Information about the School
It is unlikely that any school would allow members of the public to
wander through the school's buildings or grounds. It's also likely that
any school with a web site will want to use the site to give an impression
of or details about the school and its environment.
It can be difficult
to reconcile these two issues, although applying some common sense
to the material that you publish on your school's site should help you
avoid any major pitfalls.
Think about the sorts of things that you might wish to highlight on
your school's web site:
- the new ICT suite
- the interactive whiteboard and data projector in every classroom
- the Red Nose Day pictures created by Year 6
Of these, two are potentially very exciting to show on the web site,
but also might be of concern if you were worried about those who might
be looking at the local school web site to see if there's anything they
can steal. Walk-in thefts during parents' evenings are not uncommon and
if someone can do their research on the Internet beforehand then so much
the better for them - and the worse for the school.
Don't make it too easy
Some schools want to publish a floorplan of their school so that (for
example) Year 7s can arrive on their first day armed with a map of the
school and feel more comfortable. This is a laudable aim, but runs the
risk of anyone who can view the web site obtaining a map, however detailed
you make it, of the floor plan. This might include:
- computer rooms
- changing rooms
- toilets
- entrances and exits
Obviously, it's not advisable to highlight the location of these for
reasons which become obvious if considered for a moment. If a school
were to publish a detailed floor plan showing computer rooms alongside
a timetable showing at which times those rooms are used then it's possible
to work out when they will be unattended and vulnerable to theft.
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