E SAFETY

It is incredibly important for children to learn how to use the Internet in a safe and responsible way. The children have access to computers throughout the school day which support them with their learning.

Online safety is taught through our Computing curriculum as well as through an annual focused day in February.

Our online safety policy can be found below.

There is an overwhelming amount of information out there about keeping children safe online, but following training courses and research, we have picked out some of the top ones:

Links for Parents

Parents’ Guide to Technology, Safer Internet Centre – to help get to grips with new technology

www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology

Vodafone ‘How To’ Guides – for advice on how to set up parental controls on various types of devices

www.vodafone.com/content/index/parents/how_to_guides1.html

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) – provides valuable information on child protection issues including E-Safety ttp://ceop.police.uk/

thinkuknow – is an excellent site developed by CEOP with a wide range of Internet safety tips and downloads for children of all ages and their parents / carers and teachers www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

Kidsmart – for guides to parental controlside to devices and more resourceswww.kidsmart.org.uk/parents/

Links for Children:

thinkuknow – find the right section for the age of your child before letting them browse; find Hector on this website too www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

CBBC Stay Safe – for games and educational resources www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/topics/stay-safe

Kidsmart – for the SMART rules and more http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/beingsmart/

Wisekids – information for children about staying safe on the internet including some safe search engines http://www.wisekids.org.uk/

On Friday 27th January years 1 – 6 were visited by Richard, from The Stay Safe Initiative. He delivered an e-safety workshop and he emailed to say:

  ‘I was VERY pleased with everyone's attitude and enthusiasm across the day. Your pupils were fantastic and I was impressed by lots of their responses and contributions across the day. 10 out of 10 for all.’

 

He discovered that lots of our pupils have quite extensive digital lives and was keen for us to contact parents and share his findings/ concerns.

 

All year groups mentioned connecting with others on WhatsApp (16+), a large number are using TikTok (13+), SnapChat (13+) and some Instagram(13+). Unfortunately, out of them (especially in Yr5/6) the majority have public accounts. This obviously opens them up to ‘anyone' making a direct connection.  In regards to gaming, GTA (Grand Theft Auto 18+) and COD (call of duty 18+) were both mentioned in Yr3/4 and Yr1/2.  Most gamers regularly play and chat to people they don’t know (in the real world).  

 

It is really  important for all parents to fully understanding what their children are using online and to educate themselves of the functionality of the games / apps their children use:

  •          Can they chat?  
  •          Can they connect to people they don’t know?
  •          What content can they be exposed to, either suggested or sent by others?
  •          What is the age rating?
  •          What are the risks?

It's by fully understanding these things that will allow parents to hopefully make informed decisions and be able to support and be involved along the way.

 

Please have a read through the attached poster for extra advice and tips about Parenting in the Digital World.

 

https://thestaysafeinitiative.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Parents_Online_Safety_Advice_Sheet.pdf