Online Safety and Acceptable Use
Online safety is a major part of our curriculum and an area we take very seriously. The digital age in which we live provides many exciting opportunities, but can also present certain risks. To ensure our pupils are able to use technology as a valuable learning resource, our curriculum actively promotes and teaches pupils how to use electronic devices safely. Through our curriculum pupils are taught about how to use the internet and digital equipment appropriately; they recognise how to keep themselves safe.
If you have any concerns about a child’s online activity, please speak to your child’s class teacher, Mr Hartwell or Miss Hillier. Families can also raise concerns to Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP), by clicking the picture below.
How Can I Ensure My Child Is Safe Online?
You don’t need to be a technical expert to protect your child on the internet. Here are some very simple steps to keep your child safe online.
- Ensure you are aware which websites your children are using. Talk to your child about the websites that they use and involve yourself in their internet use, so that you understand. Explain to your children you’re helping to keep them safe.
- The internet is a fantastic learning and communication tool, so be positive about it and try not to overreact to minor issues. If your child worries that you may take away their access, they could become secretive and hide problems from you.
- Wherever possible, keep PCs, laptops and games consoles out of bedrooms, so that it is easier for you to monitor your child’s internet use. Please also remember that games consoles can be used for on-line gaming and therefore your child can chat to people online
- Just like school, set clear expectations and ground rules for when your child is on-line. If they understand what is and isn’t acceptable, it may help them to navigate any problems in the future.
- Make sure all devices that connect to the internet have parental controls to help you set appropriate boundaries. Find your service provider and learn how to set your controls.
- Make sure that you are in control of the privacy settings for any of the on-line apps being used by your child. These need to be checked regularly to ensure that they are at the highest setting.
Online Safety and Acceptable Use Policy
CEOP - Child Exploitation and Online Protection - have created a package to help support children and families during COVID-19 school closures here.
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online safety at home. Think You Know
Each fortnight, CEOP will release new home activity packs with short activities you can do with your child to support their online safety. There are separate packs for children of different ages.
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Additional resources are here: Coram Life Education
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and here Coram life education
Setting filters on YouTube
YouTube is incredibly popular with children of all ages. YouTube Restricted Mode enables you to choose whether to limit content on YouTube that might not be against YouTube Community Guidelines but even so may be unsuitable for your children.
When you opt into YouTube Restricted Mode, mature content and age-restricted videos won't show up in search, related videos, playlists, shows and movies.
Here's how to do it:
- Go to the bottom of any page on YouTube. There, alongside the YouTube logo and some other boxes, is the Restricted Mode box (this was formerly called Safety Mode.)
- Click so that Restricted Mode now reads ‘on’ and click ‘Save’. If you turn it on and you have a YouTube account, you can sign in to your account and lock Restricted Mode so that no one else can change the settings whenever YouTube is accessed from that browser.
Don’t forget:
- To lock Restricted Mode you need to have a You Tube or Google account.
- You need to be 13 to have a YouTube account.
- Spend some time watching YouTube with your children and check out what they like.
- Pay particular attention to what is shown in the related video menu when your children search for their favourite videos.