eSafety, also referred to as internet safety, aims to ensure that everyone who uses technology does so in a safe and responsible way. Now that the online world is becoming increasingly inhabited by children, appropriate eSafety is a requirement for all schools.
With organisations such as Ofsted and the Department for Education (DfE) publishing guidance on the subject, there is a pressure for schools to ensure the appropriate measures are in place.
Last year, Ofsted published new guidance, Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings, which contained significant changes around how inspectors consider online safety and online bullying within a Safeguarding inspection.
The DfE then published Keeping children safe in education – Statutory guidance for schools and colleges in September, with details on how schools should respond to safeguarding issues such as cyberbullying, sexting and accessing harmful and inappropriate online materials.
If you would like information to ensure that your school is taking all the necessary steps to meet the eSafety Mark, this blog contains plenty of guidance.
It’s important for schools to evaluate their eSafety provision and create an appropriate action plan to develop and maintain the standard expected by the DfE and Ofsted.
To help you achieve this, we are running a bursary-supported CPD activity, Achieving the eSafety mark in your primary school. This CPD is based around the free 360°Safe Online Safety audit tool from SWGfL, which enables you to audit your eSafety provision.