidance for more information.

Further information on seeking parent/carer consent can be found in the Privacy and Information Sharing policy and the Sample notice – single online service in our school (DOCX) (staff login required).

Social media use for student learning

Social media may only be used for student learning if it serves an educational purpose directly aligned with a Victorian Curriculum framework, and if it provides unique learning benefits not possible in face-to-face contexts or by using other technologies. Examples of appropriate social media use can be found in the Guidance tab.

Protocols for appropriate use must be communicated with students when a platform/application is used for the first time. Schools can embed protocols for students, staff and parents within their Student Wellbeing and Engagement policy (staff login required) and Acceptable Use Agreements. Schools are encouraged to involve students when developing these protocols.

Staff use of social media must align with professional conduct expectations. Personal social media accounts must not be used for interactions with students unless objectively appropriate, for example, where the student is also a family member of the staff member. The principal is responsible for determining what is appropriate in such circumstances and may seek advice from Conduct and Integrity Division. It is recommended that at least 2 staff members have administrative rights to any social media page, with individual logins preferred. School staff are encouraged to manage school social media pages directly, rather than delegate this function to parents or others.

If a staff member becomes aware that a student is ‘following’ them on a personal social media account (where ‘following’ an account does not require permission from the account holder), the staff member must ask the student to ‘unfollow’ them and notify the school and/or parent/carer if the student does not do so.

Schools are encouraged to prioritise social media platforms that allow department/school credentialing and that restrict public access to student content to mitigate privacy and safety risks. Department-provided online tools are strongly recommended over personal accounts. Additionally, use of digital tools, including social media platforms, must comply with any terms set out by the provider of the tool. For use with students, this may include an age limit. For more information, refer to Software and Administration Systems.

Definitions

Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is direct or indirect bullying behaviours using digital technologies. This includes harassment via a mobile phone, setting up a defamatory personal website or deliberately excluding someone from social networking spaces.

Digital technologies
Digital hardware, software and resources used to develop and communicate learning, ideas and information. Note, not to be confused with ‘Digital Technologies’ which is a discipline within the Technologies learning area.

External access
External access is any communication in an online environment with individuals or parties outside the school.

Personal information
Personal information is information about an individual who is identified or could be identifiable. This includes not just names but also photographs, contact information, academic results, health and wellbeing information and biometrics. Contact the Privacy team privacy@education.vic.gov.au if you have any questions about the handling of personal information.

Social media
Social media encompasses digital platforms and technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and interaction that enable users to create and share content and participate in social networking and communication. This includes:

• social networking sites (for example, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram)
• video and photo sharing websites (for example, YouTube, Flickr)
• blogs, including corporate blogs and personal blogs (for example, WordPress, EduBlogs)
• micro-blogging (for example, X (formerly Twitter))
• forums, discussion boards and groups (for example, Reddit, Whirlpool)
• wikis (for example, PBWorks, Fandom)
• instant messaging (for example, WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, QQ).

Related policies

• Acceptable Use Policy for ICT Resources
• Bullying Prevention and Response
• Child Safe Standards
• Code of Conduct
• Digital Learning
• Duty of Care
• Generative Artificial Intelligence
• ICT Software in Schools – Risk Assessment
• Information Security
• Intellectual Property and Copyright
• Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies)
• Photographing, Filming and Recording Students
• Privacy and Information Sharing
• Supervision of Students
• Teaching and Learning Resources – Selecting Appropriate Materials
• Technologies and ICT Services in Schools
• Work-Related Violence in Schools

Relevant legislation

• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic)
• Health Records Act 2001 (Vic)
• Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)

Guidance

This guidance contains the following chapters:

• Managing external access in online environments
• Social media use for student learning

Managing external access in online environments

To create a safer online environment, schools must limit student access to communication with individuals outside their school (external access), based on their ability to make safe choices online.

Schools must remove external access for primary school aged students and limit secondary students to only the essential needs of learning programs. The eSafety Commissioner separates its child-friendly guidance into kids (aged 5 to 12) and young people (12 to 18), reflecting their ability to make informed choices as they get older. Students at primary school are less able to discern malicious and unsafe behaviour online. Secondary school students are more likely to have a need to connect to individuals outside their school or department online environment in support of their studies and career planning.

Schools with department-managed online environments

External access for primary schools and primary students in Prep to Year 9 and Prep to Year 12 schools has been switched off for schools with department-managed online environments (both Microsoft 365 and Google Workplace for Education). Several commonly used sites that support teaching and learning in primary schools have been exempted from this block and students will continue to receive emails from them. For a list of these sites, refer to the external access email whitelist (PDF) (staff login required).

Schools who manage their own online environments

Schools who manage their own online environments through Microsoft 365 and Google Workplace for Education are required to switch off external access for primary students, including those in Prep to Year 9 and Prep to Year 12 schools.

The department has worked closely with both Google and Microsoft, and has provided instructions to specialist technicians on how to disable access and how to attest their compliance.

For support managing online access, please raise a service request via the Services Portal (staff login required).

