Online Safety is a vital tool in today's society. At Leyland Methodist, we aim to educate our children and provide best practice for them to remain safe whilst exploring the online world. Our Online Safety curriculum is provided via Project Evolve which covers all 330 statements from UK Council for Internet Safety's (UKCIS) framework “Education for a Connected World”. This is also supported through PSHE, along with national days of recognition such as Online Safety day. 

We acknowledge the vital role that parents and carers play as first educators to our pupils, and will maintain open channels of communication regarding Online Safety. This may be through surveys, questionnaires or newsletters.  

If you have any issues or concerns, please speak a member of our Online Safety Team:

Mr A Clowes - Interim Executive Headteacher

Mrs N Rogerson - Designated Safeguard Lead (DSL) & SENDCo

Miss J Hollings - Deputy DSL

Mr B Meadows - Strategic Lead of ICT

Mrs P Rainford - IT Support

Keeping Children Safe Online

Parents are encouraged to work in partnership with the school to teach children about the importance of online safety. Children use the Internet to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It is a highly creative place and offers a wealth of opportunity. The technology that children use every day may seem daunting to parents and carers, who often worry about the risks children can face online.

Get Safe Online has produced a simple checklist parents can use to help protect children when they are online, and reduce the risks they take.

Advice if your child is under 5 years old

Access the checklist for 6 – 9 year olds here.

Talking To Your Child About Online Safety

Below are some online safety conversation starters from Childnet. They can be used to help you monitor and support your child’s online activity and safety.

• Ask your child to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
• Ask them about how they stay safe online.  What tips do they have for you?  What is okay and what is not okay to share?
• Ask your child if they know where to go for help, where to find safety advice and how to report or block the services they use.
• Encourage your child to help you.  They might be able to show you how to do something better online.

Remember to return to the questions with your child over time. Think about how you use the Internet as a family. What could you do together to get more from the time you spend online?

Online Safety Resources For Parents/Carers

These sites offer good and easily accessible online safety support and guidance for parents/carers. They will help you and your child to benefit from connected technology and the internet, safely and smartly.

• Thinkyouknow – advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online
• Internet Matters – practical tips to help children use the Internet safely
• Parent Info – help and advice for families in a digital world
• LGfL – support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
• Net Aware – advice for parents and carers from the NSPCC
• Let’s Talk About It – support for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation
• UK Safer Internet Centre – tips, advice and guidance

This is a great article to help parents/carers support children to stay safe during online video meet-ups.

https://parentinfo.org/article/video-chatting-a-guide-for-parents-and-carers-of-primary-school-age-children

There is also Government guidance for virtual video conferencing for children of primary school age:  https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/files/vtc_infographic.pdf

These activities are for three different age groups. They are good for thinking about online safety at home. There are videos, questions and short activities to complete.

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/support-tools/home-activity-worksheets

If you need help working our what games, books and films are suitable for your child then ‘Taming gaming’ and ‘Common sense’ media are two excellent sites. Click on the images to go to the websites.

Taming Gaming says “Every game is presented for parents and carers to understand, to empower informed choice through understanding.”

Common Sense Media says “Every day, millions of parents and educators trust Common Sense reviews and advice to help them navigate the digital world with their kids.”