Online Safety

Keeping children safe on the internet

At Roecroft, we recognise the importance of integrating online safety into our curriculum. We teach Online Safety through our PSHE lessons, where once a half term we have a PSHE lesson dedicated to Online Safety. Linked to the Government recommended ‘Education for a Connected World’ framework, which breaks learning of Online Safety into different strands:

Self-Image and Identity: shaping online identities and how media impacts on gender and stereotypes

Managing Online Relationships: relationships and behaviours that may lead to harm and how positive online interaction can empower and amplify voice.

Online Reputation: strategies to manage personal digital content effectively and capitalise on technology’s capacity to create effective positive profiles

Online Bullying: strategies for effective reporting and intervention and how bullying and other aggressive behaviour relates to legislation

Managing Online Information: strategies for effective searching, critical evaluation and ethical publishing

Health, Wellbeing and Lifestyle: understanding negative behaviours and issues amplified and sustained by online technologies and the strategies for dealing with them

Privacy and Security: behavioural and technical strategies to limit impact on privacy and protect data and systems against compromise.

Copyright and Ownership: protecting personal content and crediting the rights of others as well as addressing potential consequences of illegal access, download and distribution.

Throughout the school, we focus on particular strands at the same time with differentiated lessons across the school. When teaching about online safety, we also link each strand and concept with our school's values. Our children are very familiar with values-based language, so this helps to make their Online Safety learning both accessible and age-appropriate.

Unit Overview - Online Safety

To further promote Online Safety, we also celebrate the National Safer Internet Day in February each year. This is a day that gives us the opportunity to further reiterate key Online Safety messages and the whole school takes part in planned activities based on a theme.

Roecroft also hosts annual Online Safety workshops for students, parents and staff which ensures that all members of our school community receive the same important messages. For parents, a workshop was hosted virtually by NSPCC. Please click on the following links to access factsheets from the workshop and use the QR code to sign up for a monthly online safety newsletter:

Online Safety Factsheet Page 1

Online Safety Factsheet Page 2

Online Safety QR code

You can also find more information on online safety on the NSPCC website.

NSPCC Online Resources

To demonstrate the whole school’s commitment to Online Safety, new starters and children in reception receive an ICT and Online Safety agreement to sign and children then receive this same agreement at the start of KS2 to independently read and agree to. This agreement highlights the expectations for online behaviour and use of digital devices and also our school online-safety rules; our school rules are displayed on our ‘Think then Click’ posters throughout the school next to all computers. (see attached).

We believe that by working together, we can all keep well informed regarding Online Safety issues and so make the most of the positives the internet has to offer safely. Please take a look at the attachments for further information which include guides for social media use, apps, our school rules and school ICT policy. The following website also has some useful online videos from professionals about the importance of Online Safety: www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/

Keeping children safe: online and beyond - advice and support for parents and carers.

https://parentsafe.lgfl.net/

protecting children online advice to parents and carers.pdf