Free e-safety news and information widget for schools launches today in response to parents’ concerns

Some of the recent tragic news stories have highlighted how destructive internet services can be when used irresponsibly. And yet, the digital landscape continues to grow as part of our every day lives, opening up endless opportunities for information gathering and data sharing.

The weight of responsibility for ensuring that children are kept safe in this environment is often directed at schools. However, keeping up-to-speed with the current generation of digital natives can be a challenge in itself. Add to that the duty to create school policies, deliver age appropriate lessons and make the school community aware of e-safety issues, and the whole subject becomes somewhat daunting.

There is certainly a role that parents must surely play too. With the internet now accessible through games consoles, TVs, mobile phones and so on, children are potentially at risk 24/7 and not just when they are sitting in front of a computer screen.

Recent feedback from a concerned parent highlighted the need for a unified approach. Following the posting of a pupil’s name on YouTube by the school, the parent commented “My 10 year old is confused as her teachers are doing exactly what they are teaching children not to do ie give away personal details online”. So how can schools make sure that pupils, parents and teachers are all aware of the current issues surrounding e-safety?

In response to this, the team at E-safety Support have launched of a free news and information widget. This can be added to a school website and will provide regular news, articles, definitions and up-to-date information about e-safety issues. Teachers, parents, pupils and school governors will then be able to see the latest information every time they visit the school website.

Ian Pringle from Kodo Education, publishers of www.e-safetysupport.com added, “Young people are becoming more confident about using the latest technologies, but this confidence does not necessarily mean that they are aware of the possible risks. There is a requirement for young people to be educated, and also a requirement from Ofsted that schools teach e-safety in a comprehensive manner and includes the wider school community. We are excited to be offering this new information widget to schools which will help them to communicate to the whole school population without having to add to their already extensive workload.”

To use the free news and information widget, schools simply need to join the free membership service from E-safety Support. This unique service also offers Premium and Premium Plus membership providing up-to-date e-safety policy documents, assessment tools, lesson plans, training materials and practical guidance for schools, making it easy to share e-safety policy and practice with pupils, parents, teachers and governors.

To find out more visit www.e-safetysupport.com.

Click here to download an image of the e-safety news and information widget

Click here to download the E-safety Support logo

2013-09-09 14:43:24 UTC