E-safety


What is e-safety?

E-safety, in short, means being safe on the internet. The rise of the internet, social media and technologies such as smartphones and IoT devices, has created a danger for everyone using the web, but in particular young people. Part of the issue is that there is no official definition of online danger because it's evolving all the time. That said, there are measures children can use to protect themselves from potential dangers such as bullying, inappropriate behaviour or exploitation.

There are three key areas of risk when it comes to e-safety. Content, contact and conduct.

The first one, content, is about illegal, inappropriate and harmful content, such as images, text, video or sound.

Contact is concerned with who the children are interacting with online and directly leads into conduct. That is focused on how they are being contacted and what is being exchanged. What is this unknown person's behaviour? Is there a danger of things like grooming, bullying?

A lot of a child's internet time will be conducted within a school environment and it's a key place where e-safety will be implemented. The NSPCC has a number of guidelines for schools and educators to follow when protecting pupils online.

"A whole school approach to e-safety can help involve staff, governors, parents and pupils themselves in keeping children and young people safe online," it says.

Below are useful links providing further information on e-safety:-

Parental advice & resources for pupils 11-13

Parental advice & resources for pupil 14+

"These guides can be used to find out more about the safety features available on some of the most popular social media websites and apps. See the collection of guides here:

Social media guides

These checklists provide advice and guidance on how to set privacy settings and other account settings on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. View all of the checklists here:

Social Media checklists

This cyberbullying guide provides parents and teachers with valuable tips for keeping our kids safe online:

A Comprehensive Cyberbullying Guide for Parents