Online Safety

How do we educate students in online safety?

Our curriculum thoroughly covers online safety and this is completed through both computing and life chances lessons in school.

In addition to this we cover online safety in school assemblies and use external speakers from the Greater Manchester Police and other relevant agencies to support us in doing so.

Where we identify a need, we will also support students with 1-1 tuition in online safety and our safeguarding team is always on hand to offer immediate support to a student.

What can I do to help my child?

1. Set a screen time plan that balances time with and without devices. It’s important that children are still encouraged to do activities that aren’t just on a screen. Everyone will be different, but set a clear plan on getting a balance that works.
2. Stick to an electronic night-time. You can lock devices to go off at a certain time or set the wi-fi to turn off for certain users at a specific time. The temptation to game or stay on social media into the small hours can be too much for some.
3. Have an open phone policy. Physically look through your child’s phone and openly discuss things that concern you when you see them.
4. Monitor your child’s devices electronically. There are many ways to track your child’s usage through apps and different software. These will deter your child from accessing inappropriate content and let you know if they do.
5. Check their settings. As well as monitoring, you can use devices settings to make sure that they cannot access inappropriate content to begin with.
6. Make sure your child knows they can come to you about their experiences online. Everyone will make mistakes. Being confident to discuss something early might prevent it escalating into something more serious
7. Watch for signs of problematic media use. In teenagers, this could include withdrawing from friendships and hobbies. Suddenly trying to hide content on devices or changing passwords, regularly deleting history or searches, and having additional devices you didn’t know about are all concerns. Any unexplained changes in behaviour could indicate a problem in either the real world or online world.
8. Respond calmly if something happens. There are different tools and organisations that can help. Our safeguarding team will help too. Responding calmly is important so we can get the full facts and ensure that children are always confident to come to us before things get worse.