Online Safety
Young people are increasingly accessing the internet whenever they can and wherever they are. It offers many educational and social experiences for young people and gives them access to a world of information and opportunities.
Just as you would protect your child in the real world, it is important to equip them with the skills and knowledge to stay safe online, making sure they understand the risks and can make sensible and informed choices. This will allow them to make the most of the internet, while staying safe, particularly from people who may try to exploit them.
In school
Educational Diversity recognises the risks associated with the online world and teaches students how to navigate the online world safely and confidently. We provide online safety lessons within our curriculum for all students. It is aligned to the DfE guidance on ‘Teaching online safety in schools’ (2019) and builds upon online safety training that students will have received at their previous schools.
We have a clear Internet safety policy and students are educated in how to stay safe online. We also have filtering and monitoring systems in place to ensure students are safe whilst using the Internet and other online tools.
At home
In order to protect your child online, there are a number of things you can do. First and foremost is to make sure that you understand the risks of using the internet. We have selected a range of useful resources and websites below to help you with this.
We encourage parents to:
- Maintain active discussions with their children around e-safety
- Put filtering in place at home
- Impose sensible time limits on the use of devices at home.
Guidance for Parents: Keeping your child safe online
Monitoring what your son or daughter does on the Internet can sometimes be a daunting task, but it is important to remember that (when used correctly) the internet can be a positive learning experience.
We will regularly update this page with parental support information as it relates to e-safety. If Parents / Carers have any questions about a particularly aspect of e-safety or a specific programme/game/site etc then please let us know and we will add further information to this page.
The following guidelines have been produced with this in mind
- Make online time a family activity.
- Check filtering of mobile data as well as broadband – but do not rely on this
- Make sure that you know the services your children use
- Keep the computer in a family room and ensure all devices are removed from the child’s bedroom at night.
- Go online yourself so that you are familiar with and understand the potential benefits and risks associated with Internet access
- Get to know your child’s ‘online friends’ just as you do their other friends
- Let them feel they can discuss any worries with you – even if they have made bad choices
- If you are concerned about your child’s online activities, talk to them about it
- Develop an agreed set of family Internet rules. Use ‘Family rules’ document for an example (see link).
- Make sure that your children are familiar with, and adhere to, your ‘Family Internet Rules’ which should be posted near the computer as a reminder
- Monitor your children’s compliance with these rules
- Should you become aware of the presence of child pornography online, report this immediately to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, on telephone number: 0800 800 500
Online safety guides for parents
Other useful E-safety advice
The following websites and resources provide useful guidance and advice to support parents and also raise awareness of potential threats.
Thinkuknow - This is the education programme from NCA-CEOP, a UK organisation which protects children both online and offline. They have a number of resources offering advice about staying safe for children of all ages.
UK Safer Internet Centre - This page shows parents how to set up filtering at home for BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media. This helps to prevent age-inappropriate content being accessed at home. They also have a range of parent guides to technology.
Internet Matters - This website provides expert support and practical tips to help children benefit from connected technology and the internet safely and smartly.
Childnet International - This website, from a non-profit organisation, provides a parent/carer toolkit and video lessons amongst other key resources. You may wish to look at their suggested hot topics to discuss with your child, as well as their family agreement.
Vodafone Guide to Digital Parenting - This guide was updated in 2022 and contains age specific online safety tips, as well as digital resources to boost mental health.
Google Safety Centre - This website will help you manage parental controls to set what is right for your family to view online.
National Online Safety - This contains lots of downloadable guides on a range of apps and tools, helping to advise parents of any possible dangers. The guides also explain what parental controls can be put in place to help reduce risks when using the applications. We have recently subscribed to this website as a school and will highlight and share key resources and guides with you.
