Online safety

Next review September 2024

Aims

Our school aims to: 

Have robust processes in place to ensure the online safety of pupils, staff, volunteers and governors

Deliver an effective approach to online safety, which empowers us to protect and educate the whole school community in its use of technology, including mobile and smart technology (which we refer to as ‘mobile phones’)

Establish clear mechanisms to identify, intervene and escalate an incident, where appropriate

The 4 key categories of risk

Our approach to online safety is based on addressing the following categories of risk:

• Content – being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful content, such as pornography, fake news, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, anti-Semitism, radicalisation and extremism
• Contact – being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users, such as peer-to-peer pressure, commercial advertising and adults posing as children or young adults with the intention to groom or exploit them for sexual, criminal, financial or other purposes
• Conduct – personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm, such as making, sending and receiving explicit images (e.g. consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nudes and/or pornography), sharing other explicit images and online bullying; and
• Commerce – risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and/or financial scam

Legislation and guidance

This policy is based on the Department for Education’s (DfE) statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, and its advice for schools on:

Teaching online safety in schools

Preventing and tackling bullying and cyber-bullying: advice for headteachers and school staff

Searching, screening and confiscation

It also refers to the DfE’s guidance on protecting children from radicalisation.

It reflects existing legislation, including but not limited to the Education Act 1996 (as amended), the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Equality Act 2010. In addition, it reflects the Education Act 2011, which has given teachers stronger powers to tackle cyber-bullying by, if necessary, searching for and deleting inappropriate images or files on pupils’ electronic devices where they believe there is a ‘good reason’ to do so.

The policy also takes into account the National Curriculum computing programmes of study.

Roles and responsibilities

The governing board

The governing board has overall responsibility for monitoring this policy and holding the headteacher to account for its implementation.

The governing board will co-ordinate regular meetings with appropriate staff to discuss online safety, and monitor online safety logs as provided by the designated safeguarding lead (DSL).

The governor who oversees online safety is Mrs Sazida Desai as part of her role as safeguarding Governor.

All governors will:

• Ensure that they have read and understand this policy
• Agree and adhere to the terms on acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and the internet (appendix 3)
• Ensure that, where necessary, teaching about safeguarding, including online safety, is adapted for vulnerable children, victims of abuse and some pupils with SEND because of the importance of recognising that a ‘one size fits all’ approach may not be appropriate for all children in all situations, and a more personalised or contextualised approach may often be more suitable

 The headteacher

The headteacher is responsible for ensuring that staff understand this policy, and that it is being implemented consistently throughout the school.

The designated safeguarding lead

Details of the school’s DSL and deputies are set out in our child protection and safeguarding policy as well as relevant job descriptions.

The DSL takes lead responsibility for online safety in school, in particular:

• Ensuring that staff understand this policy and that it is being implemented consistently throughout the school
• Working with the ICT manager and other staff, as necessary, to address any online safety issues or incidents
• Managing all online safety issues and incidents in line with the school child protection policy
• Ensuring that any online safety incidents are logged (see appendix 5) and dealt with appropriately in line with this policy
• Ensuring that any incidents of cyber-bullying are logged and dealt with appropriately in line with the school behaviour policy
• Updating and delivering staff training on online safety (appendix 4 contains a self-audit for staff on online safety training needs)
• Liaising with other agencies and/or external services if necessary
• Providing regular reports on online safety in school to the governing board

The ICT manager

Our ICT manager is Mr Luke Capper.

The ICT manager is responsible for:

• Putting in place an appropriate level of security protection procedures, such as filtering and monitoring systems, which are reviewed and updated on a regular basis to assess effectiveness and ensure pupils are kept safe from potentially harmful and inappropriate content and contact online while at school, including terrorist and extremist material
• Ensuring that the school’s ICT systems are secure and protected against viruses and malware, and that such safety mechanisms are updated regularly
• Conducting a full security check and monitoring the school’s ICT systems on a weekly basis
• Blocking access to potentially dangerous sites and, where possible, preventing the downloading of potentially dangerous files
• Ensuring that any online safety incidents are logged and dealt with appropriately in line with this policy
• Ensuring that any incidents of cyber-bullying are dealt with appropriately in line with the school behaviour policy

All staff and volunteers

All staff, including contractors and agency staff, and volunteers are responsible for:

