E-SAFETY
E Safety at West Meadows Primary School
E-Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at West Meadows Primary School. 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. Any E-Safety incidents are recorded and managed appropriately.
E-Safety is taught to all pupils as part of our Computing Curriculum and Personal Development Curriculum, including explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online. These may be planned lessons throughout the year, assemblies, special visitors into school, visits out (for example to Crucial Crew) or one off lessons during the year to address issues that arise.
We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with parents to ensure the E-Safety message is consistent. It is important that parents speak to their children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online.
Keeping Children Safe at Home
The internet is a wonderful thing! It can be used in so many creative ways to enhance people’s lives. There is no doubt that social media and gaming can provide wonderful opportunities for our children to enjoy life and learn.
How do you really know if your children are safe at home? Read our top tips for parents and click on the guidance below for common games and social media used by the children. Also look out on our Twitter page for regular updates about keeping safe online and some really useful parent guides to support you to help your children stay safe. If you do have any concerns regarding e-safety, please contact our ICT lead, Miss Galbraith or headteacher, Miss Marsh.
Some top tips for parents:
- When you purchase a device, take it out of the box before you give it to your child. Go onto the settings section where you can restrict or disable features so your children cannot download unsuitable applications or content e.g. videos. A good site to support you with setting controls is: http://www.internetmatters.org/
- Make sure that the account on the tablet/phone is set up by a parent or carer, so that they can authorise content that is downloaded. This is important if they want to download any additional content called ‘In App Purchases’ (IAP).
- Look at the age ratings for applications as some might not be suitable for your child. The same goes for access to popular sites such as You Tube, Snapchat and Tik Tok.
- Talk to your children about using cameras and video chat facilities. If someone acts inappropriately, then make sure they tell you immediately. Also, ensure they use these features sensibly and don’t take unsuitable images and share them with people they don’t know.
- If you are buying a smartphone for your child, talk to the mobile provider about parental controls. These might not be automatically switched on, so you may need to look at the providers website for support.
- Games consoles such as Xbox’s and Playstations are very popular with primary aged children. The key issue with video games is the suitability of a number of titles as they are rated in the same way as films. Therefore, many major releases have 16+ ratings. A useful site to find about the content of games can be found here: https://www.askaboutgames.com/. If playing online, always make sure that you know who your child is playing with.
Useful Guides for Parents/Carers:
Momo online safety guide for parents
Useful Websites for Parents/Carers:
www.kidsmart.org.uk/beingsmart/
Cyber-bullying:
Bullying is the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or
online. Bullying or cyber bullying can have long lasting effects on children and young
people’s mental health. If you need any support for your child or are concerned about Cyber-bullying please see a member of our Safeguarding team (Miss Marsh, Headteacher; Miss Galbraith, Assistant Headteacher; Miss Jobling, SENDCo; or Mrs Maree, PSA). Further information and guidance can also be found at https://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/ or Helping Children Deal with Bullying & Cyberbullying | NSPCC
Report-Remove:
Report Remove is here to help young people under 18 in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and remove them from the internet. Find out more information and get support following the above link.