Online Safety

Our Online Safety Curriculum Leader is Mrs Z Kendell.

Online safety is an integral part of children’s education in today’s digital world and is embedded in their learning at school.

We also want to help our parents and children improve their own understanding of online safety issues so they can learn to use the internet and all digital media in a safe and secure way.

Intent

It is our intention that our pupils are well equipped with an online safery curriculum which is purposeful and provides pupils with the necessary knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe whilst using technology. To deliver our curriculum, we follow the National Curriculum and use Twinkl Computing as a planning tool for lesson delivery. Online safety coverage is carefully planned within the Safeguarding curriculum as taught in school and ensures that pupils at all age ranges understand this aspect of learning as a core element of keeping themselves safe.

Implementation

Children are taught about online safety in a variety of different ways: through dedicated online safety weeks where pupils complete a range of tasks and learning around keeping themselves and others safe using technology; within computing lessons; through the safeguarding curriculum; through school displays and discussions.

We encourage children to understand the huge benefits that technology can have and how, when used safely and sensibly, is a wonderful tool for learning and entertainment.

Impact

We monitor the impact of our online safety curriculum by speaking regularly to our pupils; our online safety ambassador team hold regular assemblies for feedback from pupils and we conduct pupil voice as both curriculum leaders and Designated Safeguarding Officers to gauge the effectiveness of the teaching of online safety. We audit our incident reporting logs on a half termly basis in order to ensure any necessary amendments to our curriculum are made.

At School

As part of your child’s curriculum and the development of computer skills, we provide access to the internet during supervised lessons. We strongly believe that the use of the web and email is hugely worthwhile and an essential tool for children as they grow up in the modern world. Our school internet access provider operates a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate materials.

At the start of the school year, each class discusses how we can all stay safe online and the dangers we may face on the internet. We then ask every child in the academy – and parents at home- to sign an Acceptable Use Agreement so that we know they have read and understood our academy’s rules on staying safe.

Our curriculum for online safety is strengthened in the following ways:

• e-safety week
• Picture News
• assemblies
• online safety ambassadors
• woven through the curriculum when technology is used in the classroom

At Home

As a parent, you’ll know how important the internet is to children – they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves – and, as your child grows older, how important and influential the internet will continue to be. It’s a highly creative place of amazing opportunities. Often, the technology children use every day can seem a bit daunting and you might worry about the risks your child can face online – such as online bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content.

At Half Acres Primary Academy, we believe it is vital engage with your children regarding their use of the internet while at home. Take a look at some conversation starter ideas from Child Net to help you discuss online safety with your children:

• Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
• Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
• Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
• Encourage them to help. Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
• Think about how you use the internet as a family. What could you do to get more out of the internet together and further enjoy your lives online.

Net Aware in collaboration with the NSPCC and O2

Search Engines

Please note that no search engine is ever 100% safe, but below provides some links to some “safer” search engines:

Research searching

nICE
CBBC
Kids Yahoo

Google offers a safer search option for children searching on the Internet. You can find out how to do this by downloading the instructions at the bottom of the page.

Image Searching

Pics4Learning
picsearch

Gaming

When children are accessing games via Xbox LIVE, privacy settings can be set up. This is an integral element to ensuring your childs’ safety and welfare online.

Additional Resources

Please have a look at the links below for fantastic resources and advice to help keep your children safe.