How to implement e-safety in your school

How to implement e-safety in schools

As an SBM, it is vital to ensure that students are protected against all types of risks. Children heavily rely on the internet and social media due to the rise of technology over the years. However, students may not be aware of the many risks involved with using the internet.

It is vital to help children learn online risks and create a support system to resolve any issues. To guide you on how to implement e-safety in school, we have sourced ways to protect students online and support them if they experience any harm.

What needs to be considered?

Fake websites & scams

Fraudulent websites, links and phishing scams are created by hackers to gain access to your information and money. These websites and scams are very advanced and can be convincing especially to children.

Consider what students may need to access while learning, especially independently. Offer them education on spotting these scams and fake websites. Ensure that staff have the correct information to show students how to tell a website is trusted when researching. Make sure they are aware of inputting data if needed and what steps can be taken if they encounter a scam.

Password safety

Sometimes in learning, accounts need to be made. It is useful to provide information about password safety across the whole school. Even if this isn’t needed during school hours, children should know how to create strong passwords and manage them from a young age. This aids them in the future and in everyday life as they will manage accounts such as banking and email.

Students must learn the importance of strong and secure passwords and why they need to be kept private. They should also be taught what to do to protect accounts if a password is compromised.

Inappropriate materials

Consider the likelihood of students accessing inappropriate materials via the internet. Think about what could happen if they come across material they shouldn’t and ways you can help to stop this. It is less likely to occur in your school; however, it is still vital for staff to talk through the dangers of these materials. This is because they could access these outside of school.

Educate students on why age limits are set for particular materials and outline why they are inappropriate. Ensure to review the content filter you currently have in place on the school network to keep children safe.

Cyberbullying

A huge risk for children online is experiencing cyberbullying. Mean comments can easily be shared that are hurtful and can distress children. It can be hard for students to cope with cyberbullying, so it is vital to think about this risk.

To aid students with limiting this risk, put in a zero-tolerance policy and spread this information across the school. Ensure that students understand this policy by showing through assemblies and during their classes examples of cyberbullying and why they are bad. These examples can be threatening messages, impersonation and posting pictures without consent.

Ensure staff are equipped with the knowledge on how to prevent cyberbullying and can pass this advice on to their students. Allow children who are affected by this to talk openly in a safe environment with a member of staff. Teach every child how to report comments and posts on social media and how to block people who show this behaviour. Make sure to provide students affected with counselling too so that they can get the help they may need to get back on track.

What can be done?

Educate students about risks

Educate students about the above risks in a considerate and safe way so that they can understand the importance of e-safety. Children should feel like they are in a safe and accepting environment to feel comfortable bringing forward any issues. You can do this through various planned assemblies on the risks of the internet and meet with teachers to ensure that they plan materials and lessons covering this.

Hold Q&As involving their experiences

Set up Q&As with available staff where children can talk among a safe group about their experiences. This can make students feel less alone with their online experiences as they can discover others at similar ages have been through the same. They can talk about what they have seen online or if they have seen negative comments about themselves or others.

During these sessions, staff can encourage students to explore their feelings about the experiences too. Make sure that children aren’t pressured and can add to the group as much as they like. Set up one-to-ones too for children who don’t want to share in a group setting.

Look at your school network & amend if needed

It is important to check your school's network and how much access users can have on it. This network should always be revisited and amended if needed. Safety features such as firewalls should also be implemented and updated. Look into pricing from reputable online safety companies to gain the best deal to protect the whole school. Doing this should prevent any access to inappropriate materials and scrolling on social media to minimise the risks.

Make an online safety policy

Create your school’s online safety policy or update your existing one. This policy should set out how to safeguard and respond to online safety incidents. It needs to be written in simple terms so that staff can understand and abide by the policy. It is also important to share an overview of the policy with students so that they can understand what they can do when encountering issues. The policy can also help them to know how they should behave online.

Offer staff professional development & training

Offer your staff training and professional development in e-safety to get them on board and ensure the correct messages are spread. Explain the importance of being safe online to your staff and set training tasks around their own use and experiences online. This training can then move onto scenarios staff can encounter from students so that they know what steps to take to resolve issues.

All training provided should be up to date and accessible so that staff are knowledgeable in e-safety no matter their level of awareness. You could also discuss the school e-safety policy to ensure that staff are aware and understand so they can abide by it. During this discussion, you could also talk through having an interest in students' online habits outside of school to keep them protected.

Spread the message to parents

To aid students in being protected from online risks, it is vital to communicate your school's policy and online safety messages to parents. Doing this ensures that children receive a consistent message about online safety. Parents can give advice based on what you are doing in the school. Send letters, emails and notifications on the school website or on your school messaging apps. This makes sure that parents receive updated information about e-safety.

E-safety in school is essential, use these tips to make sure that students are safe during and outside of school. Ensure that proper procedures are in place and staff can access online safety knowledge to communicate the correct information to students. Loop in parents so that the same messages are reinforced at home too. Provide a safe and welcoming environment for children to discuss their issues and feelings about e-safety.

To provide more mental health support for students, read our ways to tackle mental health in the school blog.