School Governors play a vital role in ensuring the online safety of children. And yet many are unsure of their role or have received little online safety training.
What do Governors need to know about Online Safety?
It is essential that school Governors
- Understand their roles and responsibilities
- Are aware of the threats that technology and the online world can pose to child safety
- Support the school’s implementation of policies and procedures
- Make sure that Internet usage undergoes appropriate filtering and monitoring
- Ensure that all staff receive regular and meaningful online safety training
- Ensure the teaching of online safety as part of a broad and balanced curriculum
- Act on online safety reports from senior leaders
What training have your Governors had on Online Safety?
Keeping Children Safe in Education (2022) identifies Governor training as being an essential component of safeguarding in general and online safety in particular.
“Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that all governors and trustees receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection (including online) training at induction… Their training should be regularly updated.” – DfE KCSiE 2022
However, research from the 13,000 schools in England carried out by the UK Safer Internet Centre and South West Grid for Learning in 2021 shows that in 48% of schools, there was no Governor training on online safety!
How can I help my Governors understand their responsibilities?
The two key publications that all Governors should be familiar with in this area are: “Keeping Children Safe in Education” (KCSiE) and “Online Safety in Schools and Colleges”. Both documents have recently been updated, so this is a good time to bring them to your Governors’ attention.
KCSiE 2022 is statutory guidance and describes what educational establishments must do to protect children from online harm as part of the wider safeguarding context. It specifies the role and legal responsibilities that Governors have for online safety.
The UK Council for Internet Safety publishes guidance for school governors and trustees to help them support school leaders to keep children safe online. Set out as a list of questions, it includes examples of outstanding practice and identifies when Governors should be concerned.
What we offer
We provide bespoke online training sessions for Governors. Our online safety specialist leads sessions and can be delivered face-to-face or via your preferred video conferencing platform.
The main areas covered are:
- Policies and practice – creating, adapting and evaluating policies
- Mechanisms for supporting staff and pupils – appropriate filtering and monitoring, reporting, and responding to online safety issues
- Staff training – how to ensure that all staff receive appropriate online safety training and support
- Teaching and learning – how to build, monitor and evaluate an effective online safety curriculum, essential resources and pedagogy
- Whole school and community engagement – working with parents and carers and the wider community
However, we are also happy to include other specific areas of concern, such as the use of social media, gaming, sexting, cyber security and data protection.
For more information about our online safety training sessions or help with any online safety issues, contact us or email kathy@e2bn.org