Castlefort Junior Mixed and Infant School
Inspiring Bright Futures Together
Online Safety
Swiggle - A safe search engine for children
When searching the web whilst in school, we have a strong filtering system provided by Walsall Council which prevents our pupils from accessing inappropriate material. We recognise that whilst many parents/ carers have some filtering systems and internet protection at home, children are often exposed to inappropriate images and content when they search Google innocently. As a result, we are encouraging our pupils to use Swiggle instead of Google when searching for content at home. This is a very child friendly search engine which is presented perfectly for children. Check it out below:
How you can help
Most cyber-attacks could be prevented by taking these basic security steps:
- Choose strong passwords and don’t reuse them for multiple logins
- Install security software such as anti-virus and two-factor authentication. This kind of software is often available for free.
- Keep all security software and operating systems updated (this can be set to update automatically)
The following websites can help you stay safe whilst you are at home, they have lots of games and quizzes to test your knowledge!
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
https://www.childnet.com/resources/be-smart-online
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/13908828
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/
Research from Vodaphone (2022)
According to the Office for National Statistics, around one in five children aged 10 to 15 years in England and Wales experienced online bullying last year, whether on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms or mobile phones.
Advice for Parents
Online safety at this age is about who children are contacting as well as what they are seeing. Apps like Google’s FamilyLink or Qustodio (free on up to five devices) give you complete visibility on everything your child views and whom they contact. Children are likely to request access to social networks and games with chat functions. Check the PEGI rating (like a film rating for games) as well as the recommended age range before letting them sign up. Adding a parental pin and locking down the chat settings so they can only chat with known friends is vital too, as well as disabling in-app purchases to prevent bill shock.
For more excellent advice please read the full brochure on Digital Parenting produced by Vodaphone below:
To view the following policies please use the link below:
- Anti-bullying policy
- Online Safety Policy
- Remote Learning Policy
To view the following policies please use the link below:
- Social Media Policy
https://www.castlefortschool.co.uk/privacy-data-protection-gdpr/