School websites

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Before setting up a website, schools need to consider the objectives for doing so, its purpose, the audience to be addressed, and how to protect their students, such as not revealing their identities and pictures etc.

A school website may provide a virtual tour of the school, work by pupils or the school prospectus. Its purpose may be to encourage parental interest in the school and/or demonstrate pupil skills.

When creating a school website further consideration should be given to:

software programmes
web space
domain names.

Some schools, universities and local authorities have their own servers and may offer web space, making pages accessible to anyone using the Internet. Other Internet service providers (ISPs) offer free web space. Remember that the uniform resource locator (URL) will normally include the host's identity.

A domain name is for example the 'dfes.gov.uk' part of this URL: www.dfes.gov.uk. In order to have an Internet presence, you will need to register a domain name (see Nominet, the UK Internet Names organisation) and establish an Internet connection via an ISP.

It is important to plan the website, keeping it simple and using graphics wisely. Develop a style for consistent use throughout the website and plan the structure and navigation. When creating pages ensure they are accessible by different browsers and test the website when content has been added.

A school website might include:

virtual tour of the school
pupils' work
prospectus
policy documents and schemes of work
links to other websites.

All school websites should include:

contact details
copyright details as appropriate.

School websites should avoid including:

personal details or names of any child or adult in photographs
personal contact details.

The school is responsible for the safety of every child in their care and should not enable pupils to be identified or contacted by people browsing the school website.

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