Online Safety

Children are having increased access to the internet, smart phones and handheld computers as they live their lives seamlessly on and offline. While this presents many exciting opportunities, it is crucial that we all support children so that they can access the online world safely, respectfully and in a considered way. School and Governors work really hard to ensure that our children are trained on Online Safety in school, however these messages from school need to be supported and backed up by Parents & Carers at home.

This is what our Online Safety Committee have to say:

“We are the Online Safety Committee and we represent every class from Year 2 to Year 4. We have looked at many extra online safety activities and how issues can be reported. We are able to talk to the children in our classes about online safety and support them in asking for help if they are worried.”

This is the message we share:

· Zip it – Don’t share your personal information with strangers. Keep your profile settings private.

· Block it – Block friend requests from strangers on social networking sites.

· Flag it – Always tell a trusted adult if something online scares/upsets you. Report any meeting requests from strangers to a trusted adult. Remember to be as careful online as you are offline.

Online Safety is taught as a whole-school approach and filters into many areas of the curriculum across all year groups.

Explicit objectives are taught through our computing curriculum, which covers the principles of online safety at all key stages, with progression in the content to reflect the different and escalating risks that pupils face. This includes how to use technology safely, responsibly, respectfully and securely, and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies. Each unit of work in the Computing Curriculum begins with an Online Safety lesson. These build on each other across the year and then across year groups. We use the iCompute Scheme of Work to make sure that our Online Safety teaching is progressive and comprehensive.

Our PSHE curriculum also addresses online safety and a range of related issues from safe online relationships, cyberbullying, and self-identity to mental health. These are discussed through our wellbeing sessions in a planned, holistic way.

Whilst there are huge benefits to being online in order to stay connected to family and friends, we recognise many parents may feel concerned about the activities and content their children are accessing.

• It is important to have regular conversations about staying safe online and to encourage children to speak to you if they come across something worrying online.
• Check safety and privacy settings are turned on, on all devices. Click on the link it explains how to check the settings across many devices  – internet matters
• Know which apps, social media, streaming channels and websites your children are accessing. Click on the link it evaluates the latest apps, websites and streaming channels  – parent zone
• Discuss appropriate online behaviours (good human behaviours are the same online and offline). 
• Ask for help if needed. Our staff are here to support you and your child.
• If you’re worried that your child is being groomed online or sexually exploited you should report your concerns to CEOP.
• Set digital rules together – such as how much screen time to allow your children – screen time balance

There are many resources providing guidance for parents and carers to keep children safe online. They will, amongst other things, support parents with talking about a range of online safety issues, set up home filtering in a child-friendly way and set up age-appropriate parental controls on digital devices:

• Childnet – support and guidance for parents
• Internet matters – support, online safety issues and guidance for parents
• Parent Zone – support articles and guidance for parents
• Cyberbullying – Support and advice 
• CEOP – Reporting a concern
• Parent Guides to the latest Apps, websites and streaming channels

• Remember you are in control - If you see something you don’t like, don’t click on it. If it pops up when you’re watching a video, close it down. If you are sent a nasty message or a challenge online, delete it.
• Block and report it - If you see upsetting content online, block the user it came from, and report them on the platform you are using. An adult can help if you’re not sure how to do this.
• Don’t pass it on - This is how horrible challenges or messages are spread around. If what you’ve seen makes you feel worried or unhappy, don’t send it on to others.
• Check the device and privacy settings - Make sure your device and privacy setting are correctly set up. Don’t accept friends you don’t know in real life, and never give out personal information such as your location.
• It’s not real - Challenge videos saying that bad stuff will happen if you don’t complete certain tasks, can be really scary. They are NOT real. Don’t take part. Even with ‘fun’ challenges that aren’t going to cause you harm – you don’t have to do them. Never feel like you have to do anything you don’t want to do.
• Tell an Adult - Talking through anything that’s distressing you with someone you trust, such as a teacher or a parent, can really help.
• Further support - If you’re worried about anything you’ve seen when using the internet or apps you can contact Childline 24 hours a day, online and over the phone on 0800 1111.
• Childline – support and advice for children
• NSPCC – support and advice for children
• Let’s talk about it (BBC) –  real life experiences, support and advice
• Think you Know – educational resource
• Be internet Legends – educational resource

To access our range of Acceptable Use Policies, please use the link below to access our Policies and Documents library.