10 Whole-school e-safety

Teachers

Embedded in every teacher’s terms and conditions is the duty to care which requires teachers to take steps to ensure that the children in their care are safe and secure. This applies as much to e-safety as it does to, for example, a school trip (real world vs. virtual world). However, e-safety is not just the remit of the ICT teacher/coordinator/head of department but also every teacher whenever and wherever they make use of ICT with pupils.

The professional standards (C37) for Teachers also include the duty of all teachers to ensure the safety of children:

[Teachers must]

• i.Establish a purposeful and safe learning environment which complies with current legal requirements, national policies and guidance on the safeguarding and well-being of children and young people so that learners feel secure and sufficiently confident to make an active contribution to learning and to the school.
• ii.Make use of the local arrangements concerning the safeguarding of children and young people.

To achieve QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) a teacher should:

• Q21(a) Be aware of the current legal requirements, national policies and guidance on the safeguarding and promotion of the well-being of children and young people.

School managers and governors

Every school is strongly encouraged to have an internet use policy which should be agreed by the governing body and then signed by every parent/carer of children in the school. Ideally it should also be signed by the pupils. This applies to both primary and secondary schools. At the same time schools should adopt an e-safety policy which clearly sets out the rules for use of digital communication in the school and what action will be taken against both pupils and staff that break the rules.

Schools should also have nominated staff with responsibility for child protection issues and this role should extend to issues raised surrounding e-safety (e.g. cyberbullying, grooming, etc.)

In a high-profile case, a girl met a man she had made contact with over the internet and then left the country with him. Fellow pupils at the school claimed that they did not receive enough information from school regarding e-safety nor were they aware of what their schools e-safety ‘rules’ were.

Parents

As with every area of education it is a partnership between the school, the pupil and the parents (carers). This is particularly true when it comes to safeguarding children and the issues of e-safety. Whilst the school may do all it can to ensure pupils use digital communication technology safely in school, they are increasingly encouraging pupils to use the computer at home, for research or to access their VLE (virtual learning environment). It is crucial therefore to ensure that parents are aware of the issues of e-safety.

Both Childnet and CEOP have produced some good presentations that can be used with parents:

• CEOP information for parents
• http://www.thinkuknow.org/ parents [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , this includes a downloadable guidance sheet that could perhaps be distributed by the school.
• CEOP presentation for teachers to use with parents
• http://www.thinkuknow.org/ teachers/ resources.aspx?tabID=3, this could be used as part of a parents evening or an e-safety awareness day. Please note that you will have to register with CEOP first to be able to download the presentation.
• Childnet
• http://www.childnet-int.org/ safety/ parents.aspx, This part of the site is dedicated to parents and includes the option to order a copy of KnowITAll for parents, which is a free CD that could also be obtained and distributed by the school to all parents.

Whole school

E-safety is indeed a whole-school issue and the leadership team should ensure that provision for e-safety delivery through the curriculum is apparent. In addition to this, e-safety provision including AUPs, staff training and review should be apparent on a continual and timely basis. A key reference point in relation to assessing where the school is in relation to e-safety provision is the Self-Review Framework for Leadership and Management, https://selfreview.becta.org.uk/ try_it_out,

Lastly, the publication, Safeguarding children online: How e-safe are your school and your learners?, http://teachfind.com/ becta/ about-becta-publications-safeguarding-children-online-how-e-safe-are-your-school-and-your-lear?quicktabs_1=0#quicktabs-1 encompasses the implementation of e-safety and draws e-safety awareness from the key school stakeholders including the school itself, the learners, the staff, the parents and the governors: