Online Safety

'Be the same person privately, publicly and personally.' ~ Judah Smith

While we appreciate the benefits of going online, we are also aware of the risks. At St Peter’s teaching online safety is at the heart of our computing curriculum and general safeguarding of children. Please also refer to our Safeguarding page and our RSHE page within the Curriculum page. In recognising the importance of keeping our children safe online the school's weekly newsletter provides an online safety section providing additional and timely updates.

How we teach the children

Our Online Safety curriculum is taught alongside our computing curriculum, although we recognise it is part of our RSHE curriculum too. Each year the children begin with specific online safety lessons, after which they complete their pupil acceptable use agreements (please see Online Safety Policy at bottom of page). We then follow a nationwide programme called Project Evolve which teaches the children about online safety under these eight headings:

1. Self-image and identity

2. Online relationships

3. Online reputation

4. Online bullying

5. Managing online information

6. Health, wellbeing and lifestyle

7. Privacy and security

8. Ownership

These are explored by children across all the age groups at a level that is suitable for them

We also have specific safety moments through the year. Our anti-bullying week in the Autumn gives us a chance to look at online bullying in greater depth. We also participate in Safer Internet Day in the Spring term..

How we support you at home

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.

As a parent you'll know how important the internet is to children - they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It's a highly creative place of amazing opportunities. However 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 bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content.

You can download a simple checklist below, ‘Online Safety Checklist for Parents’ that may help you start to protect your children online and decrease the risks they face. Or you can engage with your children regarding their use of the internet while at home. Here are some conversation starter ideas from www.childnet.com

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

Parent workshops are also run to highlight areas of risk and where you can go to for support. The powerpoint for this is included below. Children can use the CEOP's button on the school website to report anything that makes them feel unsafe online.

Parent Resources

As well as the powerpoint linked at the bottom of the page there are some other useful links for parents here as well.

You can download the DfE advice fo parents on cyberbulling here

You can access the DfE online parents support website called Parent Info here

The following links also provide excellent resources to support you in talking about Online Safety with your child:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/digital-parenting

https://www.childnet.com/

https://www.internetmatters.org/digital-family-toolkit/