The safety and wellbeing of our students, here at Kingshill Infant School is of paramount importance, both in terms of the physical world but of equal importance is that of the online world. If we are to “prepare children for a life full of learning” , all of our children and young people need to be made aware of the benefits and dangers of an online presence. Similarly educating children with the skills needed for basic safety for life (road safety, safety in the home, relationships with strangers), keeping yourself safe online is equally a skill for life. 

If your child understands the risks and can make sensible and informed choices online, they can get the most from the internet and stay safe whilst doing so – particularly from those people who might try to exploit them.

At Kingshill Infant School, we set most of our homework through online applications. We expect our children to be able to access these applications, complete their work and then have fun on the application. To be able to do this safely, we educate our students and parents about the risks involved with the internet.

The latest Online safety newsletter from Hertfordshire Grid for Learning can be found on their website.

How does the school educate students about online safety?

Kinghill Infant School continues to develop a curriculum which addresses e-safety, with age appropriate examples, so that our youngest children through to our oldest understand the context they may find themselves in. 

Our taught curriculum covers issues such as online safety, trustworthiness of websites, positive relationships and digital footprint.

This is delivered via:

• Computing lessons
• PSHE lessons
• UK Safer Internet Day assemblies and theme week in February of each year
• Support from class teachers and our Computing lead.

How can you protect your child online?

Simply put, if you understand the internet and understand what the risks are, there are a number of things you can do that will make your child safer online. Below you will find a list of some websites you can visit to find out more.

We encourage parents to maintain active discussions with their children around eSafety, put filtering in place at home and to impose sensible time limits on the use of devices at home. In school, we have a very clear internet safety policy and each year all students are educated how to stay safe online.

For those parents who are concerned about their children’s safety or the internet, the following sites provide useful advice:

• www.thinkuknow.co.uk – a site run by CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre) with up to date information for children of different ages and parents.
• http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology – A guide to answer questions and introduce some of the most popular communication devices, highlighting the safety tools available and empowering parents with the knowledge they need to support their children to use these technologies safely and responsibly.
• http://www.swgfl.org.uk/safe – provides online safety advice for parents, children and schools.
• http://www.chatdanger.com – offers information related to potential danger using chat related services both on computers and mobile phones.

If you have any questions about online safety, please contact our school office.

If you are concerned that a child may be being exploited online, please contact the school and ask to speak to a Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Useful Weblinks