Keeping Your Child Safe

E-Safety information for parents/carers

E-Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Coombeshead Academy. We have extensive security measures in place in school, which are monitored both internally and externally, to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material. Any E-Safety incidents are recorded and managed in accordance with our e-Safety Policy. E-Safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online.

We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with you to ensure the E-Safety message is consistent. Your help is needed to talk to your children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online. Recently we have had a number of parents express concerns about children’s behaviour online. Children can accidentally or deliberately be exposed to unwanted or unpleasant content or comment online and there are steps you can take at home to minimise this risk.

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What can parents/carers do? Follow the Golden Rules!

Ground Rules

• Discuss as a family how the internet will be used in your house. Consider what should be kept private online (personal information, photos etc.) and decide rules for making and meeting online friends. Make sure you know what your child is doing online much like you would offline.

Online Safety

• Install antivirus software, secure your internet connection and use Parental Control functions for computers, mobile phones and games consoles to block unsuitable content or contact
• Remember that parental control tools are not always 100% effective and sometimes unsuitable content can get past them, so don’t rely on them alone to protect your child.

Location

• Locate your computer in a supervised family area. Always supervise the use of webcams in and applications which allow voice or video chat. Consider your child’s use of other devices that allow internet access such as Mobile Phones and Games Consoles.

Dialogue

• Talk to your child and ask them to show or even teach you how they use the internet, learn which websites or tools they like to use and why. Learning together can often open opportunities to discuss safe behaviour with your child.
• Always ensure your child knows how to block or report people online who send nasty or inappropriate messages or content. Encourage your child not to retaliate or reply.
• Make sure your child knows to tell an adult they trust if they see something online that makes them feel scared, worried or uncomfortable
• It’s essential to be realistic - banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around safe use is essential.

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