Primary School Want Y1 Child to sign the ICT agreement

[CampingChaos]

Team,

Long term lurker, please be kind.

So; Firstborn's school has just converted to an Academy - can't say I am thrilled, but at this point we will see how we go. Firstborn is in Y1.

Anyhow, they have just sent home the data collection form for new students - i assume new to the MAT.

Included in there is a section for Ethnicity and Religion (without opt out options).

And more interestingly a three page ICT policy it contains the usual spiel about not downloading huge files, not downloading copyright materials, not sharing personal data online, reporting inappropriate content, not using it for shopping, gaming or gabling (unless staff have given permission).... yada waffle guffguff.

There are a couple of lines that made me smile....

"If I arrange to meet people offline that I have communicated with online, I will do so in a public place and take an adult with me"

... eeek!

"I will not only use my own personal devices (mobile phone/ USB devices etc) in school?"

Eh what..... "so its okay to use personal devices as long as you use school devices too?"

And less excitingly stuff like

"I understand the academy has the right to take action against me if it am involved in incidents .... "

"I understand that if I fail to comply with this acceptable use police agreement i will be subject to disciplinary action including loss of access, detention, suspension, parent contact and police action"

Now the bit I am uncomfortable with is this......

There is then a form attached that I have to sign to say I have read and understood it and consent to FB having access, but also Firstborn Aged 5 has to sign to say....

"I have read and understood the above and agree to follow the guidelines when using the school ICT
When using own devices in school
When using own devices out of school, in a why related which is related to being a member of the school. "

If my 5 year old doesn't sign they wont give access to the school systems...

But can I really get him to sign it? Has he really read and understood it?

I accept it is a moot point as any contract or agreement with a 5year old is likely void from a legal sense.

I also understand WHY they want to get some sort of agreement and understanding from the child and while this document isnt riddled with legalese and technical language and may be just about appropriate for a year 6 student with some explanation it seems bonkers for a 5yr old. It seems this document will then see them through their life at primary school with an agreement and signature made in reception. FB has trouble recalling yesterdays lunch, let alone paragraph 3 section 4 of the ICT policy he signed a month ago!

We were asked to sign one of these. I never did because ours included some other things I didn't want to agree to. I also felt it was completely inappropriate to raise the possibility of suspension or police involvement. I told the school it was their responsibility to protect my child and it would be their responsibility, not his, if he did something inappropriate. They never replied and my son still had internet access like everyone else.

That feels very much like a 'one size fits all' approach that was written for secondary. I had to sign something a bit ott for my kids school, but I signed it as a parent and it wasn't as strong (or mildly confusing!) as that.

I think you explain it to him, and he signs. He needs to be aware of all this stuff, and this is his first introduction to it

But then he's not read it and understood it. he's listened to my interpretation, dumbed down for a 5yr old.

It's not the same thing.

I accept that it's good to get them understanding this sort of thing, but 3 pages of grown up A4 at 5yrs is pointless.

My first thought was that this has been accidentally included from the secondary school set up.

That’s absolutely batshit. Of course no 5 year old is going to read that and understand it.

Sounds like a copy and paste job. And either they haven't read the part about own devices or they are unable to comprehend that it doesn't make sense.

I agree that it’s not appropriate for a 5 year old. We send out acceptable use policies for children to sign, but they are age appropriate and written in very simple language for the youngest children. It’s mostly around them agreeing to tell an adult if they are worried about something they see online.