This policy applies to all members of school community (including staff, pupils, volunteers, parents / carers, visitors, community users) who have access to and are users of the school’s ICT systems, both in and out of Grappenhall Heys Primary School. What is online safety? Online safety covers safety issues connected to internet use, gaming, mobile technologies such as mobile phones and all other wireless technologies. It will include use of websites, social networking, email as well as digital media such as photographs and videos. At Grappenhall Heys we believe that appropriate use of these technologies can bring many educational benefits, enhancing and extending learning, but we acknowledge our duty to ensure safe use of all such technologies and media. Online safety is concerned with safeguarding young people (and indeed adults!) in the digital world. It is about learning to understand and use technology in a positive way. It is not about restricting children, but educating them about the risks as well as the benefits so they can feel confident and happy online. Online risks The main areas of risk for our school community can be summarised as follows: Content (child as recipient) Exposure to age-inappropriate material, including violent, hateful or pornographic content (ignoring age ratings in games) Adverts and spam Lifestyle websites, for example pro-anorexia / self-harm / suicide sites Hate sites Content validation: how to check authenticity and accuracy of online content Contact (child as participant) Meeting strangers / Grooming Cyber-bullying in all forms Identity theft (including hacking user profiles for social networking website) and sharing passwords Conduct (child as initiator) Privacy issues, including disclosure of personal information Bullying or harassing others Digital footprint and online reputation Health and well-being (amount of time spent online, both Internet or gaming) Sexting (sending and receiving of personally intimate images) also referred to as SGII (self-generated indecent images)
online safety page on our school website evening talks on online safety arranged with Cheshire Police and internet service providers sharing relevant material to parents via school website, social media or letters home Whole school responsibilities for online safety Headteacher • Responsible for online safety issues within the school but may delegate the day-to-day responsibility to other members of teaching staff • Ensure that developments at Local Authority level are communicated to staff • Ensure that the Governing Body is informed of online safety issues and policies • Ensure that appropriate funding is allocated to support online safety activities throughout the school Governing Body • Online safety will be reviewed as part of the regular review of child protection and health and safety policies. • Support the headteacher and/or designated Online safety co-ordinator in establishing and implementing policies, systems and procedures for ensuring a safe ICT learning environment. • Ensure that appropriate funding is authorised for online safety solutions, training and other activities as recommended by the headteacher and/or designated Online safety coordinator (as part of the wider remit of the Governing Body with regards to school budgets). Staff (including non-teaching staff, volunteers, student teachers, other adults using school systems) • Contribute to the development of online safety policies. • Adhere to acceptable use policies • Take responsibility for the security of data • Develop an awareness of online safety issues, and how they relate to pupils in their care • Model good practice in using new and emerging technologies • Embed online safety education in curriculum delivery • Know when and how to escalate online safety issues • Maintain a professional level of conduct in their personal use of technology, both within & outside school • Take responsibility for their professional development in this area Parents and Carers • Contribute to the development of online safety policies • Read the school Online Safety Rules and encourage their children to adhere to them • Adhere to acceptable use policies when using the school internet and/or any ICT resource (including social media) • Discuss online safety issues with their children, support the school in its online safety approaches and reinforce appropriate behaviours at home • Take responsibility for their own awareness and learning in relation to the opportunities and risks posed by new and emerging technologies • Model appropriate uses of new and emerging technologies • Liaise with the school if they suspect, or have identified, that their child is conducting risky behaviour online