Online Safety
Communication technology is moving so fast, it is sometimes challenging for all of us to keep up and ensure our young people are safe and using the internet in a postive way. Social Media in particular has created and then colonised new markets so quickly, that our culture struggles to catch up with the impact on our daily interactions.
At Toynbee we think it is very important to educate our pupils in good netiquette practice and give advice on how to keep themselves safe online. We deliver specific lessons in ICT classes on this topic in Years 7 & 8 and use assemblies and PDL days to give advice to all year groups. In fact, we recognise that this is so important, with regard to child protection, that it is now a key priority in our School Improvement Plan. If there is a need, we will call a special assembly to meet with our pupils and explain a latest trend or concern, in order to give them advice & raise awareness.
Parents may find useful guidance in the websites and documents below.
Childline
CEOP
Internet Matters
You think you know (age 11 - 13 )
You think you know (age 14+)
Mcgruff - the Crime Dog
Digizen
Childnet
Kidsmart
Snapchat checklist
Twitter checklist
Facebook checklist
Instagram checklist
Toynbee's Acceptable Use Policy for Pupils & Parents
Acceptable Use Policy for Pupils
Acceptable Use Policy for Parents
Any infringement of the school policy can mean a pupil’s access to ICT facilities will be restricted or withdrawn. The school will exclude pupils for serious abuse of the policy.
We have a generation of children who increasingly identify their self-image with their on-line presence; their avatars, their usernames, the groups they join, the content they generate. For someone to have that element of their identity attacked is to feel a form of being haunted. Cyberbullying can take many forms and it is important for parents to monitor their child’s use of social network sites in the home. At school, all social network sites are blocked so pupils cannot use them, but occasionally the problems of poor netiquette are brought into school. In this case we inform parents and encourage them to work with their child to block particular 'friends’ then save and report any abusive messages to the police. Use the CEOP website and icon to report specific issues, on the front page of our website & below.
