E-Safety / Keeping Children Safe online - Advice for Parents

E-Safety

The Federation recognises that an online presence is a part of every child’s life from very early in their school career. They access the world wide web form a very early age and many play collaborative games online at home even before KS1. Furthermore, video conferencing has been central to home learning throughout lockdown. By the start of KS2 many pupils use gaming platforms and social media apps such as Whatsapp to communicate with their friends, even more so during lockdown. Therefore, central to all computing lessons is an emphasis on e-safety. Pupils are taught how to act safely and responsibly online. Pupils and parents sign the School Acceptable Use policy which means that they use equipment and the internet responsibly at all times.

E-Safety is discussed with pupils at all opportunities from the time they start at the Framework Federation. Early years are taught using appropriate resources such as storybooks like ‘Click Click Chick’. There are lessons dedicated to E-Safety built into the scheme of work and they happen at least every half term but issues are discussed regularly as and when they arise. Specific issues which relate to safeguarding are reported to the computing lead and to the DSL by staff when they arise.

Every year the school participates in the national Safer Internet Day which takes place every February. This is a whole day of activities to promote safe and responsible actions online. Pupils are taught how to behave safely online by:

• Not giving away personal details.
• Using safe and secure passwords.
• Recognising inappropriate behaviour online and knowing who to report it to.
• Behaving respectfully online.
• Recognising the dangers of communicating by social media.
• Recognising the legal implications of using social media before the age of 13.
• Recognising the dangers of unsolicited information on the internet.
• Recognising the dangers of posting images and information online, not just of themselves but of others who may not have given permission.

Pupils are encouraged to contact appropriate adults if they have any issues online such as unwanted or inappropriate contact, or if they feel they have been treated badly by behaviour of others online.

The Federation recognises that while pupils are at school their use of computers is supervised and safe as they are behind the school filtering systems. However, this is not always the case at home and we recognise the importance of sharing E-Safety practices with parents so that they can spot issues such as inappropriate behaviour, inappropriate gaming or viewing and/or radicalisation through misinformation on inappropriate websites. The federation works with parents to encourage them to install appropriate filtering software at home and parental controls on devices. Parents are encouraged to contact the school if they have any concerns about pupil behaviour online. A number of evenings for parents have been held across the federation and the federation website contains information for parents on E-Safety issues.

Parents and staff are aware of the need to follow GDPR regulations and any breaches are recorded. Advise is sought from DCC when such incidents occur.