As a proud holder of the top award for the 360 Online Safety Curriculum Accreditation, our Safer Internet Day (7 February) celebrations are a big deal in our curriculum and for our school. In a globally connected world the ability to keep oneself safe and happy online is a crucial skill for both professional and personal life.
Our Focus Week saw a series of events and promotional campaigns to raise awareness of personal safety, reflections on how to make the online world safer, warnings on common online mistakes, and a high profile of the responsibilities we all have whether we be on our phone, our tablet, our laptop, our PS2, or any other online mechanism.
The assembly saw presentations flagging up open access of some student accounts – and though their faces were blanked out to avoid embarrassment – those students who are not using their privacy settings now know exactly who they are.
There was also a promotional video that was produced and shared with the Safer Internet Centre. It can be viewed here by looking for our school’s entry which is centre page.
There were also drop-down PHSE sessions which includes online safety, as well as wider relationship issues which students have to negotiate in everyday life.
Elsewhere, there were tutor time activities, lunch-time competitions, publicity campaigns and more besides.
Steve Neale, Deputy Safeguarding Lead and Online Safety Lead, said: “A key aspect of safeguarding is securing well-being online and so our work on online safety is a high priority in out curriculum. Our Safer Internet Day Focus Week is always a fantastic event, but our daily filtering, and monitoring, our dedicated teaching time to online safety, our parent updates, and out sue of social media to push the message of being aware and responsible online are all part of our on-going commitment.”
Stacey Walsh, Safeguarding Lead, added: “It is easy for any parent to recognise that they need to know where their child is and what they are up to if they go outside with their friends. Even so, this focus is just as important that parents know what they are up in their bedroom on their mobile phone as the reach and contacts there go far beyond Lichfield, Staffordshire and even the UK. Children equally need educating on personal safety on the streets of their city, but also the internet pathways on social media and the online world.”
