Safeguarding Information
Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means:
- Protecting children from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
- Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcome
Safeguarding includes child protection, health care plans, health and safety, site security, safety on school trips, anti-bullying work and so much more.
The school’s Child Protection Team
Mrs S Davies
Mrs C Watson
Miss C Back
Mrs E Caskey
Mrs Cooper
Deputy Headteacher
Bakhita House Manager
Francis House Manager
Kolbe House Manager
Cecilia House Manager
Lead DSL
Deputy DSL
Safeguarding Officer
Safeguarding Officer
Safeguarding Officer
The link governor responsible for safeguarding is: Mr Robert Walsh
So what is Online Safety?
- Online Safety is concerned with safeguarding children, young people and indeed adults in the digital world.
- It is about learning to understand and use new technologies and Information Communication Technology (ICT) in a positive way.
- Online Safety is not about restricting children, but educating them about the risks as well as the benefits so they can feel confident and happy online.
- It is about being educated ourselves so we are able to support and help children and young people online.
Information for Everyone
Online Safety at school: Importance of e-Safety in school and information on protecting staff.
Content Filtering
At St Edmund's the internet access that we provide is filtered and monitored by SchoolProtect to ensure the school can meet its duty of care to all students and staff by ensuring that access to inappropriate material is blocked.
Filtering is used to block a number of categories including inappropriate or illegal content, restrict security breaches and maintain sufficient bandwidth for all users. Sites are categorised by an industry-leading package with local administration to allow us to adjust filters for age-appropriate content . Staff are also subject to filtering and monitoring.
System Monitoring
We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our staff and students and therefore we monitor the activity of all accounts within our school network in order to meet our safeguarding obligations. Internally, we use SchoolProtect which provides classroom management controls as well as e-Safety monitoring and reporting.
In addition to being able to monitor activity in real-time, e-Safety reports are generated and reviewed on a regular basis with any concerns being raised with the Designated Safeguarding Officer and followed up appropriately.
Operation Encompass
St Edmund's is an Operation Encompass school. We work with the police and other organisations to help safeguard children who have experienced domestic abuse within the family setting. You can find out more about Operation Encompass here
Online Safety Information 7th January 2025
Useful Links
Parent Information
Golden Rules - Online safety information for parents and carers
Parental-Control-Snapchat
eScooters flyer
Ben Kinsella Trust A Guide to Knife Harm for Parents and Carers
External Support Available
Mental Health Resources Available in Kent and Some Additional National Services
Mental Health Resources Kent
Online Safety at Home
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying” is the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) particularly mobile phones and the internet, to deliberately upset someone.
DCFS 2007
Cyberbullying is becoming more prevalent, with the increasing use of modern technology. Mobile, internet and wireless technologies have increased the pace of communication and brought benefits to users worldwide. But their popularity provides increasing opportunity for misuse through ‘cyberbullying’, with worrying consequences. It’s crucial that children and young people, who are particularly adept at adapting to new technology, use their mobiles and the internet safely and positively – and are aware of the consequences of misuse. As technology develops, bullying techniques can evolve to exploit it. School staff, parents and young people have to be constantly vigilant and work together to prevent this and tackle it wherever it appears. Cyberbullying is a method of bullying and should be viewed and treated the same as “real world” bullying.
Current DfE Guidance on Bullying – “Preventing and Tackling Bullying: Advice for School Leaders and Governing Bodies” November 2014
Older Guidance:
Cyberbullying guidance – summary leaflet
Safe to Learn – Embedding Anti-Bullying Work in Schools – Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying – Supporting School Staff – Advice for School staff effected by bullying
Types of Cyberbullying
Research commissioned by the Anti-Bullying Alliance from Goldsmiths College, University of London, identifies seven categories of cyberbullying:
- Text message bullying involves sending unwelcome texts that are threatening or cause discomfort.
- Picture/video clip bullying via mobile phone cameras is used to make the person being bullied feel threatened or embarrassed, with images usually sent to other people. ‘Happy slapping’ involves filming and sharing physical attacks.
- Phone call bullying via mobile phone uses silent calls or abusive messages. Sometimes the bullied person’s phone is stolen and used to harass others, who then think [the phone owner is responsible. As with all mobile phone bullying, perpetrators often disguise their numbers, sometimes using someone else’s phone to avoid being identified.
- Email bullying makes use of email to send bullying or threatening messages, often with an invented pseudonym or using someone else’s name to pin the blame on them.
