Bethany’s Safe Digital Policy
In our continued efforts to ensure the healthiest all round development of our students, we have come up with the idea to partner with parents and students together to create what we call the “safe digital policy”. Here’s what its about.
BETHANY SAFE DIGITAL POLICY
The Management is happy to continue to partner with you through Bethany’s Safe Digital Policy to ensure that our children stay safe while using the internet and digital devices.
The School Management, Parents and Children have agreed on the following policy:
- Digital Detox Day (D day): The school has decided to follow a Digital Detox Day (D day) on the first Monday of each month whereby the Management, teachers, other staff, children and parents will not use their mobile phones or other gadgets. (Gadgets refer to tablets, mobile phones, computers/laptops)
- The Management, teachers, and children of Bethany Institutions have decided that from July 2018 a policy on digital misuse will be instituted
| BETHANY SAFE DIGITAL POLICY FOR PRIMARY- AND PRE PRIMARY CHILDREN |
| 1) No phones or gadgets to be given to the child. |
| 2) One hour mandatory outdoor play daily |
| 3) TV time options: (Select only 1 option from below):
a) No TV or b) For 30 minutes daily or c) For 1 hour daily or For 30 minutes each on Saturday and Sunday or For 1 hour each on Saturday and Sunday |
| 4) No TV time in the morning or during any meal. |
| 5) Videos should be shown in the presence of an adult, preferably a parent. Recommended websites are https://www.kiddle.co/, https://kids.youtube.com/ |
| 6) Children below the age of 13 years are not allowed to have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, You Tube channels, etc. If they are found to be on social media illegally (children below 13 are not permitted on Facebook by the law) they will be suspended from school. |
| BETHANY SAFE DIGITAL POLICY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL and NIOS CHILDREN: | ||||
| 1) Digital Detox Day (D day): The school has decided to follow a Digital Detox Day (D day) on the first Monday of each month whereby the Management, teachers, other staff, children and parents will not use their mobile phones or other gadgets. (Gadgets refer to tablets, mobile phones, computers/laptops.) | ||||
2) Options: Kindly discuss with your child which option he/she wishes to opt for. If your child is not using a phone or gadget please tick option A and choose any one TV time options. If your child is in possession of a phone/gadget kindly choose Option B and tick on any one of the options given:
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| 3) TVs, phones, gadgets will not be used in the mornings. | ||||
| 4) Phones/gadgets will be kept away from children 1 hour before bedtime. | ||||
| 5) Parents should have access to their children’s phones and passwords and randomly check their messages, whatsapp and social media. | ||||
| 6) Project work which requires the use of the internet should be done in a common area of the home, not behind locked doors. | ||||
| 7) To maintain a daily Screen Time Diary |
| BETHANY SAFE DIGITAL POLICY FOR JUNIOR COLLEGE STUDENTS: | ||||||
| 1) Digital Detox Day (D day): The school has decided to follow a Digital Detox Day (D day) on the first Monday of each month whereby the Management, teachers, other staff, children and parents will not use their mobile phones or other gadgets. (Gadgets refer to tablets, mobile phones, computers/laptops.) | ||||||
2) Options: Kindly discuss with your child which option he/she wishes to opt for. If your child is not using a phone or gadget please tick option A and choose any one TV time options. If your child is in possession of a phone/gadget kindly choose between Option B and Option C:
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| 3) TVs, phones, gadgets will not be used in the mornings. | ||||||
| 4) Phones/gadgets will be kept away from children 1 hour before bedtime. | ||||||
| 5) Parents should have access to their children’s phones and passwords and randomly check their messages, whatsapp and social media. | ||||||
| 6) Project work which requires the use of the internet should be done in a common area of the home, not behind locked doors. | ||||||
| 7) To maintain a daily Screen Time Diary | ||||||
| 8) To buy a basic phone, not a smartphone if there is a need to keep in touch. |
Parents, Grandparents and other family members are advised:
- To be role models to their children in terms of gadget hygiene.
- To be alert for signs of internet/gadget addiction or any other related health issues and report the same to the school counselor or management. (Confidentiality will be maintained)
- To switch off the Wi-Fi router, dongles, TV and all other gadgets 1 hour before the children’s bedtime. Recommended bed time are as follows:
For Pre-primary children: between 8 and 8:30pm.
For Primary children: between 9 and 9.30 PM
For Middle School, High School and NIOS children: By 9:30pm
For Junior College Students: By 10 pm
- To sensitize their children (as they grow up) about their digital footprints. Posts and other material on social media is captured by employers across the world.
- To spend more time with their children without using their gadgets.
- To allow their children extra TV time for important sporting events (like FIFA, Olympics) parliament proceedings, Independence Day and Republic day celebrations etc.
Recognitions/ Rewards/Deterrents: (For Middle school, High school, NIOS, Junior College)
- Kindly inform the school by the end of the First Term if your child does not have a phone/gadget and he/she will be recognized and rewarded.
- Children who report gadget misuse and children who have gadgets and abide by the rules will also be recognized and rewarded.
- If a fake account is reported the child who has created it will be suspended.
- Children below the age of 13 years are not allowed to have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, You Tube channels, etc. If they are found to be on social media illegally (children below 13 are not permitted on Facebook by the law) they will be suspended from school.
- Cyberbullying is any harassment that occurs via the Internet. Mischievous forum posts, name calling in chat rooms, posting fake profiles on web sites, and mean or cruel email messages are all ways of cyberbullying.) Misuse of social media (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp groups etc) to tarnish the image of the institution, staff members or other students. If a student is guilty of the above he/she will be suspended from school.
- If parents report any misuse of the phone/gadget, the same may be deposited in the school for a week/month/limited period.
Deterrents: (For Pre Primary and Primary)
- If parents report any misuse of the phone/gadget, the same may be deposited in the school for a week/month/limited period.
The management has prepared this policy keeping in mind the safety of our children on the internet and in the backdrop of the World Health organization declaring video gaming a mental health disorder.
Our Oath: We, the Management, Parents and Children of the Bethany Institutions, promise to abide by the School Policy on Safe Digital use.