• Maintaining an understanding of this policy
• Implementing this policy consistently
• Agreeing and adhering to the terms on acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and the internet (appendix 3), and ensuring that pupils follow the school’s terms on acceptable use (appendices 1 and 2)
• Working with the DSL to ensure that any online safety incidents are logged (see appendix 5) and dealt with appropriately in line with this policy
• Ensuring that any incidents of cyber-bullying are dealt with appropriately in line with the school behaviour policy
• Responding appropriately to all reports and concerns about sexual violence and/or harassment, both online and offline and maintaining an attitude of ‘it could happen here’

Parents

Parents are expected to:

• Notify a member of staff or the headteacher of any concerns or queries regarding this policy
• Ensure their child has read, understood and agreed to the terms on acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and internet (appendices 1 and 2)

Parents can seek further guidance on keeping children safe online from the following organisations and websites:

What are the issues? – UK Safer Internet Centre

Hot topics – Childnet International

Parent resource sheet – Childnet International

Healthy relationships – Disrespect Nobody

Visitors and members of the community

Visitors and members of the community who use the school’s ICT systems or internet will be made aware of this policy, when relevant, and expected to read and follow it. If appropriate, they will be expected to agree to the terms on acceptable use (appendix 3). 

Educating pupils about online safety

Pupils will be taught about online safety as part of the curriculum:

In Key Stage 1, pupils will be taught to:

• Use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private
• Identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies

Pupils in Key Stage 2 will be taught to:

• Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly
• Recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour
• Identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact

By the end of primary school, pupils will know:

• That people sometimes behave differently online, including by pretending to be someone they are not
• That the same principles apply to online relationships as to face-to-face relationships, including the importance of respect for others online including when we are anonymous
• The rules and principles for keeping safe online, how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact, and how to report them
• How to critically consider their online friendships and sources of information including awareness of the risks associated with people they have never met
• How information and data is shared and used online
• What sorts of boundaries are appropriate in friendships with peers and others (including in a digital context)
• How to respond safely and appropriately to adults they may encounter (in all contexts, including online) whom they do not know

The safe use of social media and the internet will also be covered in other subjects where relevant.

Where necessary, teaching about safeguarding, including online safety, will be adapted for vulnerable children, victims of abuse and some pupils with SEND.

Educating parents about online safety

The school will raise parents’ awareness of internet safety in letters or other communications home, and in information via our website. This policy will also be shared with parents.

If parents have any queries or concerns in relation to online safety, these should be raised in the first instance with the headteacher and/or the DSL.

Concerns or queries about this policy can be raised with any member of staff or the headteacher.

Cyber-bullying

Definition

Cyber-bullying takes place online, such as through social networking sites, messaging apps or gaming sites. Like other forms of bullying, it is the repetitive, intentional harming of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. (See also the Anti-bullying policy.)

Preventing and addressing cyber-bullying

To help prevent cyber-bullying, we will ensure that pupils understand what it is and what to do if they become aware of it happening to them or others. We will ensure that pupils know how they can report any incidents and are encouraged to do so, including where they are a witness rather than the victim.

The school will actively discuss cyber-bullying with pupils, explaining the reasons why it occurs, the forms it may take and what the consequences can be.

Pupils are specifically taught about online safety within the Relationships aspect of our whole school PSHE curriculum.

All staff, governors and volunteers (where appropriate) receive training on cyber-bullying, its impact and ways to support pupils, as part of safeguarding training (see section 11 for more detail).

The school also sends information on cyber-bullying to parents so that they are aware of the signs, how to report it and how they can support children who may be affected.

In relation to a specific incident of cyber-bullying, the school will follow the processes set out in the school behaviour policy. Where illegal, inappropriate or harmful material has been spread among pupils, the school will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure the incident is contained.

The DSL will consider whether the incident should be reported to the police if it involves illegal material, and will work with external services if it is deemed necessary to do so.

Examining electronic devices

School staff have the specific power under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (which has been increased by the Education Act 2011) to search for and, if necessary, delete inappropriate images or files on pupils’ electronic devices, including mobile phones, iPads and other tablet devices, where they believe there is a ‘good reason’ to do so.

When deciding whether there is a good reason to examine or erase data or files on an electronic device, staff must reasonably suspect that the data or file in question has been, or could be, used to:

• Cause harm, and/or
• Disrupt teaching, and/or
• Break any of the school rules

If inappropriate material is found on the device, it is up to the staff member in conjunction with the DSL or other member of the senior leadership team to decide whether they should:

• Delete that material, or
• Retain it as evidence (of a criminal offence or a breach of school discipline), and/or
• Report it to the police*

* Staff may also confiscate devices for evidence to hand to the police, if a pupil discloses that they are being abused and that this abuse includes an online element.

