Overview

At Plaxtol Primary School our aim is for all children to feel safe online and have fair, equal access to, and understanding of, technology in the modern world.

We aim to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, safely and responsibly. We encourage our pupils to become independent learners who respectfully engage with our curriculum. Pupils are taught to understand there is always a choice with using technology and we recognise that the best prevention for many potential issues is through education. Technology allows pupils to share their learning in creative ways throughout the curriculum and access real-life opportunities . We encourage staff to embed e-safety across the curriculum on a termly basis. 

One of our main aims at Plaxtol to ensure that all children love learning about computing! The subject should be taught and learnt both discretely and in a cross curricular way. Computing should support many areas of the curriculum.

Subject knowledge is drawn from the national curriculum, through schemes of work, from colleagues or on occasions during staff meetings. Progression of skills documents are being used to support planning.

Technology is provided for both staff and children in various forms: computers, laptops, iPads, Beebots, interactive white boards and a vast range of software. Staff promote the safer, positive use of technology and the internet throughout the whole curriculum, not just in stand-alone lessons.

We use TEACH Computing to underpin our curriculum

Online Safety

We need to remember to stay safe online too

The internet has changed all of our lives, particularly our children’s. For parents and carers this opens up a whole new world of things to be aware of. For many of us, this can all be a bit too much.

You might be struggling to keep up with the things your child is doing online, you might wonder whether what they are doing is safe, and you might also be thinking how can I be as good a parent online as I am offline?

This part of our website aims to make online parenting simple and give you practical tips and guidance. In addition if there is something you would like advice with, please talk a member of staff who can assist you. Mrs Benwell takes overall responsibility for online safety within her role as one of our designated safeguarding leads.    

Online safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Plaxtol Primary School. We have extensive security measures in place in school, which are monitored both internally and externally, to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material. Any online safety incidents are recorded and managed in accordance with our online safety policy.

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.

Please note that no search engine is ever 100% safe but below provides some links to some “safer” search engines:

Research searching

Kids Search 

Kiddle 

Swiggle - aimed mainly at KS2 pupils

Image Searching 

Pics4Learning 

PicSearch

Websites for more Information

CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the abuse and exploitation of children in the real and ‘e’ world. Often it is referred to as an online 999. By clicking on the button, young people and parents can get advice on a range of issues such as viruses, hacking and dealing with bullying online. 

The “Thinkuknow” website is brought to you by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) centre

ChildNet offer plenty of advice on how to stay safe online.

Information, Advice and Support to Keep Children Safe Online (internetmatters.org) is a  online portal designed for parents to access simple, easy and practical advice about online safety for their children, right through from pre-school to teens. It provides tips on protecting children from online grooming, cyberbullying, privacy and identity theft and inappropriate content. Internet Matters is a not-for profit organisation set up by BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media. There are very useful step by step guides on setting parental controls on gaming platforms, APPs and devices. 

Parents & carers | Childnet this website from Childnet incudes resources and advice pages for parents and carers.

Parents and Carers Toolkit | Childnet The Childnet parent and carer toolkit includes the 'Let's talk about life online' resource sheet and a family agreement which may help manage your chidld's time on their devices. 

Common Sense Media: Age-Based Media Reviews for Families | Common Sense Media this database gives reviews of a wide range of games and APPs from parents and children so that you can research content. 

Family Gaming Database - Guides, Ratings and Suggestions - Family Gaming Database (taminggaming.com) this database chooses appropriate games for your child based on their age and gaming preferences.

Simple Rules for Keeping Your Child Safe Online

To keep your child safe they should:

• Ask permission before using the Internet
• Only use websites you have chosen together or a child friendly search engine.
• Only email people they know (why not consider setting up an address book?)
• Ask permission before opening an email sent by someone they don’t know
• Do not use Internet chat rooms
• Do not use their real name when using games on the Internet (create a nick name)
• Never give out a home address, phone or mobile number
• Never tell someone where they go to school
• Never arrange to meet someone they have ‘met’ on the Internet
• Only use a webcam with people they know
• Ask them to tell you immediately if they see anything they are unhappy with.