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GDPR, Privacy & Duty of Care - finding the right balance in education...
- Hellen G
- Sep 14, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 19
Students these days are digital natives, while parents and teachers are not. We need easy-to-use, powerful tool like Senso to help these teachers support students online.
Why does our School need to use this kind of Software?
-Helps teachers to interact with the students through their devices.
-Enables use of technology during lessons
-Teachers can quickly and efficiently remove any distractions such as gaming or social media
-Gives teachers more confidence to use technology and make the most out of this teaching resource.
-It is necessary for online exam proctoring
We have BYOD, how can we better improve online security?
Reluctance to monitor BYOD means some schools may find it difficult to achieve this effectively. Given schools’ duty of care to students, we believe it is reasonable to obtain parental consent to install student devices.. Senso has many configurations so the client can automatically switch off outside of the schools IP address and outside of school hours.
Bear in mind though: SENSO WILL ONLY WORK ON BYOD IF THE DEVICE IS MANAGED BY THE SCHOOL THROUGH INTUNE OR GOOGLE
How to answer Parents concerns about monitoring:
Can my child be monitored or contacted at home?
Senso is configured to switched off screen viewing/or the client entirely whilst outside of your schools’ IP address.
There are lots of different configurations available that mean school staff can't log in out of school hours or from home.
If you have opted for the Filter module the blocks on certain websites will still remain in place to stop students accidentally accessing harmful or inappropriate material.
What personal information does Senso Log?
If the device name is the same as the students that could openly identify the student’s activity. That’s the ONLY way that personal details could be logged. Obviously, we make sure that isn’t the case so that the information logged only pertains to the activity on the device.
Is this Software legal to use? Is it GDPR compliant?
Yes, provided there is a valid justification for employing monitoring software, we have determined that schools urgently require a solution to prevent gaming during lessons, ensure integrity during online examinations, and prevent the misuse of school equipment.
Who can I talk to if I have any issues with the software?
Contact your systems administrator or Senso directly we will be happy to help.
What is Duty of Care and why is it so important?
See more here:
Utilizing Monitoring Software to Fulfill Duty of Care for Online Safety:
The transition to online work offers numerous advantages; however, it is crucial to address the safety of children in digital environments.
Senso provides regularly updated keyword libraries designed to detect terms associated with online gaming, gambling, pornography, self-harm, grooming, radicalization, weapons, and other potential online risks that children may encounter.
In several countries, implementing monitoring software on school devices is a legal obligation.
We do not act as 'big brothers' to our students; they should learn to navigate the distractions and dangers of the internet independently.
Regarding the Safeguarding module—if you opt for this module, Senso offers the opportunity to "teach a child to cross the road" in the context of the Internet. Students can learn to handle risks under supervision, with the assurance that support is available if needed. Senso is fully customizable, allowing transparency about what students can and cannot do. It can also be tailored to accommodate different age groups and the specific needs of various students.
At the end of the day if the child is using your network resources and teaching time then some degree of supervision to keep students engaged and safe, is absolutely reasonable, as long as everyone is aware of the measures you have taken.
Other important considerations:
-Technology provision is about what best suits learning
- Schools are positioned to have much more knowledge about this than individual parents.
- Schools have much more purchasing power than an individual parent, so could the financial proposal for your school be the same either way?
If you would like to talk more about this or any other aspect of the software please let me know when would suit you and we'll be happy to set up a call.
Duty of care and safeguarding Sample regulations:
Europe
Other sources:
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