E-Safety
Top 10 safety tips for families
keeping children safe in a digital world
maintain a basic understanding of computers
understand the digital safety issues that children face
monitor tools and programmes that children are using online
restrict how much time children are spending online,
communicate and be vigilant
establish ground rules to keep children safe online
apply usage policies and guidelines for social media
utilise resources to help protect children online
set ground rules for mobile technology
help children to understand e-safety.
To these, we would add to just one more:
avoid any screen use before bed time and in bed
With children online, there comes a risk of online harm or abuse. Children's online activity continues to be a concern to adults at home and in school.
If a child ... is spending 3 hours or more a day on a screen they will develop mental health issues, anxiety or depression.
Professor Barry Carpenter OBE
abw09_poster.pdfKeeping children safe on-line
If an App has an age limit this is the MINIMUM age a child could use the App safely.
02 and NSPCC online safety helpline 0808 800 5002 (9am-7pm)
Parent's Guide to Internet Safety
E-safety in School
We use the internet and technology to enhance learning. We include e-safety in the curriculum as part of ICT and Personal, Health and Social Education, including Sex and Relationships Education.
When logging on, pupils click to agree to terms and conditions before accessing our server or the Internet. A 'firewall' restricts searches meaning sites including some social media sites like Facebook cannot be accessed by staff or children in school. Nevertheless software is never a catch-all and our first port of call for e-safety is to teach safe use. Safe use includes understanding that online activity is not private. Safe use teaches children that individuals are responsible for what they post, view and participate in. Safe use includes only using apps and sites that are appropriate for your age. We strongly recommend that as primary age pupils, our children only message each other electronically through Google Hangouts linked to their school @kingsmead email address.
Mobile hones and other electronic devices.
Experience tells us that children of primary school age are too young to fully understand implications and responsibilities that come with unsupervised access to phones. While we accept that parents and carers know their children best, we will not accept responsibility for distress and issues caused by children's inappropriate use, out of school, of electronic devices. The exception is our Google Hangouts and Google Classroom which are linked to an @kingsmead email address; here we are happy to take responsibility!
We address electronic bullying as we would any other form of bullying or harassment in line with school policy. We would bring misuse of phone messaging to parents' attention in order that they can provide robust challenge, monitoring and support for their children.
We take no responsibility for loss or damage to phones in school. From September 2020 the ban on phones will be enforced and any phones found in school will be confiscated. Our policy for supporting social and emotional development and behaviour references that we regard mobile phones as prohibited items and sets out steps we may take if we believe a mobile phone has been brought into school.
Stranger Danger
The risk of meeting unsafe people is far higher online than out in the community.
Children should be taught and learn that the person they think they are talking to online may not be the person they are talking to. Children might have met an online friend, think they're a child their age when in fact the person can be a much older person, an adult, online because they intend to harm or exploit vulnerable children.
This means it is much more important to teach about peer pressure. It is also more important that adults at home and in school to do all we can to prevent children encountering content they are too young to process. Many sites with content aimed at children have a minimum age of 13 or even older. On these sites children can see and hear content which is beyond their developmental age. They become desensitised to what is risky and inappropriate and so the risk of them becoming vulnerable to grooming increases. This also increases the risk of age inappropriate 'knowledge' finding its way into their play.
A good rule is if an online 'friend' is not the same as a friend you have met and know in real life. We advise against any online friendships for primary age children who are too young to understand the differences or dangers.
Responsible parents and carers will want to restrict the Apps their children use as well as the time they spend on computers.
www.net-aware.org.uk allows you to insert an app or game name and information is displayed re pros, cons, age appropriateness etc. Many Apps are designed with compulsion to click built in.
Google education
Google Education is an online platform we use to communicate with children and families at home through Google Classrooms; it is our Virtual Learning Environment, our school online. It is invaluable for communication, sharing information, home learning and for those times when children are at home but well enough to learn (e.g. when observing the 48 hour rule after vomiting or diarrhoea).
