Online Safety

We want to help keep our children safe by making parents/carers aware of things you can do to help keep your children safe on the internet. Please click on the link below to view the guidance from the National Online Safety website.

Online Safety at Walliscote

Online Safety Lead: Dean Hudd

ELAN ICT and Online Safety Policy V.2.0 2023-24

At Walliscote Primary School we all enjoy using technology everyday as part of our learning journey.

We encourage the children at our school to be confident and safe users of the Internet and of new technology as it develops. Online Safety refers to child protection and safeguarding of both children and adults in the digital world. We highlight this through the curriculum as well as on Safer Internet Day, which is celebrated each year across the globe. It provides the opportunity to highlight positive uses of technology and to explore our own role in helping to create a better and safer online community. Online Safety is an integral and important part of our curriculum, developing safe online attitudes in school and at home.

As part of our safeguarding commitment our school now has an online safety committee which is made up of staff and governors. We review information together and then develop and update our practices within school. We also provide opportunities to share our information with parents by holding internet safety evenings for all parents and cares. We all know the internet is now part of children’s everyday lives. They use it for many educational reasons as well as keeping in touch with friends and family and a whole world of other experiences. Children can now access the internet in a variety of different ways, whether it’s on a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a games console or a mobile phone. The technology is always changing and we are committed to keeping everyone in our community up to date. The date for our next online safety meeting for parents will be shown on our school newsletter and will aim to discuss internet safety at home.

We take every step in school to reduce the possibility of children accessing undesirable materials by using a specific Broadband provider (The South West Grid for Learning) who operate a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate materials. All of our computers are in public view and access is supervised. Children are also taught the SMART rules for using the Internet, in order to help them to stay safe wherever they use the Internet.

The SMART rules:

SAFE stay safe, don’t give out personal information

MEETING only meet someone from the internet with your parents

ACCEPTING emails, IM, texts from strangers can lead to problems

RELIABLE information on the Internet may not be true

TELL a trusted adult if something or someone ever makes you feel upset, worried or confused.

What's the problem?
Tell a trusted adult if anything online makes you feel uncomfortable.

We explain our ICT rules to the children frequently and annually request that the children and staff sign up to our Acceptable Use Policy.

REMEMBER:

Keep your computer in a shared area
Talk to your child about what they are doing online and share in the wonderful sites that are available online
Websites for children are not permitted to request personal information without a parent’s permission
The age limit for using Facebook is 13

PEGI Ratings

Are the games your children are playing suitable?

PEGI ratings provide age range guidance and extra information about the content of games. We did an assembly in school to share this information with children. A large percentage of children admitted to playing games that are only recommended for older children. We want you to be aware of all the information available about computer game suitability so you can make informed decisions about what games your children play.

Please click for

Information about the Symbols you find on games
or
Please look at this website for more information www.pegi.info.

Cyber-Bullying

Bullying that occurs online is dealt with just as seriously as any other kind of bullying.

Please see our Anti-Bullying Policy here for more information.

Mobile Phones

Staff | we are a mobile phone free school

Children | we advise that children do not bring mobile devices in to school. If they do they must be handed in to the School Office on arrival.

Parents | please do not use mobile devices in school.

Useful links for parents:

Parent Info | www.parentinfo.org

What's the problem? Information pack

Educate Against Hate | www.educateagainsthate.com

Internet Matters | www.internetmatters.org

Top Tips - Staying Safe Online I www.bbc.co.uk/findoutmore

ThinkUKnow | www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents

Social Media Guidance | www.gov.uk/government

Walliscote Primary School

Walliscote Primary School Aim High, Work Hard, Be Kind