Internet Safety Information

Information for Parents

The requirement to ensure that children and young people are able to use the internet and related communications technologies appropriately and safely is addressed as part of the wider duty of care to which all who work in schools are bound. Schools must, through their E-safety policy, ensure that they meet their statutory obligations to ensure that children and young people are safe and are protected from potential harm, both within and outside school.

This E-safety policy has been developed by Achievement Lead for Computing. The E-safety committee made up of:

• Child Protection/Safeguarding Officer: Mrs J Wakeman
• E-safety Co-ordinator: Mrs K Marsh
• ICT Technical Support: South West Grid for Learning/Westcom

You can find our Internet Safety Policy in Document Zone.

E-Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Elm Academy. 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. E-Safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online. Any incidents are recorded and managed by the Safeguarding Officer and E-Safety Co-ordinator.

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.

Helpful websites for more information

It’s important to be realistic – banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around safe use is essential.

• https://www.internetmatterInternet Matters can help you with age specific questions, setting up parental controls and plenty of helpful tips and hints to help your child get the most from the digital world.
• https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/The NSPCC site has a wide range of resources and materials from advice streaming and online video games to internet specific short videos suited to a range of ages.
• NSPCC Toolkit - Phone Safety for your Family

Managing your child’s screen time:

• https://families.google.com/familylink/Google Family Link is a free service that is designed by Google to help parents keep track of what a child under the age of 13 is doing on an Android or iOS device, ranging from app installation to amount of time spent using any given app or time spent on the device overall.

If you are worried about online abuse or the way someone is communicating online, you can report it to:
https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/