Bywell C of E Junior School

Online Safety

At Bywell C of E Junior School the safeguarding of pupils is a very high priority. We are committed to ensuring our pupils are safe in school and online, children are doing more on the internet than ever before - and it can be a wonderful place. However, just as in 'real life', it's important to make sure your child is staying safe online. By giving the pupils the knowledge to safeguard themselves and their personal information we are empowering them with a vital life skill.

What is Online Safety?

Online safety is the safe use of information systems and electronic communications, including the internet, mobile phones and games consoles. It is important that children and young people understand the benefits, risks and responsibilities of using information technology.

• Online safety concerns safeguarding children and young people in the digital world.
• Online safety emphasises learning to understand and use new technologies in a positive way.
• Online safety is less about restriction and more about education about the risks as well as the benefits so we can feel confident online.
• Online safety is concerned with supporting children and young people to develop safer online behaviours both in and out of school.

Online safety forms part of our curriculum and pupils are regularly reminded of how to stay safe online. Each classroom and teaching space displays a poster about staying SMART online. In addition to annually celebrating Internet safety day, our children have timetabled Online Safety lessons which they participate in on a termly basis. 

If you have any concerns speak to a member of the Designated Safeguarding Team. 

Bywell Expectations

We expect Parents/ Carers to support keeping children safe online by always ensuring that they are supervised when using the internet to access anything. It remains surprisingly easy for children to access inappropriate material including unsuitable texts, images and movies. Parents/guardians are advised to set the security levels within Internet Browsers with this in mind. 

Locating the device to access the Internet in a family area will enable you to supervise children as they use the Internet. However, don’t deny your child the opportunity to learn from the wide variety of material and games available on the Internet. Instead, set some simple rules for keeping them safe and make sure they understand the importance of these rules.

A few ideas to help you establish some rules:

• ask your permission before they use the Internet
• only use websites you have chosen together or a child friendly search engine
• only email people they know (perhaps an address book would be useful)
• ask permission before opening an email sent by someone they don’t know
• do not use Internet chat rooms
• do not use their real name when using games on the Internet (perhaps encourage them to create a suitable nick name)
• never give out a home address or personal contact details
• never tell someone where they go to school
• never send an image of themselves, their home or school
• never arrange to meet someone they have ‘met’ on the Internet
• only use a webcam with people they know
• ask them to tell you immediately if they see anything they are unhappy with

Using these rules

Go through the rules with your child and ensure they understand what you suggest. It is also a good idea to regularly check the Internet sites your child is visiting e.g. by clicking on History and Favourites. Please reassure your child that you want to keep them safe rather than take Internet access away from them.

You will find on this page the most up to date resources that we access to support you with educating your children about how to keep safe.

Visit https://nationalonlinesafety.com/ for more information on how to help your child stay safe online.

Social Media and Gaming Platforms

Facebook’s terms and conditions state that all users must be 13 years or older and as such we strongly recommend that parents do not allow their children to have their own personal profiles online.

Many children spend a lot of time watching Youtube and children often wish to create their own Youtube films. In doing so, without careful thought, they can leave themselves open to bullying or online grooming by revealing personal details and making videos and comments available to anyone.

This is not illegal but the minimum age to create a Youtube account is 13. Having an account for a younger child breaks the terms and conditions of the site. It is not possible to upload videos without creating an account.

We feel it important to point out to parents the risks of underage use of such sites, so you can make an informed decision as to whether to allow your child to have a profile or not. These profiles will have been created away from school and sometimes by a child, their friends, siblings or even parents. Please if you are unsure check the https://nationalonlinesafety.com/ for further guidance or speak with a member of the designated safeguarding team. Below are some useful posters with information on popular social media and gaming platforms. 

Other useful websites for online safety

Thinkuknow is the education programme from NCA-CEOP, a UK organisation which protects children both online and offline.

Explore one of the six Thinkuknow websites for advice about staying safe when you're on a phone, tablet or computer.

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

From age-specific online safety checklists to guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, you’ll find a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world

https://www.internetmatters.org/

Together, O2 and the NSPCC have delivered expert advice, support and resources that are helping to keep kids safe online. Over the past six years, we have worked together to develop tools, resources, and campaigns to help you have regular conversations with your children and we are proud of the impact we delivered.

https://www.net-aware.org.uk/

The UK's leading awareness resource helping protect people, finances, devices and businesses from fraud, abuse and other issues encountered online.

https://www.getsafeonline.org/

This site is aimed towards children, but also gives an excellent insight to parents on topics such as bullying on social networks and "sexting"

https://www.childline.org.uk/

Are you worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online? Make a report to one of CEOP's Child Protection.

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