At Newbridge we take promoting E-Safety Seriously. We have been awarded the Leicestershire Schools’ E-safety Award, which is externally validated by the local authority and shows that we demonstrate outstanding practice in E-Safety.
We have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of our pupils, including their use of digital and mobile technologies, including the internet and to equip children with the skills to manage the very real risks associated with living in a digital age.
We hope the information contained in this section will help serve as a guide to keep our young people safe and legal when using the Internet. This guide will also cover safeguarding information for both young people and parents alike.
The internet, mobile phones, social networking and other interactive services have transformed the way in which we live. Children and young people are amongst the early adopters of the new technologies and move effortlessly between the various interactive services and devices to communicate, interact, create and share content with friends and family. They also often use these technologies as part of the school curriculum.
This is why it is extremely important to make young people more aware of the dangers they may come across online and to direct them for help and advice if they need it.
Positive aspects of the Internet:
- Great for research
- Cheap or free communication and socialising
- Easy to create and publish content and get it noticed
- Great for children to develop future job skills as fun hobbies
- Introduces children to the world of commerce and business
- Encourages creativity and individualism
- Children feel they have ‘ownership’ of the Internet
Negative aspects of the Internet:
- Cyber bullying
- Online privacy and personal information
- Reputation management and ‘digital footprint’
- Sexting, grooming, pornography and inappropriate material
- Illegal downloads and copyright infringement
- Spam, phishing, viruses and malware
- Children lying about their age to get onto social networking platforms with a 13+ age limits