- Chat-room bullying involves sending menacing or upsetting responses to children or young people when they are in a web-based chat room.
- Bullying through Instant Messaging (IM) is an internet-based form of bullying where children and young people can be sent unpleasant messages as they conduct real-time conversations online.
- Bullying via websites includes the use of defamatory web logs (blogs), personal websites, social networking and online personal polling sites.
The effects Of Cyberbullying
- Cyberbullying can take place 24/7 (creating a feeling of “no escape” for the vicitim) and is not restricted by location e.g. Globally
- Electronic content is very hard to control once it has been posted and can never be guaranteed to be removed totally from circulation – this can be very upsetting to victimsas they can never be sure who has viewed images/content about them.
- Bullies can take actions to attempt to be anonymous and can feel “distanced” from the incident – They are often unaware of the laws regarding harassment and the fact online activity can be traced via “digital footprints”
- “Bystanders” can easily become perpetrators by passing on videos/images/content or by videoing incidents such as “Happy Slapping” – they then become ‘accessories’
- Cyberbullying can sometimes occur unintentionally – often due to a lack of awareness/empathy e.g. “It was only a joke”
- Cyberbullying enables harassment and upset to take place across generations – age/size is not an issue (Child to child, Child to adult, Adult to adult, Adult to child) due to technology removing some of the power and size issues thast would otherwise prevent it from occuring.
- Cyberbullying incidents can be used as evidence – e.g. text messages, messenger conversations, screen shots etc. It is important that this evidence is kept, not deleted and the victim does not reply.
What does the Law say about Cyberbullying and what should schools do?
There are a number of statutory obligations on schools with regard to behaviour which establish clear responsibilities to respond to cyberbullying. In particular section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006:
- provides that every school must have measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. These measures should be part of the school’s behaviour policy which must be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents
- gives headteachers the ability to ensure that pupils behave when they are not on school premises or under the lawful control of school staff.
Headteachers have a specific statutory power to discipline pupils for poor behaviour outside of the school premises. Section 89(5) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 gives headteachers the power to regulate pupils’ conduct when they are not on school premises and are not under the lawful control or charge of a member of school staff (this legislation does not apply to independent schools). This can relate to any bullying incidents occurring anywhere off the school premises (including online). Where bullying outside school is reported to school staff, it should be investigated and acted on. The headteacher should also consider whether it is appropriate to notify the police of the actions taken against a pupil. If the misbehaviour could be criminal or poses a serious threat to a member of the public, the police should always be informed.
Under the Children Act 1989 a bullying incident should be addressed as a child protection concern when there is ‘reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm’. Where this is the case, the school staff should report their concerns to the Education Safeguards Team. Even where safeguarding is not considered to be an issue, schools may need to draw on a range of external services to support the pupil who is experiencing bullying, or to tackle any underlying issue which has contributed to a child doing the bullying.
Although bullying in itself is not a specific criminal offence in the UK, it is important to bear in mind that some types of harassing or threatening behaviour or communications could be a criminal offence, for example under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, the Communications Act 2003, and the Public Order Act 1986. If school staff feel that an offence may have been committed they should seek assistance from the police.
Key Advice to Children and Young People on how to deal with Cyberbullying
- Always respect others – think about what you say online and what images you send/post
- Remember that anything you publish online can be made public very quickly and you will never be sure who may have seen it. Once something is posted you lose control
- Treat your password like a toothbrush – never share it with anyone and only give your personal information like mobile phone number or email address to trusted friends
- Learn how to block or report online Bullies or anyone behaving badly!
- Don’t retaliate or reply!
- Save the evidence – text messages, online conversation, pictures etc
- Always make sure you tell:
- an adult you trust or contact someone like Childline
- The service provider e.g. website, mobile phone company etc
- The school or the police
- If you see Cyberbullying going on the support the victim and REPORT the bullying – to the website or school
Key Advice for Parents/Carers on how to deal with Cyberbullying
- Your child is just as likely to be a bully as to be a target. Be alert to your child being upset after using the internet/phones – they may be secretive, change relationships with friends
- If your child is a victim of cyberbullying, remember, it’s not their fault so removing the technology could make them less likely to speak to you in the future.
