This procedure supports the Technology in schools policy.

Principals:

• manage and approve access to school technology systems for appropriate staff members, ensuring data security and privacy standards are met
• monitor staff completion of mandatory professional learning modules to upskill and meet department requirements.

Teachers:

• complete all mandatory MyPL modules to ensure compliance with the department’s data security, privacy, child protection and teaching commitments
• support student access to technology to enable their participation in learning programs and activities
• support students to comply with the Student use of mobile phones in schools policy and the Digital devices and online services for students policy and report breaches to school executive
• promptly report breakages or technical issues with devices or connectivity to the appropriate channel, such as the school’s IT contact or EDConnect, to enable a timely resolution
• perform technology-related delegated actions.

School administrative and support staff:

• use department technology systems and the Administration Marketplace Panel for Schools (staff only) management platform to support school operations
• perform technology-related roles as delegated by principals
• promptly report breakages or technical issues with devices or connectivity to the appropriate channel, such as the school’s IT contact or EDConnect, to enable a timely resolution
• manage student enrolment in the Enrolment and Registration Number (ERN) system.

Technology support officers and other contractors:

• perform roles and responsibilities as provided in their role statements.

Principals or delegates:

• use the Manage Staff Access (MSA) portal application to approve staff requests for system access
• use the Manage Staff Access (MSA) portal application to grant bulk access for certain tools to certain people (refer to the Access management experience web page for instructions)
• approve requests to suspend student internet and email access, if required.

Staff should:

• use the department’s web filtering tool to check whether the websites they want to use are not blocked for student use
• request to unblock and block websites as needed by logging an online query through EDConnect online or by calling 1300 32 32 32.

Kindergarten to Year 10 students have access to YouTube in restricted mode, to support their learning. This means they can only view those videos that YouTube considers child friendly.

Principals can nominate staff at their school to be approvers to override blocks on desired YouTube educational videos.

Nominated staff who wish to manage the availability of blocked videos for students must:

• complete the MyPL (staff only) course on YouTube Restricted Mode implementation
• request access to YouTube through the Manage My Access (MMA) application in the staff portal
• review each video before approving it for student use. Once a video is approved for viewing in restricted mode, it can be viewed by any student in any school.

Refer to the web page, YouTube Restricted Mode for more guidance.

Principals and delegates approve the loan of digital devices to students.

Teachers and administrative staff:

• help students borrow school digital devices for home learning
• ensure students know their department password and how to reset it through the student portal
• support students to use systems such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams (refer to the Technology 4 Schools teaching support web pages on Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams), iPads or other school learning management solutions.

Some students require reasonable adjustments to their learning and support needs under the Disability Standards for Education 2005. A disability may include a medical condition impacting a student.

Schools must ensure that chosen technology services are accessible for students and are compliant with accessibility requirements. This includes:

• content (such as documents or e-books)
• platforms (such as mobile or social media)
• services
• devices and applications
• any telecommunications or video conferencing.

For some students with disability, supplementary equipment and/or technology support is an essential component for facilitating learning, enabling their access to and participation in the Preschool to Year 12 curriculum and supporting progress towards their educational goals. The department’s Student Wellbeing Support directorate has an existing process, as outlined below, to facilitate access to technology for students with disability.

Where a student requires additional technology support or equipment not listed in the Technology 4 Learning (T4L) web page, or on the Standard devices for schools web page, principals or delegates must:

• identify the need for specific technology or equipment to facilitate learning and enable student access to and participation in the curriculum
• ensure the identified need is supported with a specialist report, for example speech pathologists, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or other specialist health providers
• contact the local learning and wellbeing officer (through the School support contacts web page) to access the Support Technology and Equipment Program (STEP) request form.

The local learning and wellbeing officer can provide further information on the STEP process and eligibility of students.

Staff can use two applications to apply for and receive access to department systems:

• teachers and administrative staff can use Manage My Access (MMA) to submit access requests
• principals or delegates can use Manage Staff Access (MSA) to approve appropriate staff access requests.

Refer to the Access management experience web page for further information and user guides.

The Staff Management Utility (SMU) contains sensitive personal information about staff. It allows staff to access staff details such as user ID, location and contact details. As SMU contains personal details for each staff member such as date of birth and their home address, principals or delegates should limit the school’s SMU authorisers.

Principals have the authority to:

• reset staff passwords
• add or remove casual staff at their school
• grant user access to staff, using the Manage Staff Access (MSA) application
• delegate authoriser access level to others, such as a deputy principal, using the Access Management Utility (AMU).

The Enrolment and Registration Number (ERN) system is a web-based, central database that manages the student enrolment processes and is accessed through the staff portal.

To manage student enrolment in ERN, principals:

• collect and accurately maintain student and family information in ERN to meet legislative requirements and ensure student wellbeing and safety
• ensure staff are aware of roles and access rights in student wellbeing applications.

