Safeguarding: Child Protection and Online Safety

As a school we actively follow all National and Local guidelines in regard to the safer recruitment of staff, child protection and internet safety. We have yearly updates, which are re-visited throughout the year to ensure we remain vigilant. Although we are small, we have key staff members who lead both child protection and online safety. 

Mrs McLaughlin is our designated safeguarding lead and Mrs O'Driscoll, Mrs Greenwood, Mrs Yates and Mrs Wickham are also trained to this level and act as deputies. However if you have a concern all of our staff are trained to help.

Online safety: Keeping your children safe at home

Mrs McLaughlin works with our IT co-ordinators to ensure our online safety. We use a progressive scheme of work to teach the children to keep safe online and each year starts with specific lessons on E-safety and this is then used as a thread throughout the rest of the year.

We buy into an internet service provider that offers a filtering system and other tools to safeguard your child  and this is common for parents to have similar at home. Nonetheless it can still be surprisingly easy for children to access inappropriate material.  The following guidelines will help you to keep your child safe online:

• Set the security levels within Internet Explorer or other browsers.
• It may be worth considering locating the computer in a family area where possible (not a bedroom). This will enable you to supervise your son or daughter as they use the Internet.
• Ensure they only use websites you have chosen together or a child friendly search engine.
• Never give out any personal information about themselves, friends or family online including home address, phone or mobile number.
• Only email people they know and ask permission before opening an email sent by someone they don’t know.
• Never tell someone where they go to school or post any pictures of themselves in school uniform.

Perhaps go through these rules with your child and have them near the computer for your child to see.

For ‘Smart’ rules that children can learn through a series of cartoons and activities (appropriate for children aged 4 – 11) please follow the link to access these at home too.

http://www.childnet.com/kia/primary/smartadventure/default.aspx

http://www.kidsmart.org.uk

http://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/e-safety/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/ict/history_impact_ict/esafety/activity/

Many websites now include the 'report abuse' button and have ways in which you can report unsuitable content

Just keeping up with children when it comes to new technology can be a huge task! To help you stay ahead of the game, and make sure your children are as safe online as they are in your back garden, click the links below:

• Supporting Children on the Internet
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Is your child having problems with friendships online? Let us know in school, or check these links to see how you can help:

• STOP cyberbullying
• Kidscape Cyberbullying

Find out how to keep your Facebook account private and secure:

• Facecrooks.com

ClickCEOP

CEOP button - This can be used if you would like to report suspicious individuals or grooming behaviours directly to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). CEOP will investigate your report and provide feedback to you if your concern is about the possibility of grooming online.