Online Safety

At Oakfield School, we understand our responsibility to educate our pupils on ‘online’ issues; teaching them the appropriate behaviours and critical thinking skills to enable them to remain both safe and legal when using the internet and related technologies, in and beyond the classroom environment.

We believe it is essential for Online Safety guidance to be given to the pupils on a regular and meaningful basis. Pupils are always reminded that reporting an online issue is very important in keeping yourself safe.

Always tell a staff member if an issue has occurred. They will support you and help with this matter. (Staff will follow the school’s protocols relating to the issue)
If pupils are at home, you must tell your parents/carers or a responsible adult.
Pupils are reminded to never delete information sent to them.

Online Safety is embedded within our curriculum, and we continually look for new opportunities to promote the safe use of the online world.

Our vision is that pupils have a diverse, balanced, and relevant approach to the use of technology, in an environment where security is balanced appropriately with the need to learn effectively. We aim to ensure that our children are equipped with the skills and knowledge to use technology appropriately and responsibly, that they understand the risks associated with this activity, and are able to deal with these both in and out of school.

The school’s Online Safety Policy has been written to ensure safety measures are in place to protect both students and staff working with ICT equipment and related technologies. The policy is to assist school staff working with children to work safely and responsibly with the internet and other communication technologies and to monitor their own and student’s standards and practice. Our responsibility is to set high expectations of our students using communication technologies and to maintain a consistent approach to Online Safety by knowing the content of the policy and the procedures adopted and developed by the school.

Important Safeguarding Information

We know children use a variety of different social media apps and platforms/sites and there are many benefits for young people to social networking, from allowing us to stay connected to friends and family to learning and enjoying things of interest. As with most things along with the positives, there can be negatives and every now and again, we are alerted to various apps or social media ‘trends’ that are a cause for concern.

Certain apps allow the user to send messages, photos, videos and documents, as well as creating large group chats. These apps can also allow people to message unknown users; this means your child could receive messages from people they don’t know and/or receive inappropriate or hurtful messages.

Most apps have settings to allow this to be changed so that they only receive messages from people they know. With your child, make sure these settings are in place and show them how to reject requests from people they do not know.

Please could you spend some time with your child checking which apps they have downloaded on their device and researching any that you are unsure about, as there are currently a number of concerning apps in circulation.

A great link for parents to find out more about how they can keep their children safe online can be found on the link below.

www.nspcc.org.uk

Information for Parents/Carers – Mobile Internet

Oakfield School is committed to keeping Children Safe in Education and wants to make it clear that your Child’s safety is paramount. Within the school, pupils’ cannot access the school’s Wi-Fi. Furthermore, the school computers have the necessary filters in place to safeguard pupils against inappropriate material. Pupils cannot access social media on school computers.

However, you need to be aware that if your child uses their mobile phone or any other device brought in from home which has 4G/5G data there is a safeguarding risk as your child will be able to access the internet without limits.

You need to be aware that if 4G/5G is used by your child during school time at breaks/lunchtime or rewards and your child downloads or accesses inappropriate material, this could result in a referral to children’s social care and/or police, depending on if a crime has been committed.

Oakfield want to make this clear that it is the parents/carers’ responsibility.

For their child accessing inappropriate material or downloading inappropriate material, which includes sending inappropriate material to others during school time by using 4G or 5G data.

ICT

We recognise that all schools need to build on the use of these technologies in order to arm young people with the appropriate skills to access life-long learning and employment.

ICT is an increasingly essential resource to support learning and teaching, as well as playing an important role in the everyday lives of children, young people and adults. ICT now covers a wide range of resources, including web-based and mobile learning. It is also important to recognise the constant and fast-paced evolution of ICT within our society as a whole. The internet technologies children and young people are using include:

Websites
Learning Platforms and Virtual Learning Environments
Email and Instant Messaging
Chat Rooms and Social Networking
Blogs and Wikis
Podcasting
Video Broadcasting
Music Downloading
Gaming
Mobile/Smartphones/Smart Watches and tablets with text, video, and/ or web functionality
Other mobile devices and games consoles with web functionality

Social Media Apps and Platforms

ReFRESH

If you are concerned about drugs and alcohol, you can make a referral to ReFRESH

About this service

Refresh works with young people up to the age of 19 who live in Hull, and who need support to make safer choices about drugs, solvents or alcohol. Also advise parents, carers, professionals or family members.

Texts are charged at your normal network rate. You do not have to tell us who you are when you text us.

Referral (how to access this service)

Young people can be referred to the group work by calling 01482 331 059 and asking for ReFresh or coming to us in person.