Keeping your child safe online

The internet is a fantastic tool and there is a wealth of information online. We encourage all our pupils to use the internet to extend their knowledge and understanding around a range of subjects.

The internet can, however, be a daunting and sometimes dangerous place for children. We regularly teach online safety within lessons across all age ranges within school. 

As parents/carers, you need to be aware of the risks your child will face when they use the internet and other electronic forms of communication. On this page, you will find some useful resources to help you keep your child(ren) safe online. 

At School

• At school we take several steps to ensure that children are kept safe while using the internet and electronic communication.
• We use targeted filtering to prevent access to websites that are not suitable or may be dangerous.
• Internet access in supervised and we monitor the websites that are accessed.
• Children are also taught how to use the technology safely so that they can keep themselves safe.
• Online safety is embedded within our computing curriculum. We use the Purple Mash scheme of work and this is supplemented with the Project Evolve toolkit by SWGfL. 

At Home

• We appreciate parents and carers can have a difficult job keeping up with their children on the fast changing technology available to them, let alone knowing the dangers they face. The issues of safety, privacy, online predators or grooming and cyberbullying are sometimes complex, both technically and psychologically and parents and carers can struggle to keep up.
• To help parents and carers, we have put together a selection of links to websites that will help to ensure that their children can utilise the benefits of the Internet while staying safe.

Play it SMART!

What does SMART stand for?

S - SAFE: Keep your personal information safe. When chatting or posting online don’t give away things like your full name, password or home address. Remember personal information can be seen in images and videos you share too. Keep them safe to keep yourself safe.

M - MEETING: Meeting up with someone you only know online, even a friend of a friend, can be dangerous as this person is still a stranger. If someone you only know online ever asks you to meet up, for personal information or for photos/videos of you then tell an adult straight away and report them together on www.thinkuknow.co.uk

A - ACCEPTING: Think carefully before you click on or open something online (e.g. links, adverts, friend requests, photos) as you never know where they may lead to or they may contain viruses. Do not accept something if you are unsure of who the person is or what they’ve sent you.

R - RELIABLE: You cannot trust everything you see online as some things can be out of date, inaccurate or not entirely true. To find reliable information compare at least three different websites, check in books and talk to someone about what you have found.

T - TELL: Tell a trusted adult if something or someone ever makes you feel upset, worried or confused. This could be if you or someone you know is being bullied online. There are lots of people who will be able to help you like your teachers, parents, carers or contact Childline – 0800 11 11 or www.childline.org.uk

BE SMART WITH A HEART - Remember to always be smart with a heart by being kind and respectful to others online. Make the internet a better place by helping your friends if they are worried or upset by anything that happens online.

Other useful websites and videos to support online safety: