Online Safety

What is E-Safety?

In practice, e-safety is as much about online behaviour as it is electronic security. E-safety in this context is classified into three areas of prevention and risk:

Content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful material
Contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users
Conduct: personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm.

Schools have a dual responsibility when it comes to e-safety: to ensure the school’s online procedures keep children and young people safe, and to teach pupils about online safety, in and outside of school.

E-Safety at Highfield Farm

We believe that keeping children safe online is best achieved by embedding E-safety across the curriculum and into daily routes and practice. As well as supporting young people to stay safe on-line, we also educate our staff to protect their own on-line reputation, particularly when using social networking sites. Modelling and talking about online safety is encouraged and promoted throughout school.

At Highfield Farm we use a range of resources to support internet safety in the classroom and to promote internet safety out of school. We invite other professionals into school to help support the delivery of on-line safety including the local community police, Anti-bullying alliance, Our Y6 children also attend Crucial Crew on a yearly basis to learn more about keeping safe.

How can Parents and Carers best support their children?

It is really important to chat with your children on an ongoing basis about staying safe on-line.

Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing on-line.
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 on-line 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?

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying happens when someone uses technology to deliberately upset someone else. It is likely to involve mobile phones (calls or text messages) or devices connected to the internet (Smartphones, Tablets, Laptop and Desktop Computers). Cyberbullying can take

place across a range of services, including Social Media, Chatrooms, Skype and other messaging software, apps and services.

It can happen any time of day and occur on a large scale and speed, due to the nature of the technology.

Bullies often feel anonymous and 'distanced' from the incident when it takes place online and 'bystanders' can easily become perpetrators by forwarding or not reporting cyberbullying.

There is not a specific law which makes cyberbullying illegal but it can be considered a criminal offence under several different acts including Protection from Harassment Act (1997), Malicious Communications Act (1988), Communications Act (2003) Obscene Publications Act (1959) and Computer Misuse Act (1990)

If you're being bullied online or by text:

Save the messages/material
Tell an adult or report it online
Do not retaliate or reply. If possible, block the person

Advice for Parents and carers:

Watch out for uncharacteristic behaviour (your child being upset or secretive, using the phone/internet more than usual, changing friendship group.)
Remind your child not to retaliate and keep any evidence
Report the bullying – contact the school if the bullying involves another pupil and contact your service provider to report the user and remove the content. If the bullying is more serious and a potential criminal offence, consider contacting South Yorkshire Police on 101.