Community Guidelines

Welcome to the SECTEC Regional Knowledge Centre Online Platform.

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RKC Online has been created as a professional community space for education providers, employers, partners and stakeholders involved in the SECTEC programme. It is designed to support collaboration, knowledge sharing, professional discussion, resource sharing and partnership working across the regional skills ecosystem.

By joining and using RKC Online, all users are expected to follow these community guidelines.

 

1. Use the platform professionally

RKC Online is a professional education and partnership platform. Please use it in a way that reflects the standards expected within an education, skills and employer engagement context.

When posting, commenting or contributing, please make sure your communication is respectful, constructive and relevant to the purpose of the platform.

Users should avoid:

• Offensive, abusive or discriminatory language

• Personal criticism or unprofessional comments

• Political campaigning or unrelated campaigning activity

• Promotional content that has not been agreed with SECTEC

• Repeated posting, spamming or irrelevant content

• Sharing misleading, inaccurate or unverified information

 

2. Be respectful and inclusive

RKC Online brings together people from different organisations, roles, sectors and professional backgrounds. All users should help create a welcoming, inclusive and respectful space.

Please:

• Treat other members with courtesy and respect

• Value different viewpoints and experiences

• Keep discussions constructive, even where there are different opinions

• Avoid language or behaviour that could exclude, intimidate or undermine others

• Challenge ideas professionally, not individuals personally

Any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination or inappropriate behaviour may result in content being removed and access to the platform being reviewed.

 

3. Keep discussions relevant

Groups, forums and discussion areas should be used for activity connected to the SECTEC Regional Knowledge Centre, including partnership working, curriculum development, employer engagement, inclusive skills pathways, events, resources, Communities of Practice and wider programme activity.

Please make sure posts and comments are relevant to the topic, group or discussion area you are contributing to.

Where possible, use clear titles and provide enough context so that other members can understand and respond appropriately.

 

4. Protect confidential and sensitive information

Users must not share confidential, commercially sensitive, personal or restricted information on RKC Online unless they have permission to do so.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Personal data relating to learners, staff, employers or partners

• Safeguarding information

• Internal organisational information not intended for wider sharing

• Confidential project, funding, contract or partnership information

• Login details, passwords or access credentials

• Private messages or emails without permission

Where a discussion involves sensitive information, please use the appropriate agreed communication route outside the public or shared areas of the platform.

 

5. Follow data protection and privacy requirements

All users are responsible for ensuring that their use of RKC Online complies with UK data protection requirements and their own organisation’s policies.

Please do not upload or post personal data unless there is a clear and lawful reason for doing so, and unless you have the appropriate permission.

Where documents, images or other resources include personal data, please check they are suitable for sharing before uploading them.

 

6. Share resources responsibly

RKC Online may be used to share documents, links, templates, recordings, event information and other professional resources.

When sharing resources, please make sure:

• You have permission to share the material

• Copyright and licensing requirements are respected

• The source or owner of the material is acknowledged where appropriate

• The resource is relevant and useful to the community

• The information is accurate and up to date as far as possible

Please do not upload resources that contain copyrighted content, restricted materials or third-party content unless you have permission to do so.

 

7. Use images, media and recordings appropriately

Please only share images, videos, screenshots or recordings where you have the right to do so.

Do not upload images or recordings of individuals, learners, staff, visitors or partners unless appropriate consent has been obtained.

Screenshots of online meetings, private conversations, dashboards, systems or internal information should not be shared without permission.

 

8. Be careful when discussing learners, employers and partner organisations

RKC Online is a professional collaboration space. Please take care when discussing learners, employers, providers, partner organisations or other stakeholders.

Comments should be fair, professional and appropriate. Please avoid posting anything that could be seen as reputationally damaging, confidential or inappropriate.

Where an issue relates to a specific organisation, learner, member of staff or employer, please use the appropriate direct communication route rather than posting publicly.

 

9. Do not use the platform for technical support requests

RKC Online is intended for collaboration, discussion and programme-related activity.

Technical support requests should be raised through the appropriate support route agreed by SECTEC. Please do not post urgent technical support issues, account access problems or system fault reports in community discussion areas unless specifically directed to do so.

 

10. Keep your account secure

Users are responsible for keeping their account details secure.

Please:

• Do not share your login details with anyone else

• Use a secure password

• Sign out when using shared devices

• Report any suspected unauthorised access

• Make sure your profile information is accurate and appropriate

 

11. Moderation and content removal

SECTEC may moderate content posted on RKC Online to help maintain a professional, safe and useful community space.

Content may be removed if it is considered inappropriate, irrelevant, offensive, inaccurate, unsafe, promotional, confidential or in breach of these guidelines.

Where necessary, SECTEC may contact users about their use of the platform. Repeated or serious breaches of these guidelines may result in restricted access or removal from the platform.

 

12. Reporting concerns

If you see content or behaviour on RKC Online that you believe is inappropriate, unsafe, inaccurate or in breach of these guidelines, please report it to the SECTEC team using the agreed contact route.

Please do not respond in a way that escalates the situation. Where possible, allow the SECTEC team to review and respond appropriately.

 

13. Professional responsibility

By using RKC Online, users agree to act responsibly and professionally. The platform should support positive collaboration, shared learning and the development of high-quality practice across the SECTEC Regional Knowledge Centre community.

Thank you for helping to maintain RKC Online as a safe, respectful and valuable professional space.

 

User acknowledgement

By creating an account and using RKC Online, I confirm that I have read and understood these community guidelines and agree to use the platform responsibly, professionally and respectfully.