At Christ the Saviour we recognise that online safety is both a safeguarding duty and an essential part of the curriculum in preparing children to become educated citizens in a global world.
We aim for pupils to be able to use the internet responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively.
Filtering
The main filtering system in place is provided through LGFL for all devices accessing the internet via the school network. Through the use of Webscreen the school regularly update our bespoke LGFL filter settings as a result of our ongoing risk assessments and circumstances. In addition to the filtering in place for devices used at school, our chromebooks are all set to the Google Safe Search setting and additional filters are put in place through the Google Admin.
Monitoring
We have a range of monitoring strategies and systems in place including physical monitoring, internet and web access monitoring via Gsuites as well as a cloud based safeguarding and monitoring software which helps us monitor pupils’ online activity through their school accounts. This monitoring system enables us to provide early intervention for pupil safeguarding issues and helps us to support pupils to learn from their mistakes quickly and safely.
Curriculum
As a school, we aim to ensure that online safety is woven into the curriculum to promote a culture where children talk openly about what they view online.We aim to teach pupils about the educational content of online platforms as well as the potential risks that can be encountered online.
Throughout their time at Christ the Saviour children are guided to appropriate routes of online support and they are encouraged to build and develop the language to use when reporting online incidents. In KS1, pupils learn the S.A.F.E acronym (see below) and then the S.M.A.R.T acronym in KS2 when their understanding of E Safety becomes broader and they start becoming more independent in their use of technology.
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Digital Leaders
Digital leaders are children within UKS2 who have shown an interest in technology and want to take on a leadership role within the school. All pupils are invited to apply for the role by filling out an application form listing what they want to achieve by being a digital leader.
Once selected the children complete a structured training to support them to go on to educate their peers, parents and teachers about staying safe online.
After the training, children work hard to raise awareness about internet safety throughout the school. They do this by presenting assemblies, conducting surveys and giving feedback to senior staff as well as being a positive influence and ensuring they are role models in being kind, respectful, creative and responsible when using technology.
Below, you can see the assembly our Year 5 and 6 digital leaders created for pupils to support Safer Internet Day. The video encourages children to start conversations about what they do online, sharing what they enjoy about the internet as well as what frustrates or worries them. Being able to talk about our online lives is an important step to making sure we are safe online and can recognise unsafe behaviour.