Online Safety

We recommend that all parents read the free online Digital Parenting Magazine from Vodafone.  It contains excellent e-safety advice. Additional advice can be found here.

Sexting: Advice for Parents

The Internet has become an enormous part of our society and so plays a role in the lives of all young people in the UK. There are many good reasons for young people to use the Internet both for educational and social/entertainment purposes, however the Internet also poses many risks that children need to be protected from.

• This web page covers the following topics:
• Advice to Parents
• Useful Links for Parents
• E-Safety at St Bede’s 
• Information & Links for Pupils 

Advice to Parents

There is a lot parents can do. Our advice is that there needs to be a combination of communication and supervision:

Communication:

• Talk to your children about what to do if they do come across something unpleasant or upsetting online.
• Make sure they know who to talk to if they ever feel worried.
• Share your wisdom – advise on the consequences of posting things online they may later regret.
• Try not to overreact!

Supervision:

• Keep the computer in a family room
• Set both boundaries and rewards for your child. (E.g. Facebook age 13)
• Encourage balanced use: 2 hours a day
• Install filtering software such as K9 Web Protection which is FREE (but don’t rely on it)
• Get involved with your children online, tell them to show you their IM & Social Networks:
  • talk through their online friends
  • check the suitability of their picture
  • check their privacy settings
• Agree on the rules as a family

Useful Links for Parents

You can learn more about keeping your child safe from these websites: 

• “Think You Know” e-safety website for parents, set up by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre
• “Digizen“ e-safety website for parents, set up by Childnet
• Parents guide to technology (phones, games consoles and ipads)
• NEW LINK! Learn how to set the parental controls on your home Internet
• NEW LINK! Some great ideas for conversation starters for talking to your children about using the Internet safely 
• NEW LINKS! 
• Parents guide to Snapchat 
• Parents guide to Instagram 
• Parents guide to Google+ 
• o2 and NSPCC 

E-Safety at St Bede’s

E-safety is taken very seriously at St Bede’s and we work on both educating pupils and supporting parents on this.

All pupils receive lessons in e-safety as part of both their ICT & PHSE education throughout years 7 - 13.

• Pupils are taught about:
• Dangers of the Internet
• SMART use of the Internet
• Cyberbullying
• “Stranger danger” i.e. not meeting up with people from the Internet
• Using the Internet & social networks safely & sensibly
• Judging websites for trustworthiness
• Netiquette
• Piracy (illegal downloading of songs, games & films)
• Plagiarism
• Online fraud
• Computer/Internet Addictions
• Sexting

E-safety is also taught through assemblies, tackling big issues such as cyberbullying, grooming and sexting.

As well as educating pupils about internet safety, we also set rules for them. All pupils have an acceptable computer use policy in their school planners on page 11. We also have a school e-safety policy that applies to both staff and pupils, a copy of this can be seen on request and will soon be available on our VLE.

If pupils have any e-safety concerns (about themselves or others) then we strongly encourage them to talk to a teacher, if they feel unable to talk to a teacher then we would like them to communicate their concerns via the tell us box (located in reception) or by emailing e-tellusbox@stbcc.org. 

Our school network is monitored by our ICT network manager and the Internet is filtered to limit the content that children can access from the school computers.  Many entertainment and social websites are blocked to keep pupils focused in class and for their safety adult.  Other unsuitable websites are also blocked. In addition, ICT teachers use classroom monitoring software to ensure pupils are focused on their work and not distracted by the Internet.

We recognise that technology changes fast, so we carry out an annual survey to monitor the latest trends in our pupils' Internet use so we can react and adapt our work on e-safety in accordance to meet emerging needs.

Each November we mark anti-bullying week with activities on cyber bullying.  We also mark Safer Internet Day each February with activities in ICT and tutor time on the different e-safety theme each year.

All staff receive e-safety training upon joining St Bede’s and this is topped up at staff meetings during the year to ensure all staff have up-to-date e-safety knowledge.

At the annual year 7 EPR evening parents receive a talk giving them information and advice on how to keep their child safe online. We also provide handy tips for parents in our newsletter each fortnight. 

Information & Links for Pupils

If you have any e-safety concerns then we strongly encourage you to talk to a teacher, if you feel unable to talk to a teacher then we would like you to tell us by using the “tell us box” in reception, by emailing us using the email address: e-tellusbox@stbcc.org or by texting STB2 + your message to 078600 21584. You can also click on Report an Issue at the bottom of this page.

If you cannot talk to us in school then there are online services available:

• To report concerns about grooming.

We advise you to be SMART:

• SAFE: Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information when you’re chatting or posting online. Personal information includes your email address, phone number and password.
• MEETING: Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents’ or carers’ permission and even then only when they can be present. Remember online friends are still strangers even if you have been talking to them for a long time.
• ACCEPTING: Accepting emails, IM messages, or opening files, pictures or texts from people you don’t know or trust can lead to problems – they may contain viruses or nasty messages!
• RELIABLE: Someone online might lie about who they are and information on the internet may not be true. Always check information with other websites, books or someone who knows. If you like chatting online it’s best to only chat to your real world friends and family
• TELL: Tell your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied online.

Find out more about the SMART rules at: http://www.kidsmart.org.uk

Some cool e–safety website for you to explore:

• Digizen’s website has lots to do to help you stay safe online
• Cyberbullying support & advice
• The CBBC’s e-safety web pages
• NEW LINK! Take a look at Radio 1's campaign to think about what you share online

E-safety policy

 

 If you have an issue you want to report anonymously you can do so via the online web form by clicking here or by texting STB2 + your message to 078600 21584.