Whingate Primary School
Online Safety
Please do speak to us if you have any concerns about anything your child is doing or experiencing on the internet.
At Whingate Primary School, we know how important staying safe is. Safe and responsible use of the internet is something which is growing in importance; our curriculum at Whingate promotes online safety and teaches the children ways to keep themselves safe, and what to do if something makes them feel worried or uncomfortable. We also strive to support children in becoming responsible and respectful digital citizens.
Parents and carers- you play a crucial role in empowering and supporting you child / children to use digital technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively. This page gives information about our Online Safety curriculum, gives useful links for adults and children and provides the latest information and support for parents/carers.
Our Curriculum
Online safety is a key part of our curriculum for both Computing and Personal, Social and Health Education. Online Safety is taught through progressive units across school using Purple Mash, which teach safe, responsible and respectful behaviour when online (please see Computing tab for more information). In PSHE, it is covered throughout the units where appropriate. This is a safe forum where the children can ask advice and voice any issues or concerns. If there are any issues that arise, these are dealt with quickly and we seek professional advice where needed so that we are giving the correct messages to our young people. This year, we are also introducing additional sessions throughout the year using 2BeSafe and Project Evolve, which are both linked to the document 'Education for a Connected World'.
In addition to our curriculum, assemblies across school are regularly dedicated to keeping safe online, many linked to our Online Safety themes. We also welcome opportunities to broaden children's Online Safety experiences. For example, some pupils have been fortunate enough to participate in workshops delivered by the Leeds United Foundation.
Meet S.M.A.R.T
S.M.A.R.T is our amazing Whingate mascot who will support our school community in staying safe when working online both at home and at school. A reminder of the SMART rules followed in school is below.
This half term's Online Safety theme is:
Please scroll down on the document below to see some of what children in each year group might be learning as part of this theme.
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Resources to support learning in Self-Image and Identity:
How to manage your online self-image and identity 7-11
How to stay safe when setting up gaming profiles 7-11
Guidance from Purple Mash: Parenting in a Digital World Online 2024
Safer Internet Day 2025
Safer Internet Day was celebrated on Tuesday 11th of February this year. The theme was:
Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online.
Safer Internet Day is an annual opportunity to celebrate and learn more about online safety. This year's theme will seek to empower young people in protecting themselves and others whilst online, as well as increase awareness of what support is available to them. This will also support children's wider learning in this half term's online safety theme: Managing Online Information.
Below are some useful links you may wish to access linked to this event:
Digital Leaders
We're delighted to have recently appointed 9 children from Upper Key Stage 2 to act as Whingate's first Digital Leaders. Their key focus this year is to promote Online Safety across school. They will:
- Run short Online Safety sessions, quizzes and activities in classes across school.
- Help communicate key messages in assemblies.
- Collect children's views across school.
- Run competitions.
Previous themes:
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(image courtsey of Purple Mash)
Excerpt from 'Parenting in a Digital World' from 2Simple, Purple Mash.
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Additional Information
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The 4 Cs of Online Safety
The 4 Cs
Contact: Being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users.
Content: Engaging with or being exposed to potentially harmful content (websites, videos, images that are not age appropriate).
Conduct: Witnesses, or participates in posting/sharing/messaging people in an inappropriate or harmful way.
Commerse: Risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and or financial scams.
Please visit the Safeguarding page for more information about popular online games and social media sites.
How to keep your child safe online:
This is a CEOP video that provides useful information about keeping your child safe on the internet.
If you're worried about something a child or young person may have experienced online, you can contact the NSPCC helpline for free support and advice on 0808 800 5000.
Parental Controls Information
Please see below steps that will help you set up parental controls to provide your child with a safer online environment. Parental controls can help to protect your child from seeing something that they shouldn’t - although it is important to emphasise that no system is effective all of the time so it is important to engage with your child and talk to them about their online life regularly.
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Internet Legends Assembly - 21.04.23
On Friday 21st April, we have an exciting assembly linked to Online Safety. Rachel Reeves (local MP) is going to visit school and deliver the assembly from Be Internet Legends, which is a multifaceted programme developed by Google and Parent Zone, helping primary school children become safer, more confident explorers of the online world. The assembly will take the pupils on an interactive educational adventure, helping them better understand disinformation, scams and search engines as part of a focus on media literacy - as well as taking a look at the fundamental pillars of the programme.
Useful Links
The following links provide useful guidance about Online Safety with helpful tips to keep your child / children safe:
www.internetmatters.org Lots of useful advice for parents on a range of issues including cyber bullying, online reputations and online grooming. There is also a link to a useful ‘guide for parents’.
www.ceop.police.uk The official site of the National Crime Agency’s CEOP (formerly the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre), containing advice and useful information and a link for reporting online abuse, exploitation or inappropriate images.
www.nspcc.org.uk NSPCCs own website with lots of safety advice including video to watch with your children and a link to their work with O2.
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