Any searching of pupils will be carried out in line with:

• The DfE’s latest guidance on screening, searching and confiscation
• UKCIS guidance on sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people
• The school’s COVID-19 risk assessment

Any complaints about searching for or deleting inappropriate images or files on pupils’ electronic devices will be dealt with through the school complaints procedure.

Acceptable use of the internet in school

• All pupils, parents, staff, volunteers and governors agree to follow our acceptable use policy every time they sign into their desktop in school.
• Use of the school’s internet must be for educational purposes only, or for the purpose of fulfilling the duties of an individual’s role. 
• We will monitor the websites visited by pupils, staff, volunteers, governors and visitors (where relevant) to ensure they comply with the above.
• More information is set out in the acceptable use agreements in appendices 1, 2 and 3.

Pupils using mobile devices in school

Pupils may bring mobile devices into school, but are not permitted to use them during school time.  Devices must be handed in to the school office for safe keeping, and returned at the end of each day.

Any breach of the acceptable use agreement by a pupil may result in the confiscation of their device and subsequent withdrawal of permission to bring device to school..

Staff using work devices outside school

All staff members will take appropriate steps to ensure their devices remain secure. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Keeping the device password-protected – strong passwords are at least 8 characters, with a combination of upper and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters (e.g. asterisk or currency symbol)
• Ensuring their hard drive is encrypted – this means if the device is lost or stolen, no one can access the files stored on the hard drive by attaching it to a new device
• Making sure the device locks if left inactive for a period of time
• Not sharing the device among family or friends

All updates and anti-virus software is installed by our IT Manager.

Staff members must not use the device in any way which would violate the school’s terms of acceptable use, as set out in appendix 3.

Work devices must be used solely for work activities.

If staff have any concerns over the security of their device, they must seek advice from the ICT Manager, Luke Capper.

How the school will respond to issues of misuse

Where a pupil misuses the school’s ICT systems or internet, we will follow the procedures set out in our policies on behaviour and ICT and internet acceptable use. The action taken will depend on the individual circumstances, nature and seriousness of the specific incident, and will be proportionate.

Where a staff member misuses the school’s ICT systems or the internet, or misuses a personal device where the action constitutes misconduct, the matter will be dealt with in accordance with The Code of Conduct for Staff. The action taken will depend on the individual circumstances, nature and seriousness of the specific incident.

The school will consider whether incidents which involve illegal activity or content, or otherwise serious incidents, should be reported to the police.

Training

All new staff members will receive training, as part of their induction, on safe internet use and online safeguarding issues including cyber-bullying and the risks of online radicalisation.

All staff members will receive refresher training at least once each academic year as part of safeguarding training, as well as relevant updates as required (for example through emails, e-bulletins and staff meetings).

By way of this training, all staff will be made aware that:

Technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and wellbeing issues, and that children are at risk of online abuse

Children can abuse their peers online through:

• • Abusive, harassing, and misogynistic messages
  • Non-consensual sharing of indecent nude and semi-nude images and/or videos, especially around chat groups
  • Sharing of abusive images and pornography, to those who don’t want to receive such content

Physical abuse, sexual violence and initiation/hazing type violence can all contain an online element 

Training will also help staff:

• develop better awareness to assist in spotting the signs and symptoms of online abuse
• develop the ability to ensure pupils can recognise dangers and risks in online activity and can weigh the risks up
• develop the ability to influence pupils to make the healthiest long-term choices and keep them safe from harm in the short term 

The DSLs will undertake child protection and safeguarding training, which will include online safety, at least every 2 years. They will also update their knowledge and skills on the subject of online safety at regular intervals, and at least annually.

Governors will receive training on safe internet use and online safeguarding issues as part of their safeguarding training.

Volunteers will receive appropriate training and updates, if applicable.

More information about safeguarding training is set out in our child protection and safeguarding policy.

Monitoring arrangements

The DSL logs behaviour and safeguarding issues related to online safety. An incident report log can be found in appendix 5.

This policy will be reviewed every year by the Headteacher.  At every review, the policy will be shared with the governing board. The review (next to be undertaken in March 2022) will be supported by an annual risk assessment that considers and reflects the risks pupils face online. This is important because technology, and the risks and harms related to it, evolve and change rapidly.

