Our Policies
Mobile Phone and Social Networking
Reviewed by: Brian Murphy
Statement
Staff and volunteers at Alt Prov will take all reasonable steps to safeguard themselves and the children/ young people in the setting through a variety of methods including the appropriate use of modern technology.
Aim
• To establish and maintain a safe environment.
• To raise awareness amongst employees, visitors and children of good practice regarding modern technology
• To take all reasonable precautions to protect colleagues, visitors and children by reducing risks.
Methods
Staff should not use their personal mobile phones during their working day. Any member of staff who needs to be contactable in an emergency should give out the settings mobile and/ or landline numbers. Mobile phones should never be used to take photographs or videos of children/ young people. The club has its own camera which can be used. Adult consent should always be sought and given before taking any photographs. (this consent should include details on how the photos may be used, i.e. Setting Use, Publicity, Internet, Local authority)
Staff should never comment on any work-related matters on a social networking site (such as Facebook) nor refer to work related business. They should also maintain professional boundaries by not accepting or initiating friend requests from children or young people using the setting or their family members.
The same boundaries also apply to other communication methods e.g. Twitter, YouTube etc.
Users:
Staff should discourage children and adults (e.g. club users, parents/ carers, visitors) from using their mobile phones (including texting) during a session as it is disruptive for other users and does not allow the adult to interact fully with children. Consideration should also be given to the use of other electronic devices such as games consoles that are able to connect to the internet or have Bluetooth capabilities