Shaftesbury Junior School
We care, we share, for the future we prepare
ESafety
E-safety
Children today are firmly part of the digital age and we want our children to be able to benefit from all the wonderful learning and opportunities that this creates. However, there are also risks involved in any online activity and it is important that our children have a clear understanding of e-safety rules and expectations.
There are 3 main areas for children to be aware of:
- Content- illegal, inappropriate or harmful material (seeing things that are not nice)
- Contact- harmful online interactions (strangers who may wish us harm)
- Conduct- personal online behaviour which can cause harm (typing or posting things that are not nice)
Not everything we see online is true or acceptable and sometimes people are not who they say they are or are not sharing real information. Some key questions to ask are:
- Is this content/ website/ link/ email fake?
- What information am I sharing and with whom?
- Is this person who they say they are?
- What is the reason behind this post/ comment?
- Is this fact or opinion?
- Why am I being sent this?
- Should I share this?
We encourage our children to consider our Shaftesbury character values at all times in their online activity and to report any inappropriate or harmful content. This includes use of social media such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Tik Tok etc.
Below are some links that children or parents may find useful.
Gaming
A Guide to Online Safety and Gaming As a new generation of young people arrive onto using multiplayer games and the internet in general this new year, it is more important than ever to make your pupils aware of how to stay safe online. The SWGfL has published a pamphlet on how to best keep safe whilst using online software and games. With advice on reporting and blocking, online socialization and the considerations on online gaming, the pamphlet can be a useful resource for any teaching staff, giving lessons on the topic. You can find a link to their website here: Online Gaming.
The pamphlet is available below.
Continuing with the gaming theme, there are two informative videos that parents may find useful on Fortnite Battle Royale and using a virtual reality (VR) headset. These can be found below:
Fake news
What should I do if I receive messages that I don't like?
WhatsApp is now one of the world's most common ways of keeping in touch with others. As of May 2018, WhatsApp's minimum age of use is 16 years old if you live in the European Union, or a country that has adopted the GDPR, as the UK has. It was previously 13 years old. Whilst none of our pupils should be using WhatsApp, we feel it is important for our children to understand the importance of staying safe and the steps they can take if they see something that they don't like. This is why the Report option was introduced.
How to report issues to WhatsApp
Users can send reports to WhatsApp by contacting them via the app.
On Android: Tap More options > Settings > Help > Contact us.
On iPhone: Tap Settings > Help > Contact Us.
On Windows Phone: Tap the Menu > Settings > About > Support.
Remember, users who feel they or someone else is in danger should contact the police.
Users should where possible take a screenshot of the content and share it, along with any available contact info, with the appropriate authorities.
How to stay safe on WhatsApp
WhatsApp have created some basic controls to help users protect themselves online.
Control who sees information:
Users can set their last seen, profile photo and/or status to multiple options.
Everyone – Last seen, profile photo and/or status will be available to all WhatsApp users.
My Contacts – Last seen, profile photo and/or status will be available to contacts from address book only.
Nobody – Last seen, profile photo and/or status unavailable to everyone.
If Read Receipts is deactivated, users can no longer send read receipts or see other users’ read receipts.
Remember – Read Receipts are always sent for group chats, even if the option is deactivated in privacy settings.
Control what is seen and who is interacted with:
Users can stop receiving messages, calls and status updates from certain contacts by blocking them.
Control what is shared:
Users can also decide what to share with their contacts on WhatsApp.
Remember: “Ask yourself: would you want others to see what you’ve sent?”