Online Safety Information

Our pupils are growing up in a world of ever-changing technology. While we feel that the use of technology is a largely positive aspect of modern life, we cannot ignore the risks that can be associated.

Throughout school we aim to teach children:

• how and why people use the internet
• the benefits of using the internet and digital devices
• how people find things out and communicate safely with others online
• the ways in which people can access the internet e.g. phones, tablets, computers
• to recognise the purpose and value of the internet in everyday life
• to recognise that some content on the internet is factual and some is for
  entertainment e.g. news, games, videos
• that information online might not always be true
• how the internet can be used positively for leisure, for school and for work
• to recognise that images and information online can be altered or adapted and the
• reasons for why this happens
• strategies to recognise whether something they see online is true or accurate
• to evaluate whether a game is suitable to play or a website is appropriate for their age-group
• to make safe, reliable choices from search results
• how to report something seen or experienced online that concerns them e.g. images
• or content that worry them, unkind or inappropriate communication
• that everything shared online has a digital footprint
• that organisations can use personal information to encourage people to buy things
• to recognise what online adverts look like
• to compare content shared for factual purposes and for advertising
• why people might choose to buy or not buy something online e.g. from seeing an advert
• that search results are ordered based on the popularity of the website and that this
• can affect what information people access
• to identify different types of media and their different purposes e.g. to entertain,
• inform, persuade or advertise
• basic strategies to assess whether content online (e.g. research, news, reviews,
• blogs) is based on fact, opinion, or is biased
• that some media and online content promote stereotypes
• how to assess which search results are more reliable than others
• to recognise unsafe or suspicious content online
• how devices store and share information
• about the benefits of safe internet use e.g. learning, connecting and communicating
• how and why images online might be manipulated, altered, or faked
• how to recognise when images might have been altered
• why people choose to communicate through social media and some of the risks and challenges of doing so
• that social media sites have age restrictions and regulations for use
• the reasons why some media and online content is not appropriate for children
• how online content can be designed to manipulate people’s emotions and encourage them to read or share things
• about sharing things online, including rules and laws relating to this
• how to recognise what is appropriate to share online
• how to report inappropriate online content or contact