- Talk to your child and understand how they are using the internet and their phone
- Use safety tools and parental controls – if your not sure how contact your service provider. Please note tools are not always 100% effective
- Remind your child not to retaliate
- Work with the school to resolve the issue if other pupils are involved
- Keep any evidence of Cyberbullying – emails, Online Conversations, texts, screen prints of sites/chat messages – try and include time/date etc
- Report the Cyberbullying:
- Contact the service provider to report the user and remove content
- Contact the school so they could take action if it involves another pupils
- If the cyberbullying is serious and a potential criminal offence has been committed then consider contacting the police.
SNAPP
Social Networking and Personal Publishing (SNAPP) – How do young people use the internet?
Social Networking, UGC, Gaming, P2P, Blogging, Chatting, IM
Social Networking and personal publishing (SNAPP) sites are websites which help connect friends and publish your own content using tools like blogs, personal profiles, email and photos. Popular sites of this type include Bebo, Myspace, Friendster, Facebook and LiveJournal which have become part of contemporary culture for children, especially teens.
Such sites enable users to publish their work, thoughts, opinions and photos. Viewers of these sites can then have the opportunity to add comments on the information posted.
Personal publishing is a very powerful medium that allows children the opportunity to quickly publish their work to a worldwide audience. Social networking sites can encourage communication between people from diverse cultures and other countries and provide the opportunity to make friends with people who share their interests.
There are however downsides to this technology, which include users publishing personal information which can make them identifiable to potential predators or criminals. With the explosion of SNAPPS it becomes important for Parents and educators to be aware of both the technology and the dangers associated with it, to ensure children are safe online.
How do you use them?
Typically users sign up and create their own profile or ‘space’ online. Often, these contain standard sections promting the user to complete them such as ‘about me’ and ‘who I’d like to meet’; they also include sections for favourite music, films, sports, ‘scared of’ and ‘happiest when’ etc.
Users can add personal details such as marital status, physical appearance and the school they attend (or used to attend). They can also have their own blog that allows them to write daily thoughts or maintain a diary of events. A major part of customising their ‘space’ can be the uploading of images or pictures. They can set a chosen image to appear automatically on their main page and to the side of their user-name on comments and messages to others.
To today’s children, who are familiar with using the Internet for social purposes, posting a personal profile and sending messages and files to friends seems natural and harmless; however, there are safety concerns. Parents and children should discuss issues of inappropriate content, publicising personal information in the public domain, and potential contacts with friends they make online.
Most SNAPP sites have minimum age restrictions which can be found under their terms and conditions. Children, educators and parents should be aware of age restrictions before becoming a member of that site. Typically, most sites have an age restriction of aged over 13 according to COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act – www.coppa.org); this is to protect children’s privacy and to protect them from unsuitable advertising methods, it is not a measure of the suitability of the site such as with video games or films.
Very few sites have verification process to ensure a user is the age or gender etc they say they are. This means that it is NOT uncommon for underage children to obtain membership despite the site’s minimum age restrictions, it is currently estimated that 43% of 8 – 12s have an online profile on a social networking service (EU Kids Online, 2011). If a child can lie about their age to set up an account, then it is essential they are aware than anyone can lie about their identity to create an account. Underage users may be more vulnerable to dangers such as Cyberbullying, grooming and Identity Theft due to lack of understanding about the potential risks when using these sites.
It is important to recognise that if we simply ban or tell children not to use SNAPP sites then we will run the risk of driving any problems or incidents such as abuse or bullying underground as children won’t feel able to raise concerns at home or at school. All adults should ensure that children understand how to behave online in all circumstance and these skills should carry over to whichever site or system they are using.
SNAPP sites often have the option to make make a users ‘space’ or ‘profile’ online Public or Private. If a profile is public it means that anyone with access to the internet will be able to view all the content (such as photos, text, personal information) and use those details to make contact, pretend to be that person etc. If a profile is made private then only users accepted onto a ‘friends’ list will be able to view content. Careful consideraton must be given when making a profile public. Once the content is posted in the public domain the user cannot be sure who has seen the content and what may happen to the information posted there. If a profile is made private the child must be aware not to accept friend requests from people tey do not know, or to remove personal information which could identify them.
Key Tips For SNAPP Sites
- Some of these sites ask the child to enter personal information in order to obtain a profile or ‘space’ – avoid these sites or leave the fields blank.
- Some SNAPPS will ask the child to register using their school name, which is then displayed at the top of their profile or space – this is misleading and parents may assume the site is regulated by the child’s school – IT IS VERY UNLIKELY THAT THE SCHOOL IS INVOLVED!
