E-Safety Awareness
The benefits of modern technologies are very powerful in education, especially as a vast store of resources and information can be made available so readily.
At the same time we have become increasingly aware of the potential dangers and threats, therefore E-Safety remains a key priority for the safeguarding of our students.
We would like to introduce you to our schools Digital Learning Lead;
Mr M Mervana “As Digital Learning Lead, I am dedicated to ensuring the safety of all students and staff, always be aware and alert!”
As Parents/Carers we need to be vigilant about what our young people are doing and who they are talking to when they use the Internet. Our key message to you is to be involved and aware of the risks.
Part of our strategy is to educate your children through assemblies, PSHE lessons, alongside the opportunities when ICT is used in lessons, all combined with robust network filtering and monitoring of school systems. Further to this all students are expected to sign a new ICT Agreed User Policy, please click here for the Policy. All staff are also expected to sign a similar user policy, whilst our own E-safety training is ongoing.
So what are the dangers? The 4 C's
CONTACT - from someone online who may wish to harm them. Children must re-learn the "stranger = danger" rule in a new context and never give out personal details or meet alone with anyone they've contacted via the Internet.
CONTENT - keep an eye on the material your children are looking at and agree the ground rules about where your children go and how they behave.
COMMERCE - risk from things like advertising which invades your child's privacy, online gambling, phishing, or financial scams. Encourage your children not to fill out forms which ask for lots of personal details.
CONDUCT - conduct means the way people behave online, such as online bullying or the sharing of pictures without consent.
What is filtering software?
Filtering software can help to block a lot of inappropriate material but they are not 100% effective and are no substitute for good parental involvement. Internet use at school is filtered, supervised and safe. But many children use the Net at friend's homes, Internet cafes, libraries where there may be no filters and little supervision. It's therefore important to help educate your children about how to behave online and discuss problems which they may have. It helps to keep the computer in a family room - not tucked away in a bedroom.
What about mobile phones?
The issues about being careful online apply equally to mobile telephones. The current generation of mobiles and handheld devices have more and more Internet facilities on them. It is very important to encourage your children not to give out their mobile numbers to strangers or people they cannot trust completely. Talk about the sort of text messages your children are receiving and sending.
Stick to the positive
Encourage your children to stick to the fun and positive sites on the Net that reinforce their interests. Just as you look out for good TV programmes for children take the time to find the best and most useful websites for you and your family.
Communicating your issues
If you start by telling your child never to do something most children will ask "why not?" and then try to find out! Discussing the potential dangers with your children therefore needs care and sensitivity and involves helping them to see for themselves how they might get into difficulty. Most children will respond more positively if you encourage them to be SMART or "Cool" on the Internet rather than giving them a list of "Dos and don'ts"! Lots of information can be found in our Student Well-being Bulletins.
E-Safety awareness for parents
We would encourage all parents / carers to stay up to date with how their children are using technology, smart phones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs.
At Claremont we have invested in some amazing resources to keep you up to date on the threats online:
https://nationalcollege.com/enrol/claremont-high-school
This link allows you to sign up to the National College website, where there are countless resources for you to increase and/or maintain your awareness of online threats.
A good source of information is to be found here:
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/
The video alongside the various links provide a wealth of information but it is time well invested for us all to keep up to date on this important topic.
A further link for up to date information and advice is:
http://www.childnet.com/resources/know-it-all-for-parents
This site also has information available in a range of languages.