Online Safety

Please find below our school technology policies

Did you know?……..

9 out of 10 children aged under 10 go online.

86% of children aged 7-11 use come form of online communication

Technology is changing all the time and young people are no longer passive recipients of online information, but are increasingly interacting directly within a digital landscape in a variety of ways. Children are increasingly referred to as ‘digital natives’: citizens born into a digital world, who grow up surrounded by and emerged in the technology and tools of the digital age. Their confidence and skills in using this technology is typically high, but their knowledge and awareness of the inherent issues, risks and dangers is usually very low. Children and young people need to be empowered to keep themselves safe – this isn’t just a top down approach. Children will be children – pushing boundaries and taking risks. Teaching your child about technology should be seen as another part of keeping them safe, just like crossing the road or learning to swim.

Do you know how to keep your children safe? Do your children know how to keep safe? At Boothroyd Academy we are committed to discussing these serious issues as part of our e-safety curriculum (including capturing their online habits in our e-safety questionnaire for parents) but we can only be successful if we all work together: pupils, parents and teachers.

What do we do in school?

We have a duty in primary schools to teach our children how to use the internet safely.

Early use of digital technology has been shown to improve language skills and promote children’s social development and creativity. But it’s not without risks for young children, who may come across inappropriate content or begin to copy what older children do online.

There are a number of steps we take to keep children safe online:

We teach online safety skills throughout the curriculum and aim to foster an environment where children can ‘talk and tell.’ We provide children with information of where they can seek help if it is needed.
We teach the majority our computing curriculum through a secure website that we pay for a license to use.
Our web browsers have safeguards in place to block inappropriate content this is called a firewall.
we have malware and virus software to protect our data.
we use encrypted passwords to protect pupil information.

We have leaflets to help parents understand some of the dangers available from our main office or some can be downloaded below by clicking on the link. We have provided the document below in a variety of languages to help parents.

Supporting-young-people-online

Arabic_Supporting-young-people-online

Urdu_Supporting-young-people-online_V3

Polish_Supporting-young-people-online_V3

Link to information for parents of children aged 6-10 years:

https://www.internetmatters.org/advice/6-10/

What does online safety cover?

Online gaming
Downloading viruses
Social networking
Apps guide
Cyberbullying
Inappropriate content
Online grooming
Internet Safety

Parenting Guide to Social Media and Internet Safety Support

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/16-apps-and-websites-kids-are-heading-to-after-facebook

https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/ask-the-awkward/

https://safestories.org/

https://www.internetmatters.org/inclusive-digital-safety/so-you-got-naked-online-guide-for-young-people/

https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/information/young-people/well-being/resources

Agree boundaries

Be clear what your child can and can’t do online – where they can use the internet, how much time they can spend online, the sites they can visit and the type of information they can share. Agree with your child when they can have a mobile phone or tablet.

The document below provides parents with information of how to form a family agreement in relation to Internet use and how to keep children safe online.

Family-agreement-advice

Family-agreement-template

Explore together

The best way to find out what your child is doing online is to ask them to tell you about what they do and what sites they like to visit. If they’re happy to, ask them to show you. Talk to them about being a good friend online.

Put yourself in control

Install parental controls on your home broadband and any internet-enabled devices. Set up a user account for your child on the main device they use and make sure other accounts in the household are password-protected so that younger children can’t access them by accident.

Use airplane mode

Use airplane mode on your devices when your child is using them so they can’t make any unapproved purchases or interact with anyone online without your knowledge.

Stay involved

Encourage them to use their tech devices in a communal area like the lounge or kitchen so you can keep an eye on how they’re using the internet and also share in their enjoyment.

Talk to siblings

It’s also a good idea to talk to any older children about what they’re doing online and what they show to younger children. Encourage them to be responsible and help keep their younger siblings safe.

Search safely

Use safe search engines such as Swiggle or Kids-search. You can save time by adding these to your ‘Favourites’. Safe search settings can also be activated on Google and other search engines, as well as YouTube.

Check if it’s suitable

The age ratings that come with games, apps, films and social networks are a good guide to whether they’re suitable for your child. For example, the minimum age limit is 13 for several social networking sites, including Facebook and Instagram

Key websites for parents and the wider community – supporting with knowledge about apps, guidance for websites and social networking, parent controls and conversations with children around online safety

https://parentzone.org.uk/advice/parent-guides

Parentzone has ‘parent guides’ about the most popular apps and services, giving advice about parental and privacy controls. The guides are about Instagram, Facebook, Secret Converations, Twitch, Netflix, Live streaming, Influencer marketing, Esports, Fortnite, PEGI game ratings, Musical.ly, Snapchat, YouTube Kids, WhatsApp, Clash of Clans, Virtual Reality, Family games, Connected toys, Pokemon Go, Social media apps, Nintendo Switch, Minecraft, Yubo, Amazon Prime and Skype. There are also guides to self-esteem, digital detoxing, peer pressure and dealing with traumatic events.

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

Thinkuknow is the education programme from CEOP ( Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre), a command of the National Crime Agency, which protects children both online and offline.

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

This is the Net Aware guide to social networks that children might use. As well as the apps listed for Parentzone, there are guides on Among Us, Clash Royale, CSR Racing, Discord, Disney Club Penguin Online, Dubsmash, Episodes, FaceTime, FIFA Football, Friv, Google Hangouts, Grand Theft Auto, Kik, Miniclip, MovieStar Planet, Omegle, Pinterest, PopJam, Reddit, Roblox, Sarahah, Score! Hero, SoundCloud, Steam, Tumblr, Twitch, Twitter, Viber and Wattpad.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. We offer the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music.

https://nationalonlinesafety.com/

The National Online Safety website has guides for parents about a number of apps, websites and games including ‘Momo’, Fortnite, FIFA, Instagram, Snapchat and many others.

https://www.bbc.com/ownit/the-basics

CBBC Own It is aimed at children to help them deal with online safety and well-being issues. It has real-life stories, advice from experts, fun quizzes, and videos with CBBC presenters, celebs, and star vloggers.

https://www.askaboutgames.com/

AskAboutGames is a joint venture between the VSC Rating Board and games trade body Ukie, run with input and advice from across the games industry, to ensure their products are enjoyed by suitable audiences. On the website you can ask questions about PEGI age ratings, find tips about safe and beneficial play and discover the best games to play yourself or with your family.

https://www.getsafeonline.org/safeguarding-children/

Provides a range of resources to safeguard children.

https://www.ceop.police.uk/

Click here to access the CEOPS site and report anything you feel is unsafe online.