We share responsibility for its safe use with children, their parents and carers. We have set up Google Education so children do not receive any advertising. Teachers may post links to internet sites that they have monitored and checked.
We allowed children to use Google Hangouts during lockdowns. Children were isolated from each other and the risk/benefit analysis indicated the benefits of chat online were greater than risks from this social media app where school could see what they were doing.
School's Responsibility
To teach about e-safety including safe use of electronic communication and social media - in Computing and PHSE
To teach the productive, safe and positive use of digital technology through Computing lessons and across the curriculum
To deal with bullying, including online bullying, in line with school policy
To only use online content from sites and apps that is age appropriate
To share only information and images, opinions and information that identify individuals in a respectful and positive manner and with permission in line with our data protection policy
To keep children's phones in the office for those families who require exceptions to be made regarding school policy on mobile phones
Adults' Responsibility
To consider the role model they are providing to their children
To monitor their child's computer, phone and tablet use including messages sent and received
To consider the advice for children and parents above
To deal with inappropriate messaging between children outside of school (e.g. removing their child's access to phones or chat groups)
To only allow children access to apps and websites that are age appropriate
To not share images, information or opinions about children, parents or staff in school on social media without their consent
To ensure phones are kept at home during the school day or make an appointment with the headteacher if they require an exception to be made for their child
Child's Responsibility
To use electronic media in a safe, useful and kind way
To follow the advice above and learning about e-safety from lessons in school
To comply with our internet acceptable use policy when using school equipment during the day, and out of school hours if your activity could affect other children in school (messaging or sharing with them).
To only access and use apps and sites that are recommended for children their age
To not share any image, opinion or information about any other person without their consent
Not to bring phones to school unless they have permission (in which case they take the phone to the office in the morning and collect at the end of the day)
Advice for children (and parents)
Never give out personal information (name, phone number, address) to people on the internet you don't know in real life.
E-Safe friends are friends you know in the real world, not only through the internet.
If you get a message and you're not sure who it is from TELL A TRUSTED ADULT.
All your online activity leaves a digital trail - what you have looked at, posted and sent can all be traced back to you.
You are responsible for any comments, images and media you post online.
Once you post something online, you have lost control of who could share and see it.
Just because you are doing something in a private place does not make it a private activity once digital media are used.
'Cyber bullying' - it's still bullying.
The internet, invented by and given freely to humanity by Tim Berners-Lee, has changed the world. Supervised use of the Internet can enrich children's lives. Children, parents, carers and teachers, share responsibility for it being used safely and for good.
'Imagine that everything you are typing is being read by the person you are applying to for your first job. Imagine that it's all going to be seen by your parents and your grandparents and your grandchildren as well.'
Tim Berners-Lee
We all enjoy and treasure images of our family and friends. Our new born baby, first steps, family events, holidays and school events are moments we all like to capture in photos or on video. We then have the added and exciting dimension of adding our images and video to our social network, such as Facebook, YouTube and many other online websites. This means that we can easily share our photos and video with family and friends.
Whilst this is naturally useful, in schools and educational settings we do need to protect and safeguard all children and staff in our school, including those who do not want to have their images stored online.
Online images and video
What should we think about before adding online any images or video? Are there any risks?
Facts
Once online any image or video can be copied and stay online forever.
Some children are at risk and MUST NOT have their image put online.
Not all members of the school community will know who they are.
Some people do not want their images online for personal or religious reasons.
Some children and staff may have a complex family background which means that image sharing online can have unforeseen consequences.
We must all ‘Think Before We Post’ Online
What we do
We ask parents and carers for permission (annually in September) for use of images of children.
What we ask of families
At Kingsmead Primary School we are happy for parents and carers to take photos and video of school productions and events for personal use on condition that these images are not distributed or put online.
This is to protect all members of the school community.
Thank you for your support.