e-Safety

e-Safety

Being online is an integral part of young people’s lives. Social media, online games, websites, virtual realities & apps can be accessed through mobile phones, computers, laptops & tablets – all of which form a part of young people’s online world in the 21st Century. The internet and online technology provides new opportunities for young people’s learning, but it can also expose them to new types of risks.

There are several key areas where young people need to keep themselves safe online.

• Social media
• Fake news
• Online gaming & gambling
• Screen time & addiction

The above list is not exhaustive, but is the most prevalent in our work with young people. E-safety forms a fundamental part of our work in safeguarding our students. As a school we educate and advise students with regards to their online behaviour in numerous ways including;

• Our Pastoral Programme
• The Wider Curriculum
• Awareness weeks
• Subject specific content

When using technology in school St Thomas More School has an acceptable use policy (AUP) that endeavours to ensure maximum online safety whilst we are in the school environment by educating all of our community and preventing access to non-educational sites. If there are any instances of students attempting to use technology inappropriately or in an unsafe way, we will contact families immediately.

Advice for Students

Advice for Families

It is important to highlight that the major social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat) have a minimum user age of 13. Families need to be aware of the risks of underage use of sites, so you can make an informed decision as to whether to allow your child to have a profile or not.

Should you decide to allow your child of any age to have a social media profile we offer the following advice:

• Set up your own profile so you understand how the site works and ask them to have you as a friend on their profile so you know what they are posting online. Further advice can be found here.
• Make sure your child understands the following basic E-safety rules that we have learnt about at school.
  • Keep your profile’s privacy settings as private as possible.
  • If possible, don’t put in your full name, e.g. Bart S, instead of Bart Simpson.
  • Keep private information private, e.g. address, phone number.
  • Never accept friends you don’t know in real life.
  • Never post anything you wouldn’t want your parents to see, so think before you post.
  • Be respectful of others.
  • Never agree to meet somebody you only know online.
  • Always tell someone if you feel threatened or someone upsets you.
• All subjects have a core set of websites they require pupils to access regularly as part of the curriculum. A list for each subject can be found here.
• We also recommend that all parents visit the CEOP Think U Know website for more information on keeping your child safe online thinkuknow.co.uk.