E-Safety
Online safety
Children at Brownsover Community School use the Internet on a regular basis as part of their learning. E-Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Brownsover Community School. We have extensive security measures in place in school to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material.
Any online safety incidents are recorded and managed in accordance with our online safety Policy. Online safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online.
At home, sometimes children can be given unsupervised access to the Internet. This, potentially, allows them to access all kinds of society (both good and bad) and bring them virtually into their homes.
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.
It is also essential 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.
CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) is an organisation run by the NCA (National Crime Agency), and is therefore government run. They are tasked with keeping children (and adults) safe while online. As well as offering many resources to educate children in this area, they are also somewhere where safety concerns can be raised if required.
Here are some tips and useful links to help you to keep your children safe online:
- Gaming - A lot of our children love to play computer games. Please ensure that they are age appropriate and if the game is played online they are being supervised by an adult.
- Facebook / Bebo / Myspace - Many of these sites have a minimum age limit of 13, so our pupils should NOT be using them. They do not offer the same levels of protection as Skoodle, allowing children to communicate with anyone.
- Keep your computer in a shared area - Talk to your child about what they are doing onlineand, if possible, set up your computer in a shared area at home so that you can all share in the wonderful sites that are available online.
- Search engines - Please note that no search engine is ever 100% safe but in the links section below you will find direct links to some “safer” search engines for research and image searches.
Parental Controls
Qustudio is a free parental controls software download which allows parents to:
- Monitor chat
- Block harmful content from search results
- Limit the time spent online and on devices
- Restrict games or applications on devices
- Track a device
- See who a child calls or texts most
- Prevent access to mature or adult sites
- View and manage activities from anywhere
- Protect and monitor without children knowing
To find out more information about Qustudio, please click here.
There are also a number of videos designed to be shared at home to give parents the opportunity to discuss online safety issues with their children. They cover:
- Cyberbullying
- The digital footprint
- Identity and self-esteem
- Relationships and grooming
- Security and privacy
- Sexting
Download our online Safety Posters:
• We have these online safety posters on display in our classrooms. Why not put one up next to the computer at home and talk about it with your children?
Some links to more information:
• Think U Know - containing internet safety advice for those aged from 5 to 16, along with
parents and teachers, this site is produced by CEOP (the Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre).https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk
• Vodafone have lots of fantastic practical advice for parents. You can also read their 'Digital
Parenting' magazine. https://www.vodafone.com/content/parents.html
Internet. https://www.childnet.com/resources/kia/
• Bullying UK - Information and advice about bullying for children, parents and schools. https://www.bullying.co.uk/
• Childline - ChildLine is the free helpline for children and young people in the UK. https://www.childline.org.uk/
Useful websites:
Useful Documents:
