Online Safety
At Ellington, we understand the responsibility to educate our pupils on Online-Safety issues; teaching them the appropriate behaviours and critical thinking skills to enable them to remain both safe and legal when using the internet and related technologies, in and beyond the context of the classroom.
Schools hold personal data on learners, staff and other people to help them conduct their day- to-day activities. Some of this information is sensitive and could be used by another person or criminal organisation to cause harm or distress to an individual. The loss of sensitive information can result in media coverage, and potentially damage the reputation of the school. This can make it more difficult for your school to use technology to benefit learners.
Everybody in the school has a shared responsibility to secure any sensitive information used in their day to day professional duties and even staff not directly involved in data handling should be made aware of the risks and threats and how to minimise them.
Online safety is an integral part of children’s education in today’s digital world and is embedded in their learning at school. We also want to help our parents and children improve their own understanding of online safety issues so they can learn to use the internet and all digital media in a safe and secure way.
Our pupils are growing up in a world of ever-changing technology. While we feel that the use of technology is a largely positive aspect of modern life, we cannot ignore the risks that can be associated.
Throughout school we aim to teach children:
- about the impact of cyber-bullying and what to do if they have been affected.
- to be vigilant when communicating online recognising that people may not always be who they say they are and to be sensible about what they share.
- to tell an adult they trust if something is upsetting them.
- to question the reliability of information given through a web based source.
- to search responsibly for information while using internet browsers.
Please view our padlet here for further resources, support and guidance.
Online Safety for Parents/Carers
At Home
As a parent/carer, you'll know how important the internet is to children - they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It's a highly creative place of amazing opportunities. But the technology children use every day can seem a bit daunting and you might worry about the risks your child can face online - such as bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content. Below is some websites/advice that you will hopefully find of use and that can be shared with your child/children.
National Online Safety
Click here to access the National Online Safety website where you will find lots of information and helpful guides to support your child's online safety. Click here to access a whole range of fantastic guides and training.
The website also provides Annual Award in Online Safety for Parents & Carers of Children free of charge.
You can access the 3 - 7 year old award by clicking here and you can access the 7 - 11 year old award by clicking here
- Childnet is a great website resource for parents and children on online safety. Click here to watch an interactive video on how to keep your child safer online.
- Think U Know has a great section for parents and covers topics such as gaming and talking to strangers. You can also search by topic or age range to find information that is relevant for your family. You can find the site here
- Internet Matters is another great site to use - it has advice on cyberbullying, how to talk to your children about internet safety and quick guides to different types of social media such as Instagram and Snapchat. You can visit their pages here Internet Matters.