Online Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Saint Wulstan's and Saint Edmund's Catholic Academy. We have extensive security measures in place in school, which are monitored both internally and externally, to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material. Our web filtering is provided by Remedian.  Any Online Safety incidents are recorded and managed. Online Safety is taught to all pupils, explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online as part of our Computing and PSHE curriculums.

We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with parents to ensure the Online Safety message is consistent. It is important that parents speak to their children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online. Please follow the link below for further advice and guidance on how to keep our children safe online.

It’s essential to be realistic – banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around safe use is essential

Search engines

As you will be aware, we do ask children to extend their knowledge and skills through doing extension work at home. This can often include research. No search engine is ever 100% safe but below provides some links to some “safer” search engines:

Gaming

When children are accessing games via Xbox LIVE we need to be extra cautious; privacy settings can be set up.  To read more, click here.

Websites for more information

Please click on the icon to go to the relevant site

CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the abuse and exploitation of children in the real and in the ‘online’ world. Often it is referred to as an online 999. By clicking on the button, young people and parents can get advice on a range of issues such as viruses, hacking and dealing with bullying online.

Vodafone have produced a digital parenting magazine which informs parents about the various technologies children are accessing today. There is information on Facebook settings, Xbox 360 settings, Blackberry settings, jargon busting and many more ‘How to Guides’. They are well worth a read and some are attached below for you to download. 

New e-Safety Portal for Parents and Schools – Internet Matters

Internet Matters is a new online portal designed for parents to access simple, easy and practical advice about online safety for their children, right through from pre-school to teens. It provides tips on protecting children from online grooming, cyberbullying, privacy and identity theft and inappropriate content. Internet Matters is a not-for profit organisation set up by BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.

All children in school take part in Online Safety lessons on the first Monday of each half term. This is to ensure that our pupils know how to stay safe online and whilst using technology, both at home and at school. 

At the start of every computing lesson or when technology is being used in lessons, pupils are reminded about to use technology safely and appropriately. Pupils' use of technology is monitored throughout lessons and all pupils are encouraged to share their concerns from home about the use of gaming, mobile phones, social media etc with staff. 

Pupils are taught to always be careful when using the internet. They understand that the internet can help them to keep in touch with their friends and help their education – but it can also cause harm – to themselves and others. 

Pupils know that help is always available at school if they are having any problems online.

They know that they can speak to their teacher or another adult at school.

If you or anyone you know is worried about Child Exploitation, Online Protection or anything related to Internet safety please click the link below which will take you to the CEOP reporting website:

CEOP

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

Helpful links to look at with your family

Age 5-7

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/5_7/

Age 8-10

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/8_10/

Age 11-13

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/11_13/

National Online Safety | Keeping Children Safe Online in Education

Tips for staying safe online:

• Make sure you keep new online friends strictly online. If someone you don't know asks to be your online friend you must ensure an adult knows about it.

• Know how to use the CEOP Button and how to report it to the CEOP Centre if you are concerned about someone’s online behaviour towards you.