The internet is a wonderful and powerful tool that has become part of everyday life for children; they have never known a time when the internet did not exist. They use it to research, play games, send messages, talk to friends and family, watch videos and much more.

As a school, we are keen to help children see the positive power of the internet and help them to become digital citizens of a global community. However, we also want them to be educated about the risks involved, the rights they have and the action they can take when something goes wrong.

Steps we take in school

As a school, we take numerous steps to keep children safe online:

  • Delivering specific, age-appropriate lessons in each year group from Foundation Stage to Year 6.
  • We have created the ‘Abbey Road Technology Promise‘ – these are our rules for using technology safely in school and they can be found in your child’s reading diary. This is signed by the class and displayed in each classroom as a reminder to the children.
  • Discussing healthy lifestyles and screen time in Science lessons
  • Assemblies devoted to the topic of e-safety
  • Our digital leaders network across Equals Trust meet periodically to produce an e-safety newsletter which is shared with pupils in Key Stage 2.

Steps you can take at home

There are numerous steps that parents and carers can take to help educate thier child about how to stay safe online. The Equals Trust have created this very useful blog that is regularly updated with ideas and advice for parents.

You can also download a simple checklist here that may help you protect your children online and decrease the risks they face.  Or you can engage with your children regarding their use of the internet while at home with these conversation starter ideas from www.childnet.com

  • Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
  • Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
  • Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
  • Encourage them to help. Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
  • Think about how you use the internet as a family. What could you do to get more out of the internet together and further enjoy your lives online

Setting filters on your home internet/devices is highly recommended. There are four levels of control that parents can use. These are discussed in more detail here.

Mobile Phones

If you would like to know more information on how to keep your child safe when they are using a smartphone, there is a very useful and informative link here. 

EE offer a Phone Smart Licence which can be very useful for when your child gets thier first phone.

Specific advice for parent/carers when giving their children new devices and setting them up so they are safe from the get go is available here: Get children’s tech Set Up Safe with new guides | Internet Matters

Useful Books

The following four books are used in school to help promote discussion about e-safety. These could be used at home to help raise conversations with your child.

#Goldilocks               |                    Troll Stinks                 |                 Old MacDonald Had a Phone                   |                   Chicken Clicking

It can often be hard to know which apps and websites are appropriate for children. We recommend the following websites for checking out whether an app/site is safe and what risks may be associated with it:

Other Useful links:

supporting-young-people-online-childnet A useful booklet full of general information about how you can support your child online.

young-people-and-social-networking-childnet A booklet that focuses specifically on Social Media.

There is a great new online safety tool designed for parents launched by the Department for Education called Parent Info.  It has advice on such topics as keeping children safe from online trolls to WhatsApp – a guide for parents.

Childnet is a website resource for parents and children on online safety.  Click here to watch an interactive video on how to keep your child safer online.

Internet Matters is another great site to use – it has advice on cyberbullying, how to talk to  your children about internet safety and quick guides to different types of social media such as Instagram and Snapchat.  You can visit their pages here Internet Matters.

Here are quick links to a range of Internet safety sites that you may find useful too…

https://nationalonlinesafety.com/resources/platform-guides/

NSPCC NetAware

Safer Internet

CEOP Police