St Joseph's School
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St Joseph's School fosters a positive culture of safe and responsible use of digital devices through our Digital Technology and Online Safety policy. We encourage students to be confident, capable, and responsible in their use of digital technology. Inappropriate use is dealt with through our behaviour management, surrender and retention, and/or responding to digital incidents guidelines.
This policy applies to items that are likely to endanger safety, likely to detrimentally affect the learning environment, or are harmful.
Grounds for surrender and retention of personal digital devices
We have clear rules for Cellphones and Other Personal Digital Devices that we share with students and their parents/caregivers. Incidents involving digital devices are managed with due respect for the safety and privacy of the student, and the integrity of the device and contents. We focus on the behaviour of the student, rather than on the technology itself.
In the case of disruption of the learning environment, teachers and 
authorised staff can ask the student to show them the digital item (e.g. a photos, emails, texts, social media posts, audio and video clips) and/or delete it. They may ask the student to put the device away, surrender the device to be retained for a reasonable period, or apply our behaviour management processes. Items can be quickly and easily shared through digital devices, and can be difficult to delete. Teachers can ask the student about the source of the item and whether it has been shared as this helps determine the action taken.
The same applies in the case of an item that is likely to endanger anyone's safety. There are extra factors to consider, such as the emotional impact on the people affected, whether the item has been or could be shared or stored, the nature of the item, and the maturity and age of the students involved. We may contact Netsafe for advice and will contact the police if a criminal offence is suspected (e.g. drug involvement, threats to kill or assault, etc).
Retention of digital devices
St Joseph's School follows the Ministry of Education's Guidelines for the surrender and retention of property and searches to ensure the safe and appropriate retention of digital devices.
Searches of digital devices
Staff cannot ask students to download or reveal an item on another digital device, a social media site, or storage system. Staff cannot search the device contents or online accounts, or ask for the password for the device.
Staff cannot search a device. The police have the ability and authority to search a digital device and must be contacted if a search is deemed necessary.
We can search school–owned digital devices. We consider student privacy when searching a school device.
Release history: Term 3 2022, Term 2 2020
