Online Safety
The online world is a wonderful resource providing a huge amount of information and many learning activities. However, it has a darker side, with some information not appropriate to learners and users vulnerable to exploitation. Students and parents should be aware of the potential dangers and take measures to ensure safe usage by all. The information in this section is provided to help you think about how to ensure that all students access the internet safely and responsibly.
A number of organisations are working to make the internet a safe place for the benefit of all users.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is a law enforcement agency that aims to tackle child sex abuse wherever and whenever it happens. Part of its strategy for achieving this is to give e-safety advice for parents and carers, training for educators and child protection professionals, and a ‘report abuse’ button for reporting abuse online. Services include:
Thinkuknow – online safety for young people and their parents
The CEOP Thinkuknow website has a range of information on online safety for young people, with key topics including mobiles, gaming, social networking, chatting, podcasts, blogs, and peer-to-peer technologies. The content of the site is based on three key messages:
- How to have fun online
- How to stay in control online
- How to report a problem online.
A section of the website specifically for parents and carers aims to help them understand more about what their child may be doing online. The site also has a prominent link to the CEOP service for reporting suspicious behaviour online with or towards a child.
All students and parents are required to read and agree by signing the ICT Acceptable Use Policy
