E-safety
The growing use of the internet for communicating and the many ways we can now access the internet means whist it is of huge benefit to us all in our daily lives it is also an increasing potential danger. Many of us are unaware of the possible challenges of keeping children safe online. In our school, our scheme of work ensures that children start to consider e-safety from Nursery and that each year these experiences are built on in a progressive way. Rather than viewing it as a separate area we ensure that e-safety is weaved throughout our curriculum so that by the time children leave in Year 6 they are able to safely make choices about the technology that they use. We want children to see the benefits of technology and we aim to use technology in our own practice as a model to the children. With this in mind we set up a school Twitter account as social media is a growing part of everyday life.
Our scheme of work considers three key elements:
Content - what children view, download, search for and access.
Contact - what and who they come into contact with.
Conduct - how they behave as an individual and towards others whilst using technology.
We strive to regularly review our policies and teaching to ensure that new and emerging technologies are incorporated within our curriculum. Through our approach, we aim to teach children how to use the Internet safely and securely, so that they are able to make the best possible choices when online. Our Internet filtering is inline with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) recommendations and our provider is listed on their approved list, which can be accessed here. Personal security is a fundamental part of this and ensuring that children know where and who they can get help from if they see or experience problems whilst being online.
Personal security is a fundamental part of this and ensuring that children know where and who they can get help from if they see or experience problems whilst being online. This page aims to provide resources and research for learning more about the online world and how we can keep both ourselves and our children well educated and safe.
Vodafone have provided a useful free resource called “Digital Parenting” magazine, which gives excellent advice on E-Safety and various guides on how to protect children on-line. CEOP are an association who are working to protect children online and they have a website entitled “ThinkuKnow” where there are free resources and guides to keeping children safe online. There is some really valuable information on the website and it is updated on a monthly basis.
For more links and information about ways to keep your child safe with technology click here.