Keeping your child safe online

Staying Safe Online

At Spring Meadow we want to equip our children with the skills to keep themselves safe when online.  We do this through the curriculum, assemblies, child led discussions and by sharing high quality texts which address a range of E Safety issues.  

This work will be enhanced and embedded if parents work with us to reinforce the messages and model the behaviours addressed in school.  

The LGfL has produced a suite of resources to support parents which can be found here LGfL Parentsafe

The Children's Commissioner has developed a digital 5 a day guide, which provides a simple framework that reflects the concerns of parents/ carers as well as children’s behaviours and needs. It can also act as a base for family agreements about internet and digital device use throughout both the holidays and term time.

Keeping Safe on Social Media 

Whilst many social media platforms have a minimum age of 13 (note that WhatsApp is 16+),  the school regularly deals with issues arising on social media involving pupils who are accessing these sites.  We ask parents to respect age ratings on social media platforms wherever possible and not encourage or condone underage use. It is worth noting that Online Harms regulation is likely to require more stringent age verification measures over the coming years.

However, the school has to strike a difficult balance of not encouraging underage use at the same time as needing to acknowledge reality in order to best help our pupils to avoid or cope with issues if they arise. Online safety lessons will look at social media and other online behaviour, how to be a good friend online and how to report bullying, misuse, intimidation or abuse. However, children will often learn most from the models of behaviour they see and experience, which will often be from adults.

The LGfL has produced a really helpful leaflet to help parents support their children to remain safe online  Top Tips for Parents