We mark e-safety week yearly in February, when we talk about keeping safe online. This includes the use of mobile phones, gaming devices and tablets.

Whilst the internet now plays a largely positive role in all of our daily lives, there are challenges to navigate. Our aim is to work in partnership with you to ensure children are making good choices at home when online.

Here are some key points regarding e-safety for parents, which you may wish to discuss with your child:

Messaging and speaking with friends online

We say to children that they should only say and do things online that they would say or do face-to-face. Sometimes children use language online which they would never use face-to-face. It is important for children to know they shouldn’t change how they behave towards each other online.

This means that language use should be respectful and considerate. Please take the opportunity to talk to your child about how they should speak to others online and model this to them.

Supervision and parental controls

We encourage the use of parental controls to ensure that your child is only accessing appropriate content. We also encourage supervision of children – for example, checking search history - when they are accessing the internet so you can build an awareness of their usage.

For more information about parental controls: https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/

Age ratings

Before your child accesses an app or game, check the recommended age rating. For example, the recommended minimum age for accessing Roblox is 13 due to its content.

For more information about apps, including recommended age ratings: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

SMART

We tell children to follow the ‘SMART’ rules for safety online:

Safe – keep personal information safe. Do not share personal information online.

Meeting – meeting up with someone you only know online can be dangerous as they are still a stranger.

Accepting – think carefully before clicking on or opening something online (e.g. an attachment)

Reliable – you can’t trust everything you see online. Make sure you check on a different website and ask an adult what they think.

Tell – always tell a trusted adult if something makes you upset or worried. You can also contact childline on 0800 11 11.

Concerns

If children are feel unsafe uncomfortable about something that has happened online, we encourage them to speak with their parents and carers first. 

Unacceptable behaviour (e.g. cyberbullying) can be reported online by using the 'report' button on apps or websites, if they have one.

We encourage parents and carers to inform school about any cyber bullying or unacceptable online behaviours between children at the school so that we can provide support and follow-up as necessary.

If parents and carers are worried about behaviour online which could be considered grooming or of a sexual nature, this can be reported to CEOP (Report to CEOP).

For more information

The NSPCC has a range of information, including advice about how to start a conversation about e-safety with your child: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

If you require any further information about e-safety, please contact your child’s class teacher.