- Help the child understand that they should not publish pictures of themselves, their family or friends. If the child publishes a picture or video online – it is open for anyone to use it, change it or share it without the child’s knowledge.
- All users must understand that there are rarely any checks or verification to ensure users are who they say they are, and age, sex and interests can often be made up.
- It is important that the child does not publish personal information on their profile or ‘space’ which could identify tem in the ‘real’ world e.g. avoid real names, school, address, mobile number, friend and family names etc.
- Always encourage the child to communicate what they are doing to an adult. It is important that a child feels able to tell someone if something makes them feel uncomfortable.
- Ensure the child has protected their space with a suitable password or only accept friends who they know in reallife sso that only invited people can view content.
- Teach young people how to block unwanted contacts online and to report them if they feel uncomfortable.
Actions for Parent/carers and Educators
- Set internet use ground rules (limit time online, don’t let them use the internet to aimlessly search, supervise access etc.)
- Research SNAPPS and understand how they work
- Be aware of the sites terms and conditions as well as age restrictions.
What to say?
- Talk to the child about the dangers of these sites and how they should use them safely
- Ask them to show you how the sites work and what steps they can take to keep safe
- Show them how they leave a “digital footprint” online by searching for their name using one of the free Internet search tools. Also search for your address, phone number, school name, and the names of friends.
Other tips
- Keep the computer in a family room where possible so you can see what the child is doing when on the Internet.
- USe Parental controls/filtering to block access to inappropriate content
- Use parental controls to monitor and block access to online content accessed via mobile phones and games consoles.
- Take an interest in what the child is doing online
- Discuss the dangers associated with SNAPPS and look together at websites that show how to use these sites safely and responsibly
Dangers and Risks
Potential Dangers and Online Abuse
This can sometimes be a difficult topic to discuss, but it must be acknowledged and addressed by everyone. This page aims to provide advice about some of the risks online and dealing with incidents of Predation, Grooming and how to prevent physical danger and sexual abuse.
Some of the key risks to be aware of online
Advertising: The web is a “market”
Search engines can use a range of techniques to find relevant sites in response to requests. Key words can be purchased based on a payment to the search engine company for each click made following a search. Where no sponsored link exists, searches are displayed in order of ‘hits’ or ‘number of times requested’. This means that in order to attract viewers, site owners will use whatever means they can to increase their ‘visibility’. This can be by the use of banner adverts on other more popular sites, or linking from sympathetic sites. There are marketing packages available from all search engine companies to raise visibility; however it is cheaper to use some of the free methods described. Nothing is “free” online; sites that allow free use are paid for by the adverts hosted on them.
Pop-ups
One method of advertising that is popular is the use of the ‘pop-up’, where a visit to a site would trigger an advertisement in a new window “popping up”. This has diminished however since Internet browsers started incorporated blockers to protect users.
Cookies
Cookies are small programs that are installed on your computer when you are browsing. The aim of a Cookie is to remember you so content can be personalised for you or to get around the need to re-enter passwords. Some however install software that constantly requests a particular (sometimes unsavoury) site.
Cyber-squatting
An area of concern in education is where a child mis-types or mis-spells web addresses; this is one of the most frequently reported reasons for viewing inappropriate, offensive, or obscene content. Web-sites that are designed to intercept wrong spelling are called ‘cyber-squatters’, and can intercept mis-typed addresses and take the viewer to the wrong site, or a domain registration company. Many of these also try to install adware and other malicious software, or even present adult content.
Incitement Sites
Incitement sites are a phenomenon that exploit human weakness and typically seek to amplify behaviours such as racial hatred, homophobia, racism, self harm, suicide etc. Incitement sites can often target vulnerable young people and adults and normalise behaviour considered inappropriate or harmful such as Anorexia, Bulimia etc. These sites can be blocked using filtering however filtering is not always 100% effective and the child should be reffered to the appropriate professional to support them. Illegal content can be reported to Virtual Global Taskforce or the Internet Watch Foundation
On the 18th Feburary 2010 a 17 year old became the first to be prosecuted for posting race hate material on Youtube.
Posting too Much Personal Information
Both young people and adults are at risk of posting too much information about themselves online and not considering who might see it and what the consquences may be. Often people are uaware that once something (such as a photo, video, text etc) is posted online it is impossible to control and be 100% sure it has been removed from circulation once it has been deleted.
