West Croft School
E-safety
At West Croft Primary School, we understand the importance of educating our pupils on how to stay safe online.
Young people have been born into the ‘digital age’. They use computers, mobile phones, video games consoles etc. as part of their everyday lives. Inappropriate use of technology and social media is one of the most important welfare issues our children and young people face, but young people do not have the life experience of adults and need support. The children learn E-Safety as part of their computing and PSHE curriculum, involving our progression of E-Safety skills as well as internet safety day and assemblies on how to stay safe online.
To continue to support their development and knowledge of online safety outside of school, we have provided a range of resources below for you to use to start conversations regarding online use, promote online safety at home, and guidance on new and upcoming apps for parents and carers.
Please look at the documents below for useful information that helps to ensure our children are accessing the internet correctly and safely.
A copy of West Croft’s Esafety policy is linked below:
Useful e-safety websites:
E-Safety tips, advice and resources.
The Know IT All for Parents is a unique interactive e-safety guide for parents and carers produced by Childnet International. It’s designed to really help you as a parent or carer keep up to date with how children are using the internet, and support them in using these new exciting services safely and responsibly. The Know IT All for Parents site includes video guides for parents in a number of languages.
Childnet have some top tips for online gaming:
- Engage with the gaming environment and begin to understand what makes it is so attractive to young people as well as the types of activities that they enjoy!
- Talk with your children about the types of game(s) they are playing. Ask them to show you or have a go yourself.
- Some games may offer children the chance to chat with other players by voice and text. Ask them who they are playing with and find out if they are talking to other players. If chat is available, look at the type of language that is used by other players.
- Look out for age ratings and familiarise yourself with the PEGI icons on games. The PEGI classification gives you a clear indication of whether a game is suitable for your child.
The Childnet website includes a section on hot topics and information on parental controls and gaming: www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/hot-topics
NSPCC www.nspcc.org.uk
Helpful advice and tools you can use to help keep your child safe whenever and wherever they go online.
Child Exploration and Online Protection Command(CEOP) www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre
News and articles surrounding internet safety.
National Online Safety nationalonlinesafety.com
Advice and guidance surrounding internet safety.
Family Learning www.familylearning.org.uk
The family learning website covers a wide range of teaching and learning for children of all ages, including a section on e-Safety for ‘Kids and Teens’: http://www.familylearning.org.uk/internet_safety.html
Internet Matters www.internetmatters.org
Keeping your child safe – General Advice To help keep your child safe online:
- talk to your child about the dangers posed by the internet
- tell them what they should do if they become worried or concerned
- explain that anything shared online or by mobile phone could end up being seen by anyone
- understand what your child does online and know which websites they visit
- put the computer where the whole family can see it, not out of sight in a bedroom
- use filtering software to block inappropriate sites
Where to find more advice: Guide for parents on internet safety: www.gov.uk/.../child-safety-online-a-practical-guide-for-parents-and-carers
Weekly Online Safety Updates: Latest News for Online Safety: www.esafety-adviser.com/latest-newsletter