Online Safety at Kingsway Junior School

Keeping children safe online is a vital part of safeguarding.

At Kingsway Junior School, we are fully committed to protecting our pupils both in the physical world and online. We recognise that technology is an essential part of children's lives, offering incredible opportunities for learning, creativity and connection. However, it also presents risks that children need to understand and manage.

Our approach to online safety

We take a whole-school approach to online safety, which means:

Teaching children to stay safe online

• Online safety is woven throughout our curriculum, particularly in computing, PSHE and RSE lessons
• We teach children about the risks they may encounter online, including inappropriate content, online bullying, and contact from strangers
• We help children develop the skills and confidence to make safe choices and know where to get help

Protecting children when using school technology

• We have appropriate filtering and monitoring systems in place on all school devices and networks
• Staff supervise children when they're using technology in school
• We regularly review our systems to make sure they're effective

Supporting parents and carers

• We provide information and resources to help you keep your child safe at home (see below)
• We share updates through newsletters and parent talks about current online safety issues
• We encourage open conversations between home and school

Training our staff

• All staff receive regular training on online safety and how to respond to concerns
• Our Designated Safeguarding Lead takes responsibility for our online safety approach

Working together

Online safety is a partnership between school and home. We encourage you to:

• Talk regularly with your child about what they're doing online
• Set up parental controls on devices at home
• Know what apps, games and websites your child is using
• Be aware of age restrictions (many social media platforms have a minimum age of 13)
• Model safe and responsible use of technology yourself

Resources for parents and carers

We've gathered helpful resources to support you in keeping your child safe online:

General online safety guidance:

• UK Safer Internet Centre - Advice on online safety, privacy settings and reporting concerns
• NSPCC Online Safety - Age-appropriate guidance for parents
• Childnet - Resources on social media, gaming and apps
• Internet Matters - Guides to parental controls and device settings

Specific platforms and apps:

• Common Sense Media - Reviews and age ratings for apps, games, TV shows and films
• NSPCC Net Aware - Information about popular apps and social media platforms

Support and reporting:

• Report Harmful Content - Report harmful content online
• CEOP - Report concerning online behaviour to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command

Our online safety policy

You can read our full Online Safety Policy below, which sets out our approach in detail, including how we use filtering and monitoring systems and how we respond to online safety incidents.

Download our Online Safety Policy - Online Safety Policy '25/26

If you have a concern

Online safety concerns are safeguarding concerns. If you're worried about your child's online safety, or if your child has experienced something concerning online, please contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Jo Beale, immediately via the school office.

You can also report concerns directly to:

• CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command): www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre
• Report Harmful Content: www.reportharmfulcontent.com

Useful websites

www.saferinternet.org.uk - Here you will find e-safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe on the internet

www.childnet.com - An organisation working directly with children, parents and teachers to ensure that the issues of online child protection and the safe and positive use of the internet are addressed

www.thinkuknow.co.uk - The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) centre has set up its own website which has been designed and written specifically for children, young people, teachers, parents and carers

www.kidsmart.org.uk - Kidsmart is an award winning internet safety website for parents and those working with children.  It has been developed by the children's internet charity Childnet International and has excellent information on many of the technologies used by children, with guidance on how to 'stay safe' online

www.bullying.co.uk - One in five young people have experienced bullying by text message or via email.  This web site gives advice for children and parents on cyberbullying

www.chatdanger.com - This website is about the potential dangers with interactive services on like chat, IM, online games, email and on mobiles, it provides information, advice, true stories and games