Grooming/Predation
Grooming (or predation) can be defined as ‘befriending a child by building a strong, trusting bond’, and is most often used to refer to an act of lowering a perceived inhibitory attitude of a child regarding sexual behaviour with an adult. Typically the grooming process can involve showing pornography or images of child abuse to the child to give the impression that sexual acts are normal, common or part of being ‘grown-up’, offering gifts or presents in exchange for sexual acts (either online or offline), acting as a ‘friend’ or concealing their true age and identity. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 s15(2) provides a clear offence, … after having met or communicated with a child on at least two earlier occasions, to meet, or travel to meet, the child with the intention of sexually abusing him or her on that occasion or later. A crime may be committed even without a meeting actually taking place and without the child even being involved in the meeting (for example, if a police officer has taken over the contact and pretends to be that child). Nurturing Internet friendships is not restricted to children, and there is frequent use of online chat, usually with the hope of real-life contact for adults. If someone wishes to meet someone they have met online the advice is to take someone with you (an adult you trust), meet in a public place, let somewhere know where you are going and let them know tat you have arrived and are home safe. If you are concerned that you know someone who is becoming, or was a victim of predation or grooming, please report this to The Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre
For Info on Cyberbullying:
Please see Cyberbullying section What should you do?
If somebody accesses inappropriate content, the best advice is to minimise the page and make a note of the URL address. This address can be reported to the School Network Manager or Schools Broadband Helpdesk for them to block the site from the school network or filtering server. The address can also be reported to the Virtual Global Taskforce or the Internet Watch Foundation if the content is offensive or illegal.
Teaching e-Safety
Internet Safety in the Curriculum
Safety Online
People online may not be who they say they are
- Keep personal information safe
- Be aware of Cyberbullying and grooming how to report issues
- Be aware that people online may not be who they say they are
- Be aware of radicalisation and exploitation
- Sexting
Internet Security
If it looks too good to be true it generally is
- Be aware of copycat sites, hoaxes, Phishing etc.
- Be aware of viruses/spam/malware and how they are spread
- Be aware of hacking
- Undertsand the importance of password safety
- Consider copyright and plagiarism issues
Digital Literacy
Who wrote this and why?
- Consider site reliability
- Consider purpose, authors, aims and intentions
- Reliability and Bias of sources
Digital literacy is the combination of skills, knowledge and understanding that young people need to learn in order to participate fully and safely in an increasingly digital world.
Becta produced a short guide which explained what digital literacy is and highlights why it should be taught in all subjects, at all levels.
The South West Grid for Learning have produced an excellent Digital Literacy scheme of work to make the development of digital literacy easier to incorporate in everyday teaching.
With the advent of the new Computing curriculum from September 2014, Childnet produced guides for schools on how to develop e-Safety Teaching: www.childnet.com/resources/esafety-and-computing
Notes to remember:
Children in a Primary/Special School setting should always be fully supervised by a responsible adult when using the Internet. Teachers should always evaluate and risk assess any websites fully before they use them with their students. Often this means checking the websites, search results etc just before the lesson. What may be considered a safe site today might not be tomorrow. Pay particular attention to image advertisements as they can change each time the web page is accessed.
For all settings, there must be procedures in place to manage incidents that may occur in the classroom such as pupils accessing (accidentally or otherwise) inappropriate material or making a disclosure about an offence to a member of staff. Procedures could include switching monitors off and reporting to an adult and the use of incident logs/report books.
Becta Signposts to e-Safety Documents
These booklets contains background information, advice and guidance for Primary and Secondary teachers relating to e-safety issues. It signposts appropriate opportunities to embed e-safety within the ICT and PSHE curriculum and free online teaching resources from a range of organisations to help support lessons. Please note the material in these documents may be out-of-date
Signposts to e-Safety: Teaching e-Safety at Key Stage One and Two
Signposts to e-Safety: Teaching e-Safety at Key Stage Three and Four
Child Exploitation and Online Protection
Think U Know
- Information about CEOP and the Think U Know website
Safer Browsing and Searching
- Making the web safer in school
Password Security
Get Help Now
Get Help Now - Concerned about a child or young person's thoughts, feelings or behaviour?
Prevent
Parent Toolkit - A straightforward guide to protecting your children from online hate, extremism, and fake news
Summer Safeguarding
office@st-edmunds.com
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