OLD MILL PRIMARY SCHOOL

Online Safety

What is online safety all about?

Online Safety (sometimes referred to as E-Safety) is about equipping children with the knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe when using technology online.

It also equips them with the skills to be able to protect their identity, communicate with respect and interact appropriately.

The internet is now a part of everyday life and children are spending more and more time online, exploring cyberspace and connecting with others online. However the internet can also represent a risk to children that is sometimes misunderstood and often underestimated. E-Safety is a key element in the safeguarding strategy at Old Mill Primary School and keeping children safe online is a priority for all staff and volunteers.

Just like the offline world, the online world is full of risk and although the majority of these will not turn into harm it is important that children understand the risks they are taking and make sensible choices. At Old Mill Primary School children are taught the fundamentals of e-safety throughout the school so that they can recognise and avoid dangers and unsuitable content. We also explain how to behave appropriately online as well as the importance of managing their digital footprint. Teaching is through our Computing curriculum and our PSHE curriculum.

However we can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we engage with parents and carers to ensure a consistent approach on e-safety at home as well as at school.

Internet Safety

Children and young people may go online to research information for homework or to play games, chat with friends and make new ones. The internet holds a wealth of useful information and can also be a really good way of learning about new things and keeping in contact with friends and family. It can however also be a very dangerous place so it is important that children are protected and monitored when they are online.

Understanding the risks to children

Areas for online risks can be categorised into the 3 C's - Content, Contact and Conduct, and can be commercial, aggressive or sexual in nature as shown in the table below.

		RISKS
	COMMERCIAL	AGGRESSIVE	SEXUAL
CONTENT: Child as recipient	Adverts, Spam, Sponsorship, Personal Information	Violent or hateful content	Pornographic or unwelcome sexual content
CONTACT: Child as participant	Tracking, Harvesting, Personal Information	Being bullied, harrassed or stalked	Meeting strangers, Being groomed
CONDUCT: Child as actor	Illegal downloading, Hacking, Gambling, Financial scams, Terrorism	Bullying or harassing another person	Creating and uploading inappropriate material

Children are keen to explore the online world but are often not mature enough to manage or understand the risks they come across. Helping your child to manage these risks at home can be achieved by asking your child

Where they are going and what they see? - this will help you talk about content risk.
What they do online? - this will help you understand any conduct risks and see whether they are chatting on anonymous sites or posting comments about themselves.
Who they are talking to? - this will help cover the contact risks, particularly if their online friends are people they do not know offline.

It is 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 the safe use is essential.

Parent and Carer Advice and Support

CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the abuse and explotiation of children in the real and online world. It is often referred to as the online 999. By clicking on the button, young children and parents can get advice on a range of issues such as viruses, hacking and dealing with bullying online.