Online Safety for Pupils
Online Safety – Keeping You Safe Online
Technology has changed the way we live our lives and offers us incredible opportunities to connect, collaborate and get creative! It’s also important to recognise that we expose ourselves to risks in some online spaces that we wouldn’t necessarily encounter in the real world.
The internet was originally designed as an adult space and therefore most apps have safety and privacy settings to help protect you. You’ll explore some of the risks during form time with your Form Tutor and the choices you can make when gaming or on social media to help keep yourself safe.
You can learn more about the safety features of your favourite platforms by clicking the images below.
Video Games, Consoles & Platforms
If you’re a keen gamer and use a range of consoles or devices to play the latest games, make sure to take a look at the how-to guides to help you set the right level of protection.
Social Media Privacy Guides
If you use social networking sites, take a look at these guides to help set the right privacy settings.
Apps, gaming platforms and devices themselves are designed to be addictive. If you think your online behaviours might be impacting your wellbeing, it’s important you speak to an adult you trust.
Consider how, when, and why you’re going online. Here are some things to think about…
The Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum defines bulling as:
“The repeated use of power by one or more persons intentionally to harm, hurt or adversely affect the rights and needs of another or others.”
If you’ve received nasty messages or someone is using an online space to intentionally cause harm or hurt, you should screenshot any evidence, block and report the user, and talk to an adult you trust.
What is StepUP?
StepUP is an online reporting tool to tackle bullying, designed and created by our pupil Digital Leaders. It’s designed to put the power back into the hands of the person being bullied and is accessible via the school website and My-School. You can upload screenshots or other images with your report. This will be sent directly to our Pastoral Team who will follow up with you in school.
We would encourage all of our pupils to be ‘upstanders’ and to ‘StepUP and speak out’ against bullying.
The earlier you seek help with a problem online, the quicker we can work together to help make things better. Your teachers are trained in dealing with online issues and can provide the support and guidance needed to help you make the right choices online.
