Online Safety
If you are worried about online abuse or the way someone is communicating online, you can contact CEOP’s Child Protection Advisors directly by clicking the link below. You can also report harmful content, including directly to specific platforms, through the Report Harmful Content button.
Online Safety at Pevensey and Westham
If you have an Online Safety concern, please contact Mrs Kerr (our Designated Safeguarding Lead) via the school office.
At Pevensey and Westham we welcome and encourage the use of new technologies. We use them, when appropriate, to support children in enhancing their work. We recognise our responsibility to take all reasonable measures to minimise the risks of harm to children’s welfare. If there are concerns about young people’s welfare, we take appropriate action.
Our Computing and RSHE Life Skills lessons support our teaching of online safety. We teach all year groups, in an age appropriate way, the knowledge and skills they require to stay safe online.
The School Council have developed Online Safety Agreements which are shared and adopted by the children in class:
EY and KS1 Online Safety Agreement Key Stage 2 Online Safety Agreement
Children at PaWS learn to keep themselves safe online by considering online risks related to:
- Content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful content.
- Contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users.
- Conduct: personal online behaviour which woul;d impact on their digital footprint and that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm.
- Commerce/contract: risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and or financial scam
Think You Know
This website has some useful games and videos for children to explore as part of online safety awareness.
Age 4-7: CEOP - Welcome
Age 8-10: CEOP - Band Runner
Smartphones and Social Media
Following engagement with families, PAWS is a Smartphone free school for pupils. Where parents feel their child needs a phone for communicating on the way home from school, children will have permission to bring in a simpler phone without access to the internet or online APPs. This will be locked away during the school day.
As a school, we strongly encourage parents not to allow their primary aged children access to social media accounts - most of which have a 13+ or 16+ age restriction. To create an account children will need to have given false information about their age. Many of these sites leave children potentially exposed to concerning and highly inappropriate content as well as to being contacted by strangers who may not have your child’s best interests at heart.
Children make mistakes which is perfectly normal. Mistakes made online can have a long term impact, including on a child’s reputation and digital footprint.
Parental Support
The internet is a valuable resource which allows children to connect, communicate and be creative. However, the internet is always changing.
Therefore, being able to keep up to date with your children’s use of technology can be a challenge. Many parents feel that their child has better technical skills than they do. Children still need advice and protection when it comes to managing their lives online.
Below are some resources to support with talking about online safety at home:
Setting up parental controls
NSPCC
Internet Matters
Childnet
The following links offer further guidance on specific websites, APPS, platforms and games:
-
AI Virtual Friends
download_for_offline
download_for_offlineAI Virtual Friends
- Apex Legends download_for_offline
download_for_offlineApex Legends
- Autism and Online Safety download_for_offline
download_for_offlineAutism and Online Safety
- Fortnite download_for_offline
download_for_offlineFortnite
- Group Chat download_for_offline
download_for_offlineGroup Chat
- Inappropriate Content download_for_offline
download_for_offlineInappropriate Content
- Instagram download_for_offline
download_for_offlineInstagram
- Kik download_for_offline
- LiveME download_for_offline
download_for_offlineLiveME
- Mylol download_for_offline
download_for_offlineMylol
- New Devices download_for_offline
download_for_offlineNew Devices
- Omegle download_for_offline
download_for_offlineOmegle
- Online Content - Top 10 Tips for Parents download_for_offline
download_for_offlineOnline Content - Top 10 Tips for Parents
- Pokemon Go download_for_offline
download_for_offlinePokemon Go
- ROBLOX download_for_offline
download_for_offlineROBLOX
- Sadfishing download_for_offline
download_for_offlineSadfishing
- Smart Phone Safety Tips download_for_offline
download_for_offlineSmart Phone Safety Tips
- Snapchat download_for_offline
- Apex Legends download_for_offline