Online Safety

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What is Online Safety?

Online Safety is being aware of the nature of the possible threats that you could encounter whilst engaging in activity through the Internet. These threats are grouped into 4 key categories (KCSIE 2021):

Content

‘Content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful content, for example: pornography, fake news, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, anti-Semitism, radicalisation and extremism’ (KCSIE 2021).

Contact

‘Contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users; for example: peer to peer pressure, commercial advertising and adults posing as children or young adults with the intention to groom or exploit them for sexual, criminal, financial or other purposes’ (KCSIE 2021).

Conduct

‘Conduct: personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm; for example, making, sending and receiving explicit images (e.g consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nudes and/or pornography, sharing other explicit images and online bullying’ (KCSIE 2021).

Commerce

‘Commerce – risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and or financial scams’ (KCSIE 2021).

Smoothwall Monitoring

As you are aware, the Hundred of Hoo Academy is committed to ensuring that our pupils have access to digital technology through our chromebook scheme, and our teaching staff are dedicated to using the latest digital technologies to enhance learning in the classroom. We are aware that ensuring pupils are digitally minded and fluent will have a positive impact on their education and futures but equally we make sure that as members of the community we educate our children on how to use digital technology safely and appropriately both at school and whilst at home.

The Academy is working in partnership with Smoothwall to ensure that all school accounts and devices whether inside or outside of school are appropriately monitored. Smoothwall is a real-time, digital monitoring solution that flags incidents as they happen.Monitoring both keystrokes and screen views, safeguarding staff are informed, through a variety of means, when users try to view or type any content that could be harmful.

All pupils sign an Acceptable Use Policy and as you are aware when you receive your child’s loan device, parents sign a loan agreement.

CEOP – Child Exploitation and Online Protection

CEOP helps any child or young person under the age of 18 who is being pressured, forced or tricked into taking part in sexual activity of any kind. This can be something that has taken place either online or in ‘the real world’, or both. The CEOP Safety Centre has clear information and advice on what can be reported to CEOP, the reporting process and what will happen if you do decide to make a report. You can visit the CEOP Safety Centre and make a report directly to CEOP by clicking the Click CEOP button.

If you are experiencing online bullying or something else online has worried you, please speak to an adult you trust, or you can talk to Childline at any time on 0800 1111 or visit their website.

National Online Safety

As an academy we are wholeheartedly invested in keeping our children safe online and ways in which to do this are frequently taught across all aspects of our curriculum, particularly in the computing and SMSCD schemes of learning.

Staff, students and parents also have access to the National Online Safety platform and are able to use the wealth of resources, training and information available to help keep each other safe online. There are parent guides on how to safely monitor and use multiple apps on children’s devices which are updated and added to weekly.

Please click on the image below to view as a PDF document.