Cavisoc - Letter to and from DCSF

The Cavi Society

Children As Victims Inquiry

Members of the Public:

On February 16th. 2010, some members of SSITA (all Children's organisations) wrote this joint letter to Ed Balls seen below:

This letter referred only to "looked after" children and expressed the concern ofSSITA members as to who would protect the interests of these children, and what sensible caveats would be imposed for the protection of these children, who were to benefit from the Home Access right to home computers.

To:dcsf.ministers@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Sent:Tuesday, February 16, 2010 1:28 PM

Subject:The Children's Act-1989. Part Three. Section 17.

To Rt. Hon. Ed Balls, Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

Dear Mr.Balls,

Re: The Children's Act (1989). Part Three, Section 17.

In Section Three, Section 17 of the Childrens' Act, it is stated that it is the duty of every local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of "looked after" children, whose parents are not always in a position to do this for themselves. The State acts "in loco parentis" not only to children in day schools but also, to children both in foster homes, day care, state boarding schools, after school clubs and most certainly to children in residential care homes.

Whilst we support Government's laudable intention, announced recently, to spend £270,000 on internet provision for the socially disadvantaged and for children in care , we are concerned to ensure that you provide guidance to local authorities requiring that this broadband entitlement be wired not wireless.

We refer you to the Becta document: “Technical specification. Institutional infrastructure. Version D.September 2007” which states quite clearly on Page 14 Section 1.1 that "Wired networks have become the industry standard because of their superior data rates, low cost and high degree of stability, with wired networks ubiquitous in education as the fundamental technology underlying local area networks (LANS). A wired network must therefore be used as the main network in an institution".

Please would you confirm specifically whether your Department intends to reiterate this advice to local authorities when the scheme for children in care is rolled out, and what steps the Department intends to take to ensure that it is followed?

We draw your attention to the safety concerns raised by public bodies and scientists in respect of exposures to pulsed microwave radiation from wireless devices such as laptops and wireless internet which can be found on the following websites:

http://www.wiredchild.org/schools.html

http://www.wiredchild.org/sciencealias/43-what-the-science-tells-us/65-what- scientists-are-saying.htm

http://www.wifiinschools.org.uk/

You will see clearly that there is a real question over its safety in both the long and short term given that the current guidelines serve only to protect us from the thermal effects, not the biological effects which the scientists are warning us are occurring at levels way below the current guidelines.Indeed I would strongly urge that the precautionary principle be adopted and wired internet access be provided over wireless.

I, together with my colleagues, await your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Diana Hanson

On behalf of:

CAVI Society-protecting children from the effects of electromagnetic radiation…..

Institute of Fundraising No.16425.

http://www.cavisoc.org.uk

wifiinschools.org.uk

www.wiredchild.org

Registered Charity number:1129682

PAMT (Precautionary Approach to Microwave Technology) (Stockton-on-Tees)

This was the reply that we received from the DCSF. A detailed analysis of SSITA's views on this reply will appear here shortly.

Dear Ms Hanson,

Thank you for your email of 16 February, expressing you concerns about the use of wireless internet by children. I have been asked to reply.

It is a top priority for the Government to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.

Becta who is the government’s lead agency on the application of technology to the education system has responsibility for providing advice to schools and others on various technologies and their use, including their safe use. Becta follows the Health Protection Agency‘s (HPA) latest guidance in the advice it produces for schools and other education providers.

The HPA is the authoritative body on health issues relating to wireless technology. The HPA has consistently and clearly advised schools that it does not consider there to be any problem with the safety of WiFi. Its current guidelines state there is no scientific evidence of any health risks from WiFi or that exposures exceed international guidelines and there is absolutely no reason schools should stop using them.

It is for schools using their professional judgement to determine how best to deploy the available technology and, whilst it is for schools to choose the technology that suits them best, we don't believe we should discourage the use of wireless networks. Wireless networks in schools can directly support the use of ICT in raising standards and attainment and are a perfectly acceptable part of the mix. However, wireless networks should not replace wired networks in schools.

HPA provide specific advice and guidance on wi-fi exposures in the radiation section of their website ( http://www.hpa.org.uk ). An extract:

“There is no consistent evidence to date that Wi-Fi and WLANs adversely affect the health of the general population. The signals are very low power, typically 0.1 watt (100 milliwatts) in both the computer and the router (access point) and the results so far show exposures are well within internationally accepted (ICNIRP) guidelines. Based on current knowledge and experience, radio frequency (RF) exposures from Wi-Fi are likely to be lower than those from mobile phones. Also, the frequencies used in Wi-Fi are broadly the same as those from traditional RF applications. On the basis of the studies so far carried out in house, the HPA sees no reason why Wi-Fi should not continue to be used in schools.”

The HPA is currently conducting a systematic programme of research into WLANs and their use. The results published so far are consistent with the HPA position that exposures to the radio waves from Wi-Fi equipment are not expected to exceed internationally-accepted guidelines and that they are less than from mobile phones. Further results will be published on the HPA website after they have been finalised.

In your letter you also raise concerns about the Home Access programme and Looked after Children and the relevant local authority guidance on the use of wired internet.

Becta leads on the Home Access initiative and I have liaised with them in providing the information below.

“All portable devices provided under Home Access have the capability to support both wired & wireless technologies as defined in the Statement of Requirements:

http://collaboration.becta.org.uk/docs/DOC-1995

desktop devices support fixed LAN connectivity however; all devices have, through the use of USB peripheral connections, the ability to support connectivity to mobile broadband via 3G dongles.

In terms of the connectivity provided under the programme users are offered internet connectivity through standard consumer channels and the availability of mobile or fixed line connections is down to market forces. Currently the majority of approved suppliers offer mobile broadband solutions however through the consumer model suppliers are free to add other services such as fixed line.”

The Home Access model is not related to the specifications that underpin institutional infrastructure and it is delivered through a consumer model as per any ordinary consumer access provision.

The Home Access programme does not mandate the use of Home Access devices within a schools environment for a number of reasons such as ability to support mixed economies of devices, limit the risks of compromise the infrastructure.

Yours sincerely,

David Rudd
TECHNOLOGY FUTURES UNIT

www.dcsf.gov.uk

Statement to Parents:

"The Cavi Society, along with a group of concerned parents, are dismayed to see that the document issued by Solihull Council regarding their policy on Wifi in borough schools, appears to be biased in favour of Wifi and is without the necessary caveats that we would have thought desirable.We invite parents to judge for themselves, and in the light of all the information available to them on our links page, to come to their own conclusions. A detailed analysis of our view will appear here shortly."

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