ONLINE SAFETY & ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
ONLINE SAFETY & ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
MINWOOD LANE COLLECTIVE LTD
Policy date: 15 November 2026
Next scheduled review: November 2027
1. OUR COMMITMENT
At Minwood Lane Collective, we believe digital spaces should encourage creativity, curiosity, confidence and individuality.
We are committed to providing an online environment where children and young people can explore ideas, develop skills and share their achievements safely.
Online safety is an important part of our wider safeguarding responsibilities.
We aim to promote respectful communication, protect personal information and ensure children can participate without unnecessary pressure to share their work or personal experiences.
2. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This policy explains the standards of online behaviour and digital safety expected when accessing Minwood Lane Collective services.
It applies to:
Creative Studio online memberships.
Home Ed Studio online memberships.
Creative Plus digital activities and resources.
RECONNECT digital activities, where applicable.
MiniVox learning environments.
Online communities and discussions.
Digital portfolios and project submissions.
Studio Showcases.
Other digital services operated or authorised by Minwood Lane Collective.
It applies to children, young people, parents, carers, employees, volunteers, contractors and other authorised users.
This policy should be read alongside our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy, Privacy Policy and Membership Terms & Conditions.
3. OUR DIGITAL LEARNING PLATFORM
Minwood Lane Collective uses MiniVox to provide access to digital learning projects, submissions, feedback and portfolios.
Children and young people may have individual accounts, with parent or carer access arrangements where appropriate.
Accounts are intended for authorised users only.
Members must not share passwords or allow unauthorised individuals to access their accounts.
Parents and carers should support younger children with account security and appropriate online participation.
We will use available platform settings and administrative arrangements to manage access according to individual responsibilities.
4. PRIVACY AND CHILDREN'S CREATIVE WORK
Children's project submissions and portfolios are private by default within our learning environment.
Authorised educational team members may access submitted work where necessary to deliver projects, review progress or provide feedback.
Children's work will not automatically be visible to other learners.
Where community-sharing functionality is enabled, children may choose to share appropriate work within their own designated community.
Sharing is voluntary and subject to applicable permissions and moderation arrangements.
Children will not be required to share their work with other members to complete a project or receive feedback.
Access to children's private submissions will be restricted to authorised personnel with a legitimate educational or safeguarding purpose.
5. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
Minwood Lane Collective may provide online communities organised by learning stage.
These include:
Pioneers: Reception to Year 2.
Mavericks: Years 3–5.
Visionaries: Years 6–8.
Innovators: Years 9–11.
Trailblazers: Years 12–13.
These communities provide opportunities for age-appropriate creative engagement and sharing.
Members must treat others respectfully.
We encourage constructive feedback, positive communication and appreciation of different perspectives.
Participation in community sharing is optional.
Community access and moderation arrangements will be reviewed before interactive features are enabled.
6. ACCEPTABLE ONLINE BEHAVIOUR
All users are expected to:
Communicate respectfully and appropriately.
Respect other people's creative work.
Use the platform for its intended educational and creative purposes.
Follow reasonable instructions from authorised team members.
Protect their own personal information and that of others.
Report concerning or inappropriate behaviour.
Respect the privacy and choices of other members.
Use age-appropriate language and content.
We recognise that children have different developmental, communication and support needs.
Expectations will be explained in accessible ways, and reasonable adjustments will be considered.
7. UNACCEPTABLE ONLINE BEHAVIOUR
The following behaviour is not permitted:
Bullying, harassment or intimidation.
Racist, discriminatory or hateful language.
Threats or abusive communication.
Sexual harassment or inappropriate sexual content.
Grooming or attempts to exploit another user.
Sharing another person's personal information without permission.
Uploading harmful, illegal or deliberately inappropriate content.
Impersonating another person.
Attempting to access another user's account.
Sharing private community content outside its intended audience without permission.
Using the platform to promote harmful or unlawful activities.
Concerns will be considered proportionately, taking account of safeguarding, individual needs and the circumstances involved.
Serious concerns may be referred to appropriate statutory agencies.
8. MODERATION AND SUPERVISION
Minwood Lane Collective will establish moderation arrangements appropriate to the interactive features being used.
Authorised team members will be responsible for overseeing assigned communities and responding to reported concerns.
Moderation may include:
Reviewing reported content.
Removing inappropriate material.
Restricting access where necessary.
Supporting children to understand online expectations.
Escalating safeguarding concerns.
Recording serious incidents.
We do not guarantee continuous, real-time monitoring of all online activity.
Interactive community features will only be enabled when appropriate moderation and reporting arrangements are in place.
9. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN STAFF AND CHILDREN
Communication between Minwood Lane Collective team members and children must take place through approved channels.
Team members must maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
Unauthorised private messaging, personal social media contact or sharing personal contact details with children is not permitted.
Feedback on projects should be provided through approved learning or communication systems.
Where direct communication with a child is necessary, appropriate safeguarding and oversight arrangements must be followed.
Parents and carers may be included in communications where appropriate.
10. PARENT AND CARER RESPONSIBILITIES
Parents and carers play an important role in supporting safe online participation.
We encourage families to:
Help children understand appropriate online behaviour.
