E-Safety

“The internet and e-mail are powerful tools to open up new opportunities for people of all ages. The Government wants everyone to have access to the wealth of cultural, scientific and intellectual material to be found on the internet. But we are equally determined to ensure that pupils are protected from unsuitable material and that they can access appropriate material safely.”

At St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, we recognise that learning is a lifelong process and that e-learning is an integral part of it. As a school, we are committed to providing children with the necessary computing skills in order to readily equip them for the digital future. In doing this, we embrace a cross curricular approach to learning, with computing at the heart of the process.

As a school, we are devoted to maximising opportunities for all pupils to engage in productive and efficient communication and information sharing.

Although the internet provides many advantages, children are vulnerable and may expose themselves to danger when using the internet. E-safety seeks to address the issues around these technologies, and to promote an awareness of the benefits and risks associated with the online world.

At St Mary’s we take E-safety very seriously. Within our school, our internet access is filtered to safeguard children against inappropriate websites and online content. Furthermore, all activity on the school network is monitored to ensure the safety of all and to prevent misuse of the internet.

E-safety is taught throughout the school, both discretely and within other elements of the wider curriculum. Annual refreshers are provided for the children using Purple Mash alongside celebrating E-Safety Day as a school each February. All of our pupils have an individual login which they need to access the school computers. We use this as an opportunity to teach the children the importance of keeping passwords safe and of accountability.

Staff are kept up to date with E-safety through regular training and Purple Mash.

Year One have been discussing E-safety and have loved showing how clever we are on the iPads! We can now log in, create our own avatar, as well as showing off our skills in accessing different art programs. We even know how to save our work too ! #computingstm

On Safer Internet Day 2021, the children created e-safety poster during their remote learning and participated in Purple Mash's Guinness World Record attempt for the most online safety pledges.