School staff external access is not impacted by restrictions on student access.

Schools should be aware that in any online environment:

• staff uses of copyright-protected content must be within the limits of the educational copyright licences and exceptions and usually not visible to the public
• students’ everyday uses of copyright-protected content (under the fair dealing exception for private research and study) must not be visible to the public.

Social media use for student learning

Establishing protocols for social media use

Template protocols for appropriate social media use for students, staff and parents are provided in the Resources tab. Schools are encouraged to adapt these templates with student and parent input, ensuring they outline acceptable behaviour and consequences for rule violations, and that they are regularly reviewed.

Interactions between students on social media platforms should be monitored regularly, with platforms closed if not in use.

Careful consideration should be given to posting photographs of students online, ensuring that a risk assessment is conducted, and appropriate consent is obtained. For further guidance, refer to Photographing, Filming and Recording Students.

Appropriate uses for social media to support student learning

The following examples demonstrate social media platforms and applications being used appropriately, with a clear educational context, in ways that limit or avoid student activities from being visible to the public online:

• use of a private classroom online forum or social networking group for students to post curriculum-related questions, which the teacher and/or other students answer (for example, curriculum support for students studying a VCE subject)
• use of a private classroom online blog by a student to describe/showcase classwork as it develops, which the teacher, peers or the student’s parents/carers can make appropriate comments on (for example, portfolio of a design process)
• use of an online wiki by a teacher as a content repository (for example, a collection of primary source material)
• use of an online photo sharing site to curate and annotate image collections to support understanding of curriculum content (for example, photographs of landforms or other geographical features)
• use of a private classroom discussion board or chat forum to hold a slow chat, where questions posed/answers posted can be offered at different times (for example, questions prompting students to share effective self-regulation strategies)
• use of online collaborative mapping tools to record/annotate local or global events, phenomena and places (for example, mapping/documenting global volcanic activity)
• use of an online instant messaging app to organise and run a class event (for example, an act for the annual school concert).

Resources

The department’s Bully Stoppers resources

• The department’s Bully Stoppers online toolkit includes advice sheets for adults (including school staff) on cyberbulling and cybersafety. Bully Stoppers also includes a dedicated schools section to support whole-school approaches to bullying (including cyberbullying) prevention, including engaging with your community, responding to concerns appropriately to create safe, respectful and inclusive school environments.
• Schools can also consult the Bully Stoppers step-by-step guide for schools (PDF) to respond to an online incident affecting students.

eSmart Program

• eSmart Schools is an initiative of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, where schools are provided with support and resources (through the self-paced Positive Digital Cultures and Positive Digital Practices Units) to develop a culture that promotes safe, smart and responsible use of technology and reduce cyberbullying. eSmart Schools is aligned to the curriculum and free for all Victorian schools.

eSafety Commissioner resources

• The eSafety Commissioner’s educators page provides access to advice and support, information, current research, teaching guides, lesson plans and resources to help schools improve cybersafety and reduce cyberbullying.
• The eSafety Toolkit for Schools is designed to support schools to create safer online environments. The resources are backed by evidence and support a nationally consistent approach to preventing and responding to online safety issues.
• The eSafety Commissioner’s professional learning program for teachers includes webinars, staff meeting series and online modules on topics including online harmful behaviours, generative AI, social media self-defence, and responding and reporting.
• The eSafety Guide provides information about different platforms including how to protect your personal information and report harmful content on common social media, games, apps and sites.
• The spotlight on cyberbullying includes links to a range of resources across the eSafety website and includes downloadable material created to help your school community prevent and respond to cyberbullying.
• The Trusted eSafety Provider program consists of quality online safety education providers who have had their online safety content endorsed by eSafety. Schools wishing to engage an online safety education expert to present to their school community can choose a registered provider through this program.

Responding to online incidents

• Read and follow the department policy – Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies).
• Information on how to respond to teacher misconduct relating to digital technology use can be found in the Complaints, Misconduct and Unsatisfactory Performance – Teaching Service policy.
• The National Copyright Unit supports the department and schools with guidance on responding to a copyright infringement notice.
• The department’s Bully Stoppers step-by-step guide for schools (PDF) provides advice on how to respond to an online incident affecting students.
• The eSafety Commissioner’s Respond resources help schools to effectively assess and respond to online incidents.

Online safety resources for parents/carers

• Social media and your school (PDF) – this resource outlines how to be a positive role model by demonstrating respectful and responsible behaviours when communicating with and about your child’s school online.

Parental consent and permission

• ‘Notifications for online services’ in the Collection notices chapter of the guidance for the Privacy and Information Sharing policy.
• Information and templates on seeking copyright permission to use student work at Smartcopying.

Acceptable Use Agreement templates

For information about developing and implementing Acceptable Use Agreements (AUA) for student use (including template AUAs), refer to the Digital Learning policy.

Relevant links

The department’s Mental Health Fund and Menu – includes eSmart and eSafety Commissioner’s website, supporting schools to direct mental health funding to engage with and embed these supports.