Support younger children with digital access.
Keep account details secure.
Discuss online privacy and personal information.
Encourage children to report uncomfortable or concerning experiences.
Respect other children's privacy.
Contact Minwood Lane Collective about any concerns.
Parents and carers should not access another child's private work or account without appropriate authorisation.
11. PERSONAL INFORMATION AND PRIVACY
Users should avoid sharing unnecessary personal information through projects, community discussions or uploaded content.
This includes:
Home addresses.
Personal telephone numbers.
Private email addresses.
Passwords.
Financial information.
Identifying information about other children.
Sensitive personal or family circumstances.
Some educational activities may involve personal reflection. Children should be offered alternatives where they do not wish to share private experiences.
Personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection legislation.
12. PHOTOGRAPHS, VIDEO AND AUDIO
Children may create photographs, videos, audio recordings or other digital work as part of their projects.
Content submitted privately for educational feedback will not automatically be approved for wider sharing.
Users must respect the privacy and rights of individuals appearing in submitted material.
Where work includes identifiable images, voices or personal information relating to other people, appropriate permissions may be required before sharing.
We may restrict or remove material where publication could create a safeguarding or privacy risk.
13. STUDIO SHOWCASES
Studio Showcases provide optional opportunities to celebrate children's creative achievements.
Families may be offered different sharing options:
Community-only sharing: Work is shared within the child's designated learning community.
Private showcase: Work is shared with an approved audience, such as invited families or members.
Public showcase: Work may be shared through approved public channels, including our website, social media or YouTube.
Wider sharing requires the child's agreement and appropriate parent or carer permission.
Consent will be sought for the relevant purpose and audience.
Participation is voluntary.
Declining public sharing will not affect a child's access to projects, feedback or membership opportunities.
14. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Some digital platforms offer artificial intelligence features.
Minwood Lane Collective will assess AI-enabled tools before introducing them into activities involving children.
Considerations will include:
Age suitability.
Privacy and data protection.
Accuracy and reliability.
Safeguarding risks.
Appropriate adult oversight.
The educational purpose of the tool.
Whether personal information is processed by third-party services.
AI features will not automatically be enabled simply because they are available.
Children must not be required to enter sensitive personal information into AI systems.
AI-generated responses must not replace appropriate professional judgement or safeguarding decisions.
Where an AI feature is introduced, families will be informed of its intended use and any relevant permissions or restrictions.
15. COPYRIGHT AND CREATIVE OWNERSHIP
We encourage children to develop original ideas and respect the work of others.
Children retain applicable intellectual property rights in their original creative work.
Users must not deliberately copy, reproduce or distribute another person's protected work without appropriate permission or another lawful basis.
Where projects use third-party images, music, videos or other resources, applicable copyright requirements must be respected.
Members must not reproduce or commercially distribute Minwood Lane Collective's protected project materials without permission.
16. DIGITAL WELLBEING
We recognise the importance of balancing digital participation with wellbeing.
Projects are designed to encourage creativity and may include practical, offline activities.
Children should be supported to take appropriate breaks and participate at a pace suited to their needs.
We do not expect children to remain continuously online.
Where appropriate, families may discuss alternative ways of participating or submitting work.
17. REPORTING ONLINE SAFETY CONCERNS
Children, parents and carers should report concerns about inappropriate content, unwanted contact, bullying or other online safety issues.
Concerns can be emailed to:
Please use the subject line:
Online Safety Concern — Confidential
We will assess reported concerns and take appropriate action.
Where a concern indicates possible abuse, exploitation or significant harm, our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy will apply.
Where necessary, information may be shared with MiniVox, the police, children's social care or other relevant agencies.
Our email inbox is not an emergency reporting service.
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
18. RESPONDING TO BREACHES
Where this policy is breached, Minwood Lane Collective may take proportionate action.
Depending on the circumstances, this may include:
Providing guidance or reminders.
Contacting parents or carers.
Removing inappropriate content.
Temporarily restricting interactive features.
Suspending access while a serious concern is assessed.
Taking action under our Membership Terms & Conditions.
Making safeguarding referrals where necessary.
We will consider the child's age, understanding, individual needs and the seriousness of the concern.
Any restrictions will be fair and proportionate.
19. DATA PROTECTION AND SECURITY
We aim to protect personal information through appropriate organisational and technical measures.
Access to personal information will be limited according to authorised roles and responsibilities.
We will review the privacy and security arrangements of digital services used to deliver our programmes.
Users should notify us promptly if they suspect unauthorised account access or the accidental disclosure of personal information.
Personal data breaches will be assessed and managed in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
20. POLICY REVIEW
This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner where changes in legislation, digital services, safeguarding guidance or identified risks require it.
Where new interactive features or technologies are introduced, relevant safety arrangements will be reviewed before use.
21. CONTACT INFORMATION
Minwood Lane Collective Ltd
Company Registration Number: 17577197
Registered Office:
1711 High Street
Knowle
Solihull
B93 0LN
United Kingdom
Email: hello@minwoodlane.co.uk
Website: www.minwoodlane.co.uk
Policy date: 15 November 2026
Next scheduled review: November 2027