Keeping our children safe online

At Upton Primary School, online safety is part of safeguarding, and safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. The internet gives our children wonderful chances to learn, create and stay connected, and we want them to enjoy it safely, kindly and confidently.

We keep children safe online in three ways: we teach them how to stay safe and what to do if something worries them, we protect them in school with filtering and monitoring, and we work with you at home. This page explains each of these and tells you exactly who to contact if you are worried.

Worried about something? Here's what to do

If you are worried about something your child has seen, said or done online, or about the way someone has been contacting them, please tell us straight away. It doesn't matter whether it happened in school or at home.

About CEOP. CEOP is part of the National Crime Agency. Children and adults can report online sexual abuse or worrying contact to its Child Protection Advisors. CEOP does not deal with bullying; for that, contact school or Childline.

Tips if something has happened

• Stay calm and thank your child for telling you. They are more likely to tell you again.
• Keep a record of relevant usernames, dates, messages and the app or game involved, where it is safe to do so.
• Never forward, copy, print or deliberately save a nude or sexual image of a child. If an image is already on a device, stop viewing it and seek advice from school, the police or CEOP before taking further action.
• Block and report the person on the app, and check privacy settings.

What our children learn about online safety

Children in Years 1 to 6 are taught about the connected world through discussion starters at the beginning of every lesson. These resources were built using ProjectEVOLVE and follow Education for a Connected World, the UK Council for Internet Safety framework.

How we teach it

• Connected world discussion starters at the beginning of every lesson in Years 1 to 6, covering all eight strands below.
• Early Years: children in Nursery and Reception begin learning to use technology safely as part of the Early Years curriculum.
• Computing lessons: Barefoot Computing in Reception and the Teach Computing Curriculum in Years 1 to 6.
• PSHE and RSHE through One Life, including healthy relationships, privacy and asking for help.
• Safeguarding Question of the Week: every class discusses one safety question each week. Questions about life online are planned at points across the year in our whole-school overview.
• Reflection Friday: children talk through a real-life situation and what would help. Online situations are included at planned points in our whole-school overview.
• Safer Internet Day each February.

The eight strands we cover

You can see when online safety is taught in our Computing and PSHE long term plans.

How we keep children safe online in school

Children's use of the school internet is protected by filtering and monitoring.

Filtering stops children reaching harmful or inappropriate websites, images, videos and AI-generated content. Our filtering is provided by TalkStraight, supported by EduThing under our IT service level agreement. It blocks illegal content and also blocks adult content, gambling, violence and other content unsuitable for primary-age children. Children and staff have different filtering settings, and safe search is switched on.

Monitoring helps us spot if a child may be at risk. Staff supervise children when they use laptops or tablets, and Senso alerts the DSL to concerning searches or activity. Any concern is followed up by the DSL in line with our safeguarding policy, and we will contact you where appropriate.

The school's filtering and monitoring arrangements are reviewed at least annually and following any relevant safeguarding incident, significant change in technology or change in working practice.

No system is 100% effective, which is why teaching children what to do matters just as much.

Who is responsible

Other ways we keep children safe

• Pupils agree to an age-appropriate acceptable use agreement.
• Pupils who bring a mobile phone to school must switch it off and hand it to their class teacher. Phones are stored securely in the school office and returned at the end of the day. Full details are in our Mobile Phones and Smart Devices Policy.
• Staff review websites, videos, apps and other resources before using them with children.
• We use school-approved online learning tools such as Accelerated Reader and Times Tables Rock Stars, and children log in with school accounts.

Our policies

Our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, E-Safeguarding Policy, Filtering and Monitoring Policy and Operational Procedure, Acceptable Use Policy and Mobile Phones and Smart Devices Policy are on the Policies page. Paper copies are free from the school office.

Helping your child stay safe at home

The most powerful thing you can do is talk with your child, often and calmly, so they know they can always come to you.

Talk

• Ask what they enjoy online, which games and apps they use and who they talk to. Play alongside them sometimes.
• Use our weekly Talk at home question and the Safeguarding Question of the Week to start conversations.
• Make it clear they will never be in trouble for telling you about something that worried them.

Set up devices safely

• Turn on parental controls on every device, games console and app store, and on your home broadband.
• Use child accounts and safe search, and keep devices in shared family spaces, especially at bedtime.
• Agree family rules for screen time, and charge phones and tablets outside bedrooms overnight.

Check age ratings

• Games have PEGI ratings (3, 7, 12, 16, 18) for content, but many also allow chat with strangers. Check chat settings too.
• Most social media and messaging apps, including WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, require users to be at least 13. They are not designed for primary-age children.
• The government plans to prevent children under 16 from using certain social media platforms from spring 2027. The regulations and implementation arrangements are still being finalised, and parents and children do not need to take any action yet.

Teach the basics

• Keep personal information private: full name, address, school, photos in uniform and passwords.
• People online are not always who they say they are. Never meet up with someone met online.
• Not everything online is true. Talk about adverts, fake videos and AI-generated images.
• If something feels wrong: stop, block, report and tell a trusted adult.

Useful links for parents and carers