Online Safety
Online Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at The Forest Federation. We have security measures in place in school, which are monitored both internally and externally, to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material. Online Safety incidents are recorded and managed. Online Safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online.
We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with parents to ensure the Online Safety message is consistent. It is important that parents speak to their children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online.
It’s essential to be realistic - banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around safe use is essential.
Consider using the 4D’s of Digital safety at home
- Digital Free Zone – making upstairs a ‘screen-free zone’ helps you to support and monitor your child’s internet usage.
- Digital Sunset – set a shut off time for all screens and stick to it
- Digital Role Models – think about the example that you set – how much time you spend on screen, how you use Social Media and how you model the 4D’s.
- Digital Detox – Can you have days without using a screen? How can you support your child with this?
Digital Resilience
Developing children’s Digital Resilience is critical in keeping them safe on line. This means teaching them how to think critically, identify ‘fake news’, know what to do if they feel uncomfortable about something they find online and to take positive decisions.
To help with further information regarding online safety, The National Online Safety website provides parent guides for many popular apps that children can access.
https://nationalonlinesafety.com/resources/platform-guides/
At the Forest Federation, we strongly believe that online safety should be discussed and taught throughout the year and not just on Safer Internet Day (February). Therefore, please see a calendar in the files at the bottom of this page which outlines some of the other ways online safety is included in our life at school.
Useful websites for parents and children