Online Safety

Keeping your child safe on the internet is a major concern to most parents today. Children have access to technology every day, whether it is on the internet or mobile phones. Children are becoming more and more computer literate. This can be a very positive thing as it will open many doors for them as adults however, as always, children need have e-safety awareness. For this reason, our children participate in a number of activities and lessons to help build their awareness. At St Mary's we do our utmost to ensure that the children are able to access cyberspace safely, but there are aspects of this that are beyond our control.

As educators we have a statutory responsibility to educate the whole school in their use of technology and establish mechanisms to identify, intervene in and escalate any incident where appropriate.  There is a wealth of information available to support schools to keep children safe online. The following is not exhaustive but should provide a useful starting point:

CEOP are part of the National Crime Agency and have a range of resources and guides for families who have Online Safety concerns. They have information about keeping yourself or your child from harm online. 

https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/

Special e-safety packs for use during COVID-19 

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/support-tools/home-activity-worksheets

In February 2023, Ian McGraw gave a talk to parents about the importance of Online Safety for families. Please see the slides below for more information.

Links for Children

There are lots of great things to do on the Internet from playing games, looking for something for school, listening to music, watching video clips or just looking for cool stuff. But you also need to know how to stay safe online and what to do if you come across something you don’t like.

Think U Know for 5 to 7 year olds – 5, 6 or 7? This website has been set up just for you, to help you go on the internet in a safe way and know who to talk to if you are worried.

Think U Know for 8 to 10 year olds – showing you what’s good on the Internet. Have a look at what’s not and shows you ways you can get yourself out of bad situations.

Kids Smart – gives advice on how to stay safe on the Internet, whatever you are doing including searching for information, playing games, listening to music and entering competitions.

CBBC Stay Safe: Advice on Internet Safety – includes interactive clips from Tracy Beaker, a Newsround Special and Dongle’s Guide to be SMART.

Links for parents and carers

Using the internet can make learning fun, fast and easy. Whether researching a school project, chatting with friends or playing a game, you can help your child surf safely and feel confident about learning online. The following sites offer help to keeping you and your child safe online:

BBC Webwise online safety course – this site gives advice on not only keeping your child safe, but also gives tips on what adults should be doing for themselves too.

Think U Know – Parents and Carers – produced by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). Their site offers really good advice on keeping your child safe online.

UK Council for Child Internet Safety– offering advice on Cyberbullying, Social Networking, downloading files and online gaming as well as general advice on keeping your child safe online.

Guidance on social media sites: eg. Tiktok, House Party etc. https://www.net-aware.org.uk/networks/

Tiktok: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok

The link below will take you to the Kidsmart website and has information for parents on how to keep their children safe on the internet. 

Helpful links for E-Safety

www.thinkuknow.co.uk 

www.disrespectnobody.co.uk

www.saferinternet.org.uk

Information on Yellow

Keeping your child safe with online games