Primary Technology Ltd
Keeping children safe online is a key priority for schools. Just like Insafe, the organisers of Safer Internet Day (SID), Primary Technology and Edusite take these issues very seriously. SID takes place this year on the 10th of February and the primary focus of SID is to promote safer and more responsible use of online technologies such as laptops, tablets and smartphones amongst children and young people across the world. SID has now been in action for 11 years and each year Insafe aims to be at the forefront of emerging online issues, choosing a topic reflecting current concerns. For SID 2015 the theme is “Let’s create a better internet together”.
Over the years SID has had many achievements including in 2007, an agreement from mobile operators to safeguard children using mobile phones, in 2010 a SID quiz taking place with more than 19,000 people taking part and in 2012, over 1,500 schools registering to receive the first kit of materials available for schools to celebrate Safer Internet Day. The kit included lesson plans, educational games and much more!
It’s important to all of us that when children are online they are protected and have a good understanding of the risks of being online and how to report things they may come across. The internet is a valuable learning resource and is great for developing communication skills so need children to learn how to get the most out of the online environment in the safest way possible. We understand that teachers and parents cannot always be around to watch over children whilst they are online, so it makes sense for schools to promote SID and eSafety by using resources such as Click CEOP when issues arise.
Edusite has links to some useful websites as well as a handy eSafety resource printout to help you teach children about the issues they may face online. Issues such as what sort of websites should be blocked and why, where do you go if you have a concern about a website, why you shouldn’t share personal information online and what cyberbullying is, to name a few.
When our Edusite team create school websites and blogs they use online tools to protect children from viewing or publishing inappropriate content. The Content Management System (CMS) Edusite use allows comments to be moderated and also allows videos from YouTube or Vimeo to be embedded directly into your school website pages. These two measures are the very basic parts of Edusite that prevent pupils from making or receiving inappropriate content and there is less need to visit external websites where you can’t control the content they see.
To find out more about Safer Internet day please visit the UK Safer Internet Centre Website.
Most parents observe that their children know more about technology than they do. Due to the Internet and online technologies playing an important part in life for children, this is often the case. Whilst this provides great opportunities for learning, communicating and creating using web technologies, care must be taken to ensure children stay safe online and follow e-safety guidelines.
Safe Websites For Pupils
Primary Technology is committed to helping to provide a safe and protected online experience for your school and your pupils. We provide a selection of free websites that allow EYFS and Key Stage 1 – 2 pupils to use the internet safely.
Primaryschoolict.com is a safe search engine powered by Google
Primarygamesarena.com provides online games appropriate for EYFS and Year 1 – 6
E-safety Audit
We recognize that a large amount of online safety is based around guidance that parents, carers and schools provide. If you would like a free E-Safety audit, to help you become a beacon in promoting eSafety, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll be happen to come to your school and look at your current e-safety practices and guide you towards filling in the gaps to ensure that your pupils are well equipped for using online resources.
More Details
For more information, please see the E-Safety section of our website