Links with other policies

This online safety policy is linked to our:

Child protection and safeguarding policy

Behaviour policy

Staff disciplinary procedures

Data protection policy and privacy notices

Complaints procedure

Appendix 1: EYFS and KS1 acceptable use agreement (pupils and parents/carers)

Appendix 2: KS2 acceptable use agreement (pupils and parents/carers)

Appendix 3: acceptable use agreement (staff, governors, volunteers and visitors)

Appendix 4: online safety training needs – self audit for staff

Appendix 5: online safety incident report log

Appendix 6 – Filtering and Monitoring

Introduction

Virtue Technologies is committed to providing a reliable and safe internet service that meets the ongoing needs of schools to provide a safe environment for their students. Our services are fully aligned to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) guidelines and our service partners (Talk Talk Business, Virgin Media, Sophos and Impero) are full IWF members as recommended by the UK Safer Internet Centre and the Department for Education.

Filtering

In line with the Internet Watch Foundation, our Internet service is designed to ensure that our customers are safe from terrorist and extremist material when accessing the internet in school, including by establishing appropriate levels of filtering. Our filtering solution is based on the Sophos Security Gateway and provides a robust Internet filter with automated updates to inappropriate sites, including the IWF blocked sites list.

Illegal online content

We ensure that access to illegal content is blocked in line with:

• the IWF block list
• block access to illegal Child Abuse Images and Content (CAIC) and
• the police assessed list of unlawful terrorist content produced on behalf of the Home Office.

Inappropriate Online Content

We recognise that no filter can guarantee to be 100% effective and we continually work with both our customer schools and industry partners to provide the safest environment possible for our customers.

In addition to the illegally blocked content, we also block content related to:

Discrimination

Drugs and Substance abuse

Malware and hacking Pornography

Piracy and copyright theft

Self-Harm Violence

• Our filtering solution, powered by the Sophos Security Gateway, provides the following features:
• Age appropriate, differentiated filtering: Our filtering solution includes the ability to vary filtering strength appropriate to age and role, e.g. teachers and students are frequently configured to use a different filter.
• Control: Our solution has the ability and ease of use that allows schools to control the filter themselves to permit or deny access to specific content.
• Filtering Policy: We publishes our rationale that details our approach to filtering with classification and categorisation, as well as what is blocked.
• Network level: Filtering
• Reporting: Our solution has the ability to report inappropriate content for access or blocking Reports: Our solution offers clear historical information on the websites visited by users

Monitoring

Virtue Technologies provides full reporting and logfiles that contains information relating to each internet website that is visited (including where sites are blocked) through the installed Sophos Security Gateway. In addition to the logging the date, time and user details, these reports also contain other information, such as search term usage against individuals. Logs are stored locally on the Sophos SG and are retained for at least 6 months.

 eMail. These reports contain information that will help the school understand how their internet service is being used, such as:

which users use the internet the most attempts to access blocked websites requests that try to override the content filter

top websites being accessed performance of the internet circuit

Should an item on the report warrant further investigation, additional reports can be created to gather information on  or who has accessed a specific website. 

Training & Support

To further provide our customers with a safe solution, our Internet, filtering and monitoring solutions are only installed and managed by engineers with a high level of training and certification with Sophos. As a minimum, our Engineers attain the qualification of Sophos Certified Engineers.

We provide training to enable customers to make changes to their own Internet filtering. However, customer access to the solution does not allow them to open sites blocked on the basis of being illegal. This training is completed when we initially install

To help our customers with complex filtering changes, or where the customers does not have the confidence to make changes themselves, our Support Team are on hand to provide assistance and unblock sites for them.

Safeguarding the Internal Network

Our Internet solution is focused on safeguarding our customers and their students on the Internet. Activity within the school may not be identified by our Internet filters or monitors. Many schools use additional products to provide additional safeguarding within the school. We recommend the Impero suite of products for this, which are also fully compliant with the UK Safer Internet Centre.

Further Details

For further details on recommended filtering and monitoring, please see the UK Safer Internet Centre. Additional details of the Sophos UTM  Compliance can also be found on the UK Safer Internet Centre website. 

For further details on our compliant Internet and Hosting Solutions, please contact: Virtue Technologies Limited, Chadwick House, Maple View, White Moss Business Park, Skelmersdale. WN8 9TD. 01695 731233.

• Virtue Filtering and Monitoring.pdf