All staff must take steps to ensure the department’s systems and data are secure. This includes:

• completing mandatory MyPL (staff only) training modules on data security and privacy, including the reporting data breaches training module for all staff, and managing data breaches module for principals
• taking the prescribed actions if their account has been compromised, please refer to the Information security policy and procedures for the required actions
• ensuring their mailbox is protected by following the guides on the web page, I am cyber safe, particularly about password hygiene
• deleting phishing emails, which may expose the department’s system to viruses and other damaging applications
• only using core and approved applications to store student and staff data.

Most data breaches are caused by human error, such as sharing personal or confidential information to unauthorised parties.

All staff must report data breaches (or suspected data breaches) involving personal or confidential information immediately and undertake the following actions:

• complete the Data Breach Incident Notification Form (PDF 243 KB)
• send the form to
  • DataBreach.ResponseTeam@det.nsw.edu.au
  • cyber.investigations@det.nsw.edu.au
  • their line manager or supervisor
• once a data breach has been reported, Legal Services, in collaboration with the Cyber Security team, will manage compliance with the requirements of the Mandatory Data Breach Notification Scheme under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW).

Staff who receive phishing emails must:

• forward the email to abuse@det.nsw.edu.au and then delete it
• not click on any links, attachments or reply to the email.

Principals or delegates:

• select a device from the list of available Standard devices for schools
• make a purchase order in EdBuy in compliance with department’s Procurement policy (refer to the resource page for EdBuy for support and training)
• consult with their Digital Field Services support team before purchasing any technology that is not on EdBuy to ensure compatibility with department systems
• ensure that major items of equipment, such as computers, are not purchased for resale to students
• contact EDConnect to request a warranty service, if required
• contact the vendor to assess accidental damage and receive a quote
• arrange a redistribution of any unused department-allocated devices for students in need by emailing it.icr@det.nsw.edu.au.

Where schools wish to purchase hardware or devices that are not available under existing contracts (refer to the web page, Check for an existing contract or scheme) and on EdBuy, schools must complete an Alternate Supplier Request form (PDF 214 KB) through Service Now..

Teachers and administrative staff are responsible for recording and storing data, such as make, model and serial numbers of devices.

Principals and delegates must:

• update the equipment register immediately when purchasing or receiving equipment
• record the value and acquisition date for each item in the register
• clearly mark assets and equipment as property of the school by attaching a barcode showing the register ID, before an item is distributed for use in the school
• authorise and record any loans of equipment in the register. The record needs to show the signature of the borrower and the principal.

Refer to Section 6 Assets and equipment of the Financial management (schools) procedures for the mandatory requirements covering recordkeeping of assets and equipment.

Each year, EDConnect will direct all schools that have assets registered in SAP, to perform an asset stocktake and provide the results to EDConnect.

Every 2 years, principals and delegates are required to complete a stocktake of equipment. Refer to the Perform an equipment stocktake – QRG for step-by-step instructions.

Principals should choose an approved ewaste provider (PDF 104 KB) to recycle obsolete equipment (for example, interactive whiteboards, projectors, computer devices and printers).

Principals can find more information on the T4L Computer Equipment Rollout web page, on a recycling service offered by computer vendors. The contracted suppliers will take devices back on a one-for-one exchange.

Other options for recycling e-waste include:

• using a waste management contract through the NSW Government’s buy NSW
• using a local community recycling centre.

Contact EDConnect for further information on 1300 32 32 32.

Disposing of equipment and deactivating assets

After a piece of equipment is no longer needed or being used (for example, donated to charity, destroyed, written off or stolen) or is sold (outright sale or sale with trade-in), principals and delegates must:

• record the deactivation of equipment in the SAP equipment record
• for equipment with memory or data storage, such as computers, tablets, phones, cameras, audio or video recorders, hard drives, securely wipe the memory or data before disposing of the item. For assistance with wiping memory or data, refer to the Selecting and managing hardware web page, which provides more details on equipment disposal and recycling.

For further information, refer to:

• disposing and deactivating assets and equipment section in the Finance in schools handbook (FISH) for further guidance
• the Cyber safety web page.

Parental consent is required for students to use all applications that are not department provided or approved. Refer to:

• the Cyber safety web page, Online software applications and parental consent, for guidance on which applications need consent and how to seek consent
• the Information security policy and procedures for guidance on managing student data in online applications.

To help decide whether to engage third-party IT providers, principals can use the decision tree tool, Working with third party providers of information technology (PDF 476 KB).

Principals, delegates and staff should consult with their local Digital Field Services team before making any purchases. Software and web platforms not in the core or approved application list are not guaranteed to work with department systems.

• Student Enrolment and Enrolment and Registration Number (ERN)
• Leaving the department (staff only)
• Technology 4 Learning
• EDConnect
• Government accessibility standards for ICT

• Procurement policy
• Digital devices and online services for students policy
• Digital devices and online services – staff use policy
• Information security policy
• Social media policy
• Student behaviour policy
• Disability Standards for Education 2005
• Finance in Schools Handbook (FISH)