E-safety

 

Dear Parents,​

Following the trials last year, we have decided to publish an Esafety newsletter every month.  At the beginning of every month, we will be sending out an E-safety newsletter, which will include a current application, software or game that has been popularised with the students. This will include information on what parents need to know in terms of features, settings and content. There will be a top tips section for parents included. This is to equip parents with information they need when deciding whether their child should be participating with the app, game or software.

E-Safety Cover Letter 

Tik – Tok Parents Guide 

At Vicarage Primary School, we encourage the use of technology and believe it to be an excellent resource we should take advantage of. After all, the “World Wide Web’ is possibly one of the greatest inventions by mankind yet. However, with such a great resource comes the great responsibility to ensure our children are using it safely. We believe it’s vital we work in partnership with parents and carers to ensure our children are protected online.

The best way to protect your children online is to be well informed yourself and practise e-safety on a day to day basis. Our children spend years being made aware of road safety and how to be vigilant around strangers. We even given them small reminders every time they leave the house. We need to adopt such a mentality for when they are using computers- after the ‘World Wide Web’ a huge platform.

So how can we help with keeping you informed and vigilant?

We will be holding regular workshops annually which will focus on key factors affecting children on the internet, what indicators to keep an eye for, what to do if you are concerned and how to use the Internet to its full potential to enhance your child’s education. 

You can also find a list of website at the bottom of this page which you can access with your children to talk about e-safety.

What does Vicarage do to promote E-safety?

E-safety is embedded into all aspects of life at Vicarage: from explicitly taught in the Computing and PSHE curriculum to E-safety workshops, focused class assemblies and taking part in national Internet Safety Day.

We have an ‘Online Safety’ policy which ensures the children are protected on the internet while at Vicarage and have enough knowledge to be savvy digital citizens. The policy is accessible here.

We follow the ‘BE SMART on the internet’ steps to ensure our children are aware of the fundamental points to keep themselves safe. Please familiarise yourself with it and take every opportunity to ensure they know about these steps and are following them.

Be Smart poster

If there are ever any concerns around e-safety, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Come back and visit us here next term to see the winners of our ‘E-Safety Champions’ competition poster.

The links below are those recommended by the school to support parents and children when considering e-safety.

Thinkuknow aims to ensure that everyone has access to this practical information – children, young people, their parents and carers and the professionals who work with them.

Alongside the Thinkuknow website the programme provides educational resources, including films, cartoons and lesson plans, to help professionals raise young people’s awareness.

URL: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

Know it all has plenty of resources designed for parents to support e-safety at home. It contains a wealth of information regarding young people online and guidance on Social Networking.

URL: http://www.childnet.com/what-we-do

Internet Legends is a new, exciting way to educate primary school children in the UK on online safety. With the powerful and memorable Internet Legends code, Google and ParentZone aim to empower children with skills they need to stay safe and act responsibly online. All Vicarage Primary School children participated in the roadshow assembly in the academic year 2016-17. We will have a follow up workshop this academic year. In the interim, access the website for information on how to manage online reputation and tips for parents.

URL: https://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/safetycenter/families/start/

The Digizen website provides information for educators, parents, carers, and young people. It is used to strengthen their awareness and understanding of what digital citizenship is and encourages users of technology to be and become responsible DIGItal citiZENS. It shares specific advice and resources on issues such as social networking and cyberbullying and how these relate to and affect their own and other people’s online experiences and behaviours.

URL: http://www.digizen.org/

Why not check out the ‘Be Smart on the internet’ steps in more detail.

Do you know what the age restriction for different social network accounts are? Age Restrictions for Social Media

Click here on the link for a copy of the handout from Parents’ Online Safety and Cyber Bullying Workshop– Jan 2019