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Online Safety

Here at Chartham we take online safety very seriously. Here are some of the steps we take in order to ensure our children are staying safe and being respectable, whilst taking advantage of this wonderful resource:

Throughout the year we will partake in many class, key stage and school activities/discussions about staying safe online.

Keeping up to date with the advance in technology, we have updated our Online Safety Policy and Acceptable Use Policies. These can be obtained from the school office.

If there are any concerns or worries, our children know that they are able to approach our newly trained e-safety ambassadors from Year 6, as well as trusted adults around the school.

In order to help keep your child safe and happy when online at home, please explore some of the following links. As you can see there are many - don't feel as if you need to visit them all, some may be more relevant to you than others

This checklist from childnet.com may be a good start!

What can I do right now?

Maintain an open dialogue with your child and encourage them to talk to you about their internet use: for example who they’re talking to, services they’re using, and any issues they may be experiencing.
Create a family agreement to establish your children’s boundaries, and your expectations, when on the internet.
Give your child strategies to deal with any online content that they are not comfortable with – such as turning off the screen, telling an adult they trust and using online reporting facilities.
Consider using altering software to block unwanted content. In addition to altering, remember that discussion with your child, and involvement in their internet use, are both effective ways to educate them about the internet.
Encourage your children to ‘think before you post.’ Online actions can impact not only yourself but the lives of others. Content posted privately online can be publicly shared by others, and may remain online forever.
Understand the law. Some online behaviour may break the law, for example when downloading or sharing content with others. Be able to recommend legal services.
Familiarise yourself with the privacy settings and reporting features available on popular sites and services.
If your child is being bullied online, save all available evidence and know where to report the incident, for example to the school, service provider, or the police if the law has been broken.
Familiarise yourself with the age ratings for games and apps which can help to indicate the level and suitability of the content. Also see if online reviews are available from other parents as these may be helpful.
Set up a family email address that your children can use when signing up to new games and websites online.
Encourage your children to use nicknames (where possible) instead of their full name online, to protect their personal information, and create strong passwords for every account.
Set up a PIN or password on devices to help protect personal information.

Don't forget to check out the FREE magazines at the bottom.

It is also really important to chat with your children on an on-going basis about staying safe online. Not sure where to begin?

Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
Encourage them to help someone! Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
Think about how you each use the internet. What more could you do to use the internet together? Are there activities that you could enjoy as a family?