Online Safety
Online safety is an integral part of children's education in todays digital world and is embedded in their learning at school. The internet is a fantastic resource, but it can also bring risks. We work with our pupils in school to help them understand the dangers and learn how to keep themselves safe.
It is our duty as a school to ensure that our children are up to date with current and ever changing online safety issues and have a clear understanding on how to prevent incidents and what they should do if they do have any incidents.
Throughout the year we run events for parents and pupils. We have forged very strong links with the West Yorkshire Police, who come into school on a regular basis.
Using the Internet Safely at Home
Whilst many internet providers offer filtering systems to help you safeguard your child at home, it remains suprisingly easy for access inappropriate material including unsuitable texts, pictures and movies. Parents are advised to set the security levels within internet explorer with this in mind. Locaing the computer in the family area, not in the bedroom, will enable you to supervise children as they use the internet. However, don't deny your child the opportunity to learn from the wide variery of material and games available on the internet. Instead set some simple rules for keeping them safe and make sure they understand their importance.
Simple Rules for Keeping your Child Safe online
To keep your child safe they should:
- Ask permission before using the internet
- Only use websites you have chosen together or a child friendly search engine
- Only email people they know, (why not consider setting up an address book?)
- ask permission before opening an email send by someone they dont know
- not use internet chat rooms
- not use their real name when using games on the internet (create a nickname)
- never give out a home address, phone or mobile number
- never tell someone where they go to school
- never arrange to meet someone they have 'met' on the internet
- only use a webcam with people they know
- tell you immediately if they see anything they are unhappy with
Go through these rules with your child and pin them up near to the computer. 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.
To help keep your children safe online we have attached a number of posters for parents and carers to read. These can be found on the National Online Safety website (https://nationalonlinesafety.com/) and make for an important read. The only way we can keep our children safe online is to make sure that we, as adults, understand how children are using technology and the potential risks.