Learning about staying safe online is of paramount importance at Dean Field School and we embed it across our curriculum through our computing, PSHE and assemblies to make sure that our pupils are aware of the risks and what to do to stay safe. We firmly believe the internet is a brilliant place for learning, communicating with friends and family and playing educational games. However, we are acutely aware that keeping children safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today. It is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.
We teach our children to follow the SMART rules to stay safe in their computing sessions.
Following on from a report from the UK Council for Internet Safety which highlighted the challenges parents, schools and communities face in Online Safety matters, we have subscribed to National Online Safety to provide resources for all parents and carers alongside our school staff. The resources include excellent Parents & Carers courses (presented by Myleene Klass), online video resources and weekly guides covering a huge range of topics, including online relationships and bullying, fake profiles, online grooming, live streaming, online Identity, screen addiction and social media platforms.
To create an account, parents should go to https://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/dean-field-community-primary-school and set ‘Parent/Carer’ as their user type. Parents can access National Online Safety online via any device by downloading the app in the App Store/Google Play Store.
There are also some excellent websites which are full of useful information about staying safe on the internet. Click on the links below to find out more:
The parent and carer section of the website is split into 4-7 and 7-11 age groups. The 4-7 area contains a series of three animations that follow the adventures of Jessie, Tia and Mo as they begin to navigate the online world, watching videos, sharing pictures and playing games.
There’s also a storybook for each episode to help you and your child keep the conversation going. The 8-10 section contains as series of ‘Play Like Share’ animations and a fun game that puts children’s knowledge about online safety to the test by asking them to help characters make safe choices. There are useful conversation starters and practical activities to help you talk to your child about all the topics covered.
This website contains an Advice section for parents and carers to help support children and young people in their safe and responsible use of the internet. This contains detailed information regarding specific topics such as social networking, livestreaming, online grooming, gaming and online bullying.
This website provides help and advice for families in a digital world providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations.
The parent guides to social media apps and online services provide detailed information about each platform and parental controls available.
From cyberbullying to social networking to digital identity, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns. The website contains information about the focus each year and resources to use with children on a range of subjects including fake news, trolling and social networking.
CEOP is a law enforcement agency to keep children and young people safe from sexual exploitation and abuse. Children and adults are able to report sexual abuse or grooming incidents directly on their website which are read by a Child Protection Advisor at CEOP who then works with the victim to make a plan to keep them safe.