Keeping Safe Online
Please follow the link to see some information on The Key for parents.
You can also find our Online Safety Policy on our Policies page.
You can access an interactive guide for setting parental controls on devices and factsheets about various software your child may be using.
Online Safety support from The Key
Online Safety at St. Mary’s
Our school aims to:
Have robust processes in place to ensure the online safety of pupils, staff, volunteers and governors.
Deliver an effective approach to online safety, which empowers us to protect and educate the whole school community in its use of technology.
Establish clear mechanisms to identify, intervene and escalate an incident, where appropriate.
Pupils are expected to take an active part in planned lessons and activities to support their understanding and confidence in dealing with online safety issues, both at home and school. They are asked to agree to a set of guidelines and rules covering their responsibilities when using ICT at school. Online safety is embedded into our curriculum; students will be given the appropriate advice and guidance by staff. In addition to coverage in the curriculum, children in Key Stage 1 and Key stage 2 take part in an online safety assembly led by the schools Digi Leaders.
Educating pupils about online safety
Pupils will be taught about online safety as part of the curriculum: From September 2020 all schools will have to teach: Relationships education and health education in primary schools
Pupils in Key Stage 1 will be taught to:
Use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private
Identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies
Pupils in Key Stage 2 will be taught to:
- Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly
- Recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour
- Identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact
By the end of primary school, pupils will know:
- That people sometimes behave differently online, including by pretending to be someone they are not.
- That the same principles apply to online relationships as to face-to-face relationships, including the importance of respect for others online including when we are anonymous
- The rules and principles for keeping safe online, how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact, and how to report them
- How to critically consider their online friendships and sources of information including awareness of the risks associated with people they have never met
- How information and data is shared and used online
- How to respond safely and appropriately to adults they may encounter (in all contexts, including online) whom they do not know
- The safe use of social media and the internet will also be covered in other subjects where relevant. Additionally, the school will use assemblies to raise pupils’ awareness of the dangers that can be encountered online and may also invite speakers to talk to pupils about this.
Please see our online safety policy for more information.
Parents
The principles of internet safety for children. These are:
- Be aware of what your children are accessing on line
- Ideally children should access the internet only in a location where other people are present (i.e. the living room)
- Ensure your child knows that they should tell you or another trusted adult if they see or experience anything online that they don’t like
- No one should force a child to do anything that they don’t want to do
- No one should try to stop children speaking to their parents or other trusted adults about what they are doing
- Parental controls can be used to restrict or monitor the online activity of children
- No one should give out their personal information online
- Don’t accept contacts/friend requests from people that you do not know in real life
If you suspect that your child has accessed something online that may have caused them distress, speak to them about it and support them. Please also let the Head of School/ DSL know if you have any queries or concerns in relation to online safety, If you suspect that a crime has been committed, contact the police on 101 or online at
Traci Good, E-Safety Training Consultant, Trainer and a Consultant for the South West Grid for Learning (part of the UK Safer Internet Centre), assessor for the 360 Online Safety Mark and an approved DSCB trainer has produced a short film clip about this issue offering some useful advice for schools. Please see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ceX6TzKl5A.
There are a large number of online safety resources available for use by education providers, as well as information specifically designed for use by parents and carers. You can find further information about these on:
UK Safer Internet Centre
Advice for parents/carers – https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers
Online safety for schools – https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/teachers-and-school-staff.
There is also a dedicated Professionals Online Safety Helpline to support professionals working with children and young people.
NSPCC
Online safety advice for parents/carers
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/, this includes a helpline
E-Safety for schools
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/schools/e-safety-for-schools/
Thinkuknow
Advice and resources for children, parents/carers and professionals. https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
