Online safety

St Andrew's Benn Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, we take the safety of children when online very seriously. To help our parents and community we have put together some sites that provide information for children on how to stay safe while on the internet.  We have three members of staff that lead a group of Online Safety Ambassadors in school.  The staff members are:

Our children are growing up in a world with a larger range of online activities than ever before and we are aware it is hard for both children and adults to know how to stay safe. 

We hope you will find this page really useful on giving advice on how to be careful when you use the internet and some great tips in keeping yourselves and your children safe.  If you are worried about anything you see online or people are asking you questions about where you live or saying nasty things to you please speak to your parents or teacher or follow any of the links below for help and advice.  

Every year we celebrate Safer Internet Day with our school community, to raise further awareness of staying safe online. Each year focuses on a different theme, which we explore together as a whole school, before sharing our work and learning.

Guidance for Parents and Children.

Our children are growing up in a rapidly changing world with a larger range of online activities than ever before available on an ever-increasing range of platforms and devices. As such, we are aware it is hard for both children and adults to know how to help children stay safe online whilst they are learning playing, socialising and expressing themselves.

You might worry about the risks your child can face online, such as; bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content. You might also be unsure of how to manage devices and how they are used in your home.

General Online Safety

We hope that you will find this page of resources and guidance really useful in giving advice and tips on how to be careful when using the internet.  If you are worried about anything that you experience online, please follow the advice in these guides and make contact with these organisations as well as school for help.

Social Media

It’s important to remember that the legal age to have an account on most social media – Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Snapchat – is 13 years old.

Online safety is an integral part of children’s education in today’s digital world and is embedded in their learning at school in Computing and PSHE particularly. To support this we want to help our parents and children improve their own understanding of online safety issues so they can learn to use the internet and all digital media in a safe and secure way. We also want children and adults to appreciate the positive and negative impacts online activity can have on a child’s mental health and developing self-esteem. 

Gaming

Children are spending greater amounts of time on online gaming platforms. It is important to ensure that children have a healthy amount of time when gaming and that adults are aware of PEGI ratings regarding the content of the games being played as well as who they are gaming with.

Streaming

Children enjoy streaming videos and music on huge platforms such as YouTube individually and with friends however they may be at risk of viewing inappropriate content and being exposed to scams and false information.

Acceptable Use Agreements

Please follow this link to our X (previously Twitter) page @StAndrewsBenn.   

We have put together some useful information and links for parents/carers to help keep children safe on the internet.

Parents Guide to Cyberbullying

There is a lot of research that shows that Cyberbullying is affecting more young people, more frequently.

With the growth of social media and the average age of children owning smartphones set at 10, there is a need for more education and information about how to prevent cyberbullying from happening and what to do when it does.

Together with Anti-bullying Alliance and the National Children’s Bureau, we’ve created a cyberbullying resource which explains the different forms of cyberbullying, their impact on children and importantly what parents, carers and schools can do to help a child deal with it.

Parents guide to Privacy Settings

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/a-parents-guide-to-privacy-settings

Digital Parenting Guides from Vodafone