eSafety

Education & Training

Educating and training members of the school community is vital. Not only young people but also teachers and other staff, governors, parents and members of the wider community need to understand the eSafety issues and risks appropriate to their own use of technology, and be able to develop strategies for dealing with them.

YHGfL can work with member authorities, school clusters and individual schools to help them with the important task of awareness-raising, education and training. To help schools with this process we have collated a selection of some of the best online resources which can be used with pupils and staff. Select the group you are interested in from the list below.

KS 1

eSafety education should ideally be built into the curriculum right from KS1. The fastest growing group of Internet users in the United States is 2-5 year olds (source: Behind the Screen, IPPR, 2008) and the nature of the Internet is such that once personal information is given away to contacts or websites online, there is no control over where that information will end up.

KS2

Pupils at KS2 are beginning to use the Internet and other communications technologies with greater independence. The vast majority of pupils have access to an Internet-connected computer in a communal area at home such as the living room, but despite this 40% of 8-11 year olds say they use the computer mostly unsupervised. It’s therefore important that they have a sound understanding of their personal information and how to keep this safe, as well as how to deal with inappropriate content and contact.

Secondary

Young people see online technologies as an important vehicle for socialising with friends. They make constant use of instant messaging, mobile phone technologies and social networking sites to organise their social life. The Internet becomes more of a tool for research and communication rather than simply a fun distraction. (source: Byron Review, DCSF, 2008)

Staff

It's important that teachers and other support staff within school have a good understanding of the eSafety risks and issues facing young people's use of technology. The following resources will help you to develop your understanding and keep abreast of the latest issues.