Online Safety
All staff at Shirestone Academy take the safety of our pupils very seriously.
On this page you will find information regarding E-Safety, how it is taught in school and how you can help at home.
To report an E-safety issue click this button
Check out o2's online safety resources below.
DISCOVER THE INTERNET TOGETHER
Be the one to introduce your child to the internet. For both parent and child, it is an advantage to discover the internet together. Try to find websites that are exciting and fun so that together you achieve a positive attitude to internet exploration. This could make it easier to share both positive and negative experiences in the future.
WHAT IS E-SAFETY?
‘E-Safety’ is a term used to describe how we keep children safe when they are using any kind of technology, including the Internet, mobile phones and computer games. Children join Croft Academy as 'tech literate' from a very early age, but it is important to remember that adults are 'life literate' – and just because children may be more confident than some adults in using the internet, children still need adult involvement, advice and support.
New technologies have become integral to the lives of children and young people in today’s society, both within school and in their lives outside school. The internet and other digital information and communication technologies are powerful tools, which open up new opportunities for everyone. These technologies can stimulate discussion, promote creativity and stimulate awareness of context to promote effective learning. Young people should have an entitlement to safe internet access at all times.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR E-SAFETY?
‘E-safety' is a high priority for the school, and forms part of the safeguarding practices in school. Every school must have a designated 'E-safety Officer'.
At Shirestone Academy Mr Bashir is the E-Safety Leader and any concerns regarding the misuse of technology should be reported to him.
HOW IS E-SAFETY TAUGHT AT Shirestone Academy?
Our school ensures that:
Pupils are responsible users and stay safe while using the internet and other communications technologies for educational, personal and recreational use. School ICT systems and users are protected from accidental or deliberate misuse that could put the security of the systems and users at risk.Parents and carers are aware of the importance of e-safety and are involved in the education and guidance of young people with regard to their online behaviour.Pupils will have good access to ICT to enhance their learning and will, in return, expect the pupils to agree to be responsible users.
Staff at Shirestone Academy use the 'National Online Safety' units to teach the objectives on the Primary Computing curriculum. E-safety is embedded throughout these units, and staff are also able to expand on this by linking with other outside agencies / companies.
HOW DO WE PREVENT ACCESS TO SPECIFIC CONTENT?
With online activities becoming increasingly popular, it is important that we educate the pupils in the use of online apps and activities. RM provide the internet connection for the academy, and apply filters to prevent access to specific content at school. School staff screen the content used within lessons and pupils are only able to access online material when supervised by an adult.
Click here to see our E-Safe Privacy Policy
Online-Safety at Shirestone Academy
New technologies give children a range of exciting and valuable learning opportunities, but it is important that children understand how to stay safe and behave responsibly when online.
Online-Safety is an important part of the curriculum at Shirestone Academy and is embedded throughout all learning, as well as being taught in computing lessons. Areas covered include cyberbullying, keeping personal information safe, awareness of strangers online and responsible internet use.
Children are encouraged to be SMART on the internet:
Safe – Don’t give out personal information online, keep it safe.
Meeting – Don’t meet up with people you have only met online.
Accepting – Be careful when accepting e-mails, messages or files. They might contain viruses or nasty messages.
Reliable – Some information you find online might not be reliable, check information from a few websites. Some online users might lie about who they are.
Tell – Tell a trusted adult if something makes you uncomfortable or worried, or if someone you know if being cyber-bullied.
Online-Safety at home
At home, children have an ever increasing range of ways to access the internet. As well as laptops, iPads or tablet PCs, children can now also connect to the internet via games consoles, mobile phones and iPod touches.
CEOP’s Think U Know website offers the following tips for parents and carers:
Talk to your child about what they’re up to online. Be a part of their online life; involve the whole family and show an interest. Find out what sites they visit and what they love about them, if they know you understand they are more likely to come to you if they have any problems.
Watch Think U Know films and cartoons with your child. The Think U Know site has films, games and advice for children from five all the way to 16.
Encourage your child to go online and explore!There is a wealth of age-appropriate sites online for your children. Encourage them to use sites which are fun, educational and that will help them to develop online skills.
Keep up-to-date with your child’s development online. Children grow up fast and they will be growing in confidence and learning new skills daily. It’s important that as your child learns more, so do you.
Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online. It is important to discuss boundaries at a young age to develop the tools and skills children need to enjoy their time online.
Keep all equipment that connects to the internet in a family space. For children of this age, it is important to keep internet use in family areas so you can see the sites your child is using and be there for them if they stumble across something they don’t want to see.
Know what connects to the internet and how. Nowadays even the TV connects to the internet. Make sure you’re aware of which devices that your child uses connect to the internet, such as their phone or games console. Also, find out how they are accessing the internet – is it your connection, or a neighbour’s wifi? This will affect whether the safety settings you set are being applied.
Use parental controls on devices that link to the internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones. Parental controls are not just about locking and blocking, they are a tool to help you set appropriate boundaries as your child grows and develops. They are not the answer to your child’s online safety, but they are a good start and they are not as difficult to install as you might think. Service providers are working hard to make them simple, effective and user friendly
For more detailed information to help you keep your child safe online, please see the links below:
Childnet - http://www.childnet.com/
ThinkUKnow - https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/
A parents' guide to social networks, games and apps. https://www.net-aware.org.uk/
A parents' guide to parental controls. http://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/interactive-guide/
If you have any concerns:
If you are concerned about someone’s behaviour towards your child online, report it to CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) - http://www.ceop.police.uk/
Any criminal online content can be reported to the Internet Watch Foundation - http://www.iwf.gov.uk
