E-Learning and Online Safety

At Faringdon Community College, the safeguarding of pupils is a very high priority. We are committed to ensuring our pupils are safe in school and online.

By giving the pupils the knowledge to safeguard themselves and their personal information, we are empowering them with a vital life skill.

What is E-Safety?

E-safety is the safe use of information systems and electronic communications, including the internet, mobile phones and games consoles. It is important that children and young people understand the benefits, risks and responsibilities of using information technology:

E-safety concerns safeguarding children and young people in the digital world.
E-safety emphasises learning to understand and use new technologies positively.
E-safety is less about restrictions and more about education about the risks as well as the benefits so we can feel confident online.
E-safety is concerned with supporting children and young people to develop safer online behaviours both in and out of school.

If you have any concerns, speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Paul Dipple or a fellow member of the school's Safeguarding Team.

Cyber-bullying

Cyber bullying is any form of bullying which takes place online or through smartphones and tablets. Social networking sites, messaging apps, gaming sites and chat rooms. Facebook, Xbox Live, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and chat rooms can be great fun and a positive experience, but they can be used as platforms to upset and bully individuals.

Tips and advice

If you post abuse about anyone else online or if you send threats, you can be traced by the police without any difficulty. Every time you visit a website or make a posting, your internet service provider, Sky, BT or Virgin, has an electronic note of your activity. Even if you create an anonymous email address like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo, you can still be traced.
Keep safe by using unusual passwords. Use a combination of letters, lowercase, uppercase, symbols and numbers. Don't use any part of your name or email address and don't use your birthdate either, because it's easy for people who know you to guess. Don't let anyone see you signing in and if they do, change the password as soon as you can.
If you are using a public computer such as one in a library, or even a shared family computer, be sure to sign out of any web service you are using before leaving the computer so that you can protect your privacy.
Being bullied online can affect someone enormously. Being bullied can impact on a person’s self-esteem, confidence and social skills. Try to consider the impact your words may have and think twice before posting.
Think twice before you post anything online because once it’s out there you can’t take it back.

Social Media

The more you know about the kind of social networking sites your children belong to and what information they like to share, the more likely you’ll be able to keep them safe:

The age limit for joining most social networking sites is 13.
The most popular social networks include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat.
Many sites include a message function that allows private conversations between site members.
You can create ‘privacy settings’ on most social networking sites, so only close friends can search for your children, tag them in a photograph or share what they post. Facebook, for example, has a setting that allows your children to approve or dismiss tags that people add to their posts.
Most social networking sites have an app, which means your children will have access to the social network from their (or your) smartphone or tablet.
Information shared between friends can be easily copied and may spread widely.
It isn’t easy to take back information once it’s online, and it can be impossible to recover after someone has shared it.
Not everyone your child meets online will be who they say they are.
Chat rooms and forums are one of the places that online groomers visit to connect with children; they can also be places where people use a lot of sexual language and engage in online flirting.