At St Mary’s, we recognise that eSafety is a major issue affecting the lives of young people. As students at St. Mary’s use the Internet on a regular basis as part of their learning, it is our responsibility to equip them with the skills to recognise how the Internet can be a useful tool, as well as its potential dangers.
Note that the Facebook Terms and Policies state that users of Facebook must be at least 13 years old.
Please visit our Academy Trust Website, there we have links to many child safety and e-safety resources, which include advice for both parents and students.
eSafety Advice – How to Stay Safe Online
Be a critical thinker
Think before you give out personal information. You never know who may see it. This includes such things as your name, address, phone number, age, gender, or what school you go to. If you need to sign up to a chat room, messenger service or get an email account, you can always use an “alias” and not your real details.
If you need to sign up to a website for online shopping, ask your parents/carer for permission first.
It is better to keep your online friends online. Don’t meet up with anyone who you have met online without taking a trusted adult with you. Remember some people online do not tell the truth about their real identity.
Anything you put online e.g. videos, pictures, text can be used, altered and shared by anyone in the world. Never send pictures of yourself, friends or family to anyone you do not know.
Think before you post something online or send an email, anyone can read what you have posted and your emails can always be copied or forwarded to anyone else on the internet. If you wouldn’t say it to your parent/carer then don’t say it on the Internet. You may regret it later. Never send offensive emails, or post offensive content. Think about what you are writing to people, they can easily get the wrong idea about what you write or in the way you write it.
Most content on the internet e.g. text, photos and videos are not freely available for you to use or copy. You always need the owner’s permission first before you use their content. It is always best to create your own.
Never believe Spam e-mail and texts and never reply or forward them. Its never a good idea to open suspicious emails or text messages from people you do not know, they may contain inappropriate content such as images, text, video or a virus. If in doubt don’t open it just delete it.
If something or someone online makes you feel uncomfortable in anyway, it is never too late to tell a teacher or your parent/carer.