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Online safety is part of safeguarding and it is recommended that there be some inclusion of online safety within the safeguarding policy.

With regards to the online safety policy; it is suggested that a structured, modular approach be adopted. Having an overarching online safety policy (which is short and easy to review) with separate but linked individual short sub-policies/Information Advice and Guidance (IAG). It will be these latter ones that are likely to need frequent updating.

Once in place it is important that your policies and IAG are well managed and that all stakeholders are familiar with them to apply them appropriately, this may include specific training or just advisory sessions.

It may be useful to include student representation in the review process thereby helping the whole school to own and understand why policies and guidance are in place. Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) may need revising and signing by the parties involved, this may include any home/school agreements that refer to the use of technology.

Any safeguarding issues that occur which include online safety should be dealt with according to the safeguarding policies in place currently. These policies may need to be amended/cross-referenced as necessary.

Sometimes incidents arise from a number of smaller issues that start occurring more frequently. It can be beneficial to continue to record such issues in the current way and perhaps look at established pattern of incidents and seeing if more serious incidents can be prevented from happening by adding interventions with all school stakeholders.

The implementation of Whisper from the BOOST package will give parents and students another way of reporting issues to the right people within school. You can download detailed information on the BOOST package from www.rm.com/boost

Having a robust AUP is important and all community members need to have read and understood this document. It is important to look at how you can demonstrate that staff have understood the document, we suggest the following ways:

• Online survey
• Scenarios in a training workshop
• Videos/online training to support the document

It is important that this document is reviewed annually and also if any incidents happen in school that cause the document to be changed. For example, the introduction of new technologies or approaches to students learning environments.

Following on from your online safety training it may be worth canvassing all staff to understand their training needs. Particularly, with regard to the issues listed in the RM online safety questionnaire and arrange training accordingly. By doing this you will be able to provide not only good evidence but also helps to pinpoint further training gaps.

Have you thought about accrediting your staff in relation to online safety? This will ensure your school has staff who are up to date and have certification in this area.

Sometimes incidents arise from a number of smaller issues that start occurring more frequently. It can be beneficial to continue to record such issues in the current way and perhaps look at established pattern of incidents, seeing if more serious incidents can be prevented from happening by adding interventions with all school stakeholders.

Using a risk register to record all possible activity can illustrate that the school proactively considers the use of technology and makes informed decisions as to what level of risk to accept.

Following on from your online safety training it may be worth canvassing all staff to understand their training needs. Particularly, with regard to the issues listed in the RM online safety questionnaire and arrange training accordingly. By doing this you will be able to provide not only good evidence but also helps to pinpoint further training gaps.

Have you thought about accrediting your staff in relation to online safety? This will ensure your school has staff who are up to date and have certification in this area.

Sometimes incidents arise from a number of smaller issues that start occurring more frequently. It can be beneficial to continue to record such issues in the current way and perhaps look at established pattern of incidents, seeing if more serious incidents can be prevented from happening by adding interventions with all school stakeholders.

Using a risk register to record all possible activity can illustrate that the school proactively considers the use of technology and makes informed decisions as to what level of risk to accept.

At times it can be a challenge to engage with parents/carers successfully. The school can continue to use every formal and informal opportunity to raise issues and discuss concerns as well as signposting to the numerous parent resources available. As suggested this may include information sessions as part of a parent evening, QR codes at locations where parents congregate for example, Reception etc. Alternatively, a section within the school newsletter could be focused on online safety.

Any safeguarding issues that occur which include online safety should be dealt with according to the safeguarding policies in place currently. These policies may need to be amended/cross-referenced as necessary.

It is recommended that all schools use an incident management flowchart diagram. This can be displayed in the staff room, making sure staff are familiar with what they need to do in the event of an online safety incident.

Having anonymous reporting tools on your school website can also be used to give students, parents and staff another avenue to report incidents, such as ‘Whisper’ which can be found in an online safety toolkit called BOOST. You can download detailed information on the BOOST package from www.rm.com/boost

It’s really important to offer age appropriate filtering in school, ensuring the lower end of the school have more protection online than your older pupils.

The Department for Education recommend that “overblocking” does not lead to unreasonable restrictions as to what children can be taught with regards to online teaching and safeguarding. So, it’s vital that every school has the recommended filtering in place to meet this requirement.

Due to the revised Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) statutory guidance which came into effect on 5th September 2016, schools are now obligated to ensure appropriate filters are in place.

It is essential that schools have monitoring in place to compliment the filtering (Please refer to the DfE and Prevent guidance). Monitoring will highlight themes that can then be addressed through online safety training with staff, students and parents.