Online safety advice

When our children are young, we do our best to help them to get the most out of the internet, while protecting them from the online world's risks and downsides. But as children mature into teenagers, our role shifts to helping them learn to make their own safe and ethical decisions as they navigate their digital lives.

 

At Greatwood Community Primary School, we believe this means preparing our children to:

  • Think critically and evaluate online sources.
  • Protect themselves from online threats, including bullies and scams.
  • Be sharp about sharing: what, when and with whom.
  • Be kind and respectful towards other people and their privacy.
  • Ask for help from a trusted adult with tricky situations.

Smart, safe technology usage can help students learn better, and help our schools function better but to make the most of the internet, children need to make smart decisions. At Greatwood, online safety is a crucial part of your child's education. Not only is it part of our Computing curriculum, but important messages and information are given to children through assemblies, visits from experts and through educational visits such as 'Crucial Crew' in Year 6.

We believe the 'Be Internet Legends' programme will mark an important step towards our goal of ensuring that all our students at Greatwood are learning, exploring and staying safe online. Be Internet Legends empowers younger children to use the web safely and wisely, so they can be confident explorers of the online world. You cand find out more anout the programme using the drop down boxes below, and we encourage you to talk to your children about how you can all become 'Internet Legends'! 

 

 

Think before you share 

Good (and bad) news travels fast online, and children can sometimes find themselves in tricky situations with lasting consequences. But what can they do to prevent this? The answer: understand how to share smartly with those they know – and those they don’t. Remeber - every word matters! 

  • Treat online communication the same as face-to-face communication.
  • If it isn’t right to say, it isn’t right to post. If in doubt, get guidance on what kind of communication is (and isn’t) OK.
  • Personal details about family, friends – and yourself – should stay private.

Check it's for real

People and situations online aren’t always what they seem. Internet Legends know how to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not. Learn how to spot the signs of a scam@

  • If messages about 'winning' or getting something for 'free' feel too good to be true, they probably are.
  • Things getting too personal? Ask yourself, why would someone have private information about you?
  • Always think critically before doing anything online – and learn to trust your intuition. Be on your guard for phishing attempts – which are efforts to steal information (such as login or account details) by pretending to be someone you know in an email, text, or other forms of online communication.

Protect your stuff

Personal privacy and security are as important online as they are in the real world. Keeping valuable information safe helps children avoid damaging their devices, reputations and relationships. Know how to create a strong password: 

  • Make it memorable, but don't use personal information, such as names or birthdays.
  • Use a mix of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, symbols and numbers.
  • R3pl@ce le++ers wit# sYmb0ls & n^mb3rs 1ike Thi$.

Respect each other

The internet amplifies everything: good things seem more exciting, bad things seem much worse and can hurt – a lot. A great rule to live by online, as well as off, is ‘treat others as you would like to be treated yourself’. Children can have a positive impact on others and stop bullying in its tracks by refusing to join in.

Set an example

  • Be a force for good. Use the power of the internet to be nice, not nasty.
  • Stop the spread of harmful or untrue messages by not passing them on to others.
  • Respect others’ differences.

Lead the way

  • Block mean, upsetting or inappropriate behaviour online.
  • Be a Legend. Step in and provide support to those being bullied.
  • Encourage everyone to speak up against, and report, online bullying.

When in doubt, discuss

When children come across something they're not sure about online, they should feel comfortable talking to a trusted adult. Adults can support this by showing they're open to talking, even about difficult or embarrassing things at home and in the classroom. Encourage Legendary behaviour by: 

  • Set clearly defined family or classroom rules and expectations around technology, and let children know of any consequences there might be for inappropriate use.
  • Rather than having one big 'internet safety conversation', keep the dialogue going by encouraging children to ask questions whenever they want.
  • Encourage children to talk to other trusted adults such as teachers, family friends or relatives as well.