Staying Safe Online
Ensuring that all pupils acquire the knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to safely navigate the digital world
Mr Winstanley
Leader for Computing and Online SafetyOnline safety and Reinwood Juniors
At Reinwood Juniors we recognise that online safety is a critical part of our curriculum.
We are dedicated to ensuring that all pupils acquire the knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to safely navigate the digital world. Our online safety curriculum is designed to raise awareness of the potential risks pupils may encounter while using the internet and to empower them to make informed, safe decisions online.
Key areas of focus
- Security Threats: Understanding the risks of online security breaches and learning how to protect themselves from potential threats.
- Personal Data Protection: Learning how to safeguard their personal information and manage data effectively.
- Online Management: Teaching pupils the importance of managing their digital footprint and understanding how their actions online can have lasting consequences.
- Avoiding Harmful or Illegal Content: Providing strategies to avoid exposure to harmful, inappropriate, or illegal content.
In line with the statutory guidance outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education, every employee, governor, and volunteer at our school is aware of their legal duty to stay up-to-date with changes in online safety protocols. Safeguarding our pupils and educating them on the principles of online safety is a top priority.
Computing is taught weekly as a discrete subject where pupils learn about the safe and efficient use of the internet, digital communication, data retrieval, presentation and programming. They are then encouraged to utilise the skills that they have learnt, throughout all areas of the curriculum.
Each classroom is equipped with an interactive whiteboard. Each year group has a bank of 30 iPads as well as either a bank of 32 Chromebooks or 32 Windows Laptops to ensure that a variety of computing devices are available to the children at all times and that technology can be utilised as a tool for learning across the full curriculum.
The children use interactive activities, games and puzzles on a daily basis as either whole class activities or individually, on one of our subscribed-to online learning platforms. This ensures that children are kept interested and most importantly are enjoying what they are being taught.
We employ an onsite ICT technician who ensures that all our equipment is functioning effectively. He is also available to support teachers with their lessons. Safeguarding our children when using new technologies is our priority and the children are regularly educated about the risks involved with using the internet and social media. They are taught strategies about what to do should a situation occur where they feel unsafe. Children are trained on how to report concerns whilst using school equipment, should inappropriate content slip through our extensive filtering system. An instantly deployable screen shade is also installed on all windows computers. All iPads can be monitored by the class teacher using Apple Classroom.
Our website is updated regularly and provides both parents and children with information related to school and the curriculum.
Online safety
Useful Guides fo Parents
Guides
Social Media Guides fo Parents
Social media is rapidly changing and deeply embedded into the lives of many people. It can bring people closer together but it can also bring its own problems.
Whilst social networks are blocked by our school filtering system, we address the need to be safe whilst using social media during our PSHE and Computing sessions. Most social networks have a minimum age requirement of 13 years old and as such, our children should not be using these services.
Aspects of social media are increasingly prevalent in online games where it is used as a tool to create a community of loyal users and keep them coming back. Some of these games are targeted towards children of primary school age, whilst others are aimed at older children but still hold a fascinating appeal for our children.
We would always suggest that you check the minimum age of the social network or game in question and abide by their terms and conditions. As parents, you are ultimately responsible for what your children get up to online. The guides on this page will help you to make informed decisions.
Please note that all guides are maintained by charities and well intentioned volunteers. Whilst efforts are made to keep guides up to date and relevant, some guides may seem dated in comparison to the rapid development of these platforms.
Moving On Up from Childnet covers many of the concerns and issues that you and your child may be facing as they transition or get close to transitioning to high school.
The UK Safer Internet Centre offer guides to some social networks on their site, often linking directly to relevant settings of the social network itself.
EE are offering a fantastic resource for anyone that is soon to be getting, or recently got their first smartphone, PhoneSmart License. "A PhoneSmart Licence is awarded to your kids on completing the course and shows they have what it takes to stay safe online and be a good digital citizen"
Individual guides have been linked below for easy access.
