Online Safety
Keeping children safe is Lake Haven’s number one priority. However, as times change, being safe at all times now includes being safe online. The online world is vast and an incredible space for our children to learn. However, being aware of the risks that are involved is imperative for our pupils, parents and staff.
At Lake Haven School, we have very tight monitoring systems in place that allows us to protect our children alongside our staff who are trained to report anything that they feel is unsafe or should not be accessed online by children of school age. We have the support and services of Smoothwall, who are the country's leading provider of monitoring and filtering of online content to school’s and Lake Haven.
Every half-term, we will visit our online safety learning using the analogy of SMART (Staying Safe, never Meet up, Applications or files not being downloaded, making sure that information is from a Reliable source, Telling someone when you feel unsafe). In addition, all of our units of work have an element of E-Safety embedded within it. Should you be concerned about any online activity that your children are taking part in whilst online, please speak with us for support.
Becoming more e-safety savvy is always beneficial by keeping up to date with technology and with the issues surrounding their use.
Remember that Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok and similar sites have a minimum age requirement of 13 years of age for those signing up for an account. They are there to help keep your children safe. With this in mind our pupils in Year 3-7 should not have an account or be using these sites.
At home, the advice is to keep your computers and mobile devices in a shared area so that you can keep in touch with what your children are doing on them and also how much time they are spending on them.
Talk to your children about what sites/games they are using so that you can keep up to speed with them and also provide them with appropriate guidance as and when they need it.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/ There is a vast array of information on thai website to support parents with keeping our children safe whilst online.
https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers contains top tips for parents to keep children safe whilst online.
Parent Info is a collaboration between CEOP and Parent Zone
Parent Zone was founded in 2005 and has a track record of providing information, support and advice to parents. In recent years, The Parent Zone's work has focused on the impact of digital technologies on families. We provide information, resources and training for parents and those who work with them.
CEOP is the child protection command of the National Crime Agency. CEOP reaches over three million children and young people a year through its 'Thinkuknow' education programme and regularly conveys its vital online safety messages to over 100,000 practitioners (such as social workers, teachers and police officers) registered to their network, who cascade these messages directly to children and young people.
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/
CEOP is the government’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, if you wish to report some inappropriate content or behaviour then click on the button and follow the directions on their pages.
A new industry backed website for parents is now available which gives you a good understanding of issues affecting children today. It is definitely worth a look:
Another website which has great "how-to" guides has been set up by Vodafone. It looks at Digital Parenting and has lots of tips on keeping our children safe using parental controls and lots of open discussion.
http://www.vodafone.com/content/parents.html
This is a website full of games, videos and other interactive content from the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/topics/stay-safe
https://www.bbc.com/ownit/curations/parents
This is a non-profit organisation working with others to “help make the Internet a great and safe place for children”.
http://www.childnet.com
http://www.digitallyconfident.org/parents
UK Safer Internet Centre: Here you can find out the latest advice on how to use the internet and new technologies safely and responsibly. Also find a range of practical resources, news and events focussing on the safe and responsible use of the Internet and new technologies.
Thinkuknow: The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre’s online safety site, where you will find advice and tips for children, adults and professionals of all ages.
Kidscape: A charity set up to deal specifically with bullying and child sexual abuse.
Bullying UK: A website aimed at providing guidance and support in regard to bullying.
Vodafone Digital Parenting: Vodafone have got together with a range of industry experts to provide you with helpful information and guidance on a range of e-safety topics.
Parent Zone: Parent Zone offer a range of guides, information, news and support for parents that focus on helping children and teenagers navigate the online world.