At Heathrow Primary School, we believe that computing and technology are central to all aspects of learning; for adults and children in both the school and the wider community.  Therefore, computing provision should reflect the rapid developments in technology.

Computing in the 21st Century is an essential resource to support teaching and learning, as well as playing an important role in the everyday lives of children, young people and adults.  Consequently, we need to build in the sensible and appropriate use of these technologies in order to equip our young people with the skills to access lifelong learning and employment.

All children, whatever their needs, will have access to a range of up to date technologies in both the suite and classrooms. Computing is a life skill and should not be taught in isolation.  Computing covers a wide range of resources including; web-based and mobile learning.

It is vital that we recognise the constant and fast paced evolution of computing and technology within our society as a whole.  Currently the internet technologies children are using both inside and outside of the classroom include:

• Websites
• Learning Platforms and Virtual Learning Environments
• Email and Instant Messaging
• Chat Rooms and Social Networking
• Blogs
• Podcasting
• Video Broadcasting
• Music Downloading
• Gaming
• Mobile/ Smart phones with text, video and/ or web functionality
• Other mobile devices with web functionality

All users need to be aware of the range of risks associated with the use of these Internet technologies and it is our task at HPS to ensure that all children know and understand how to stay safe online.    

At Heathrow Primary School, we understand the responsibility to educate our pupils on e-safety issues; teaching them the appropriate behaviours and critical thinking skills to enable them to remain both safe and legal when using the internet and related technologies, in and beyond the context of the classroom.  

E-safety in the curriculum

Computing and online resources are increasingly used across the curriculum. We believe it is essential for e-safety guidance to be given to the pupils on a regular and meaningful basis. We continually look for new opportunities to promote e-safety.

• We provide opportunities within the Computing and PSHE curriculum areas to teach about e-safety.
• Educating pupils on the dangers of technologies that may be encountered outside school is done informally when opportunities arise and as part of the curriculum.
• Pupils are taught about copyright and respecting other people’s information, images, etc. through discussion, modelling, and activities as part of the Computing curriculum.
• Pupils are aware of the impact of online bullying through PSHE and are taught how to seek help if they are affected by these issues. Pupils are also aware of where to seek advice or help if they experience problems when using the internet and related technologies (cyber bullying)
• Pupils are taught to critically evaluate materials and learn good searching skills through cross curricular teacher models, discussions and via the ICT curriculum
• Pupils are taught about the risks inherent in using social media, particularly if they are contacted by people they do not know.
• Pupils understand that an online relationship has the same expectations and etiquette afforded to it as a real world relationship as some young people think they can say/do whatever they want in the online world and there are no repercussions. 

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is the use of computing and technology, particularly mobile phones and the internet, to deliberately upset someone else. The whole school community has a duty to protect all its members and provide a safe, healthy environment.

Common types of cyber bullying

• Text messages — that are threatening or cause discomfort; this also includes group messaging in WhatsApp groups.
• Picture/video-clips via mobile phone cameras – images sent to others to make the victim feel threatened or embarrassed.
• Mobile phone calls — silent calls or abusive messages; or stealing the victim’s phone and using it to harass others, to make them believe the victim is responsible.
• Emails — threatening or bullying emails, often sent using a pseudonym or somebody else’s name.
• Chatroom bullying — menacing or upsetting responses to children or young people when they are in web-based chatrooms.
• Instant messaging (IM) — unpleasant messages sent while children conduct real-time conversations online using MSM (Microsoft Messenger) or Yahoo Chat.
• Bullying via websites and social networking sites — use of defamatory blogs, personal websites and online personal “own web space” sites.

Preventing Cyberbullying

It is important that we work in partnership with pupils and parents to educate them about Cyberbullying as part of our e-safety curriculum.   They should:

• understand how to use these technologies safely and know about the risks and consequences of misusing them
• know what to do if they or someone they know are being cyber bullied.
• report any problems with Cyberbullying. If they do have a problem, they can talk to the school, parents, the police, the mobile network (for phone) or the Internet Service Provider (ISP) to do something about it.

Additional online advice on how to react to Cyberbullying can be found on
www.kidscape.org, www.wiredsafety.org and https://nationalonlinesafety.com/

Supporting the person being bullied

Support shall be given in line with the behaviour policy.

• Give reassurance that the person has done the right thing by telling someone and inform parents.
• Make sure the person knows not to retaliate or return the message.
• Help the person keep relevant evidence for any investigation (taking screen capture shots, not deleting messages.)
• Check the person knows how to prevent it from happening again e.g. blocking contacts, changing contact details.
• Take action to contain the incident when content has been circulated: remove content, contact the host (social networking site) to get the content taken down, use disciplinary powers to confiscate phones that are being used to cyber bully – ask the pupil who they have sent messages to.

Investigating Incidents

All bullying incidents should be recorded and investigated in the incident log as any other bullying incident. We will then investigate fully as any other bullying incident.

E-Safety - Parents

At Heathrow Primary School, we are committed to teaching children how to use technology safely and confidently, by minimising risks online through appropriate behaviour. Children are regularly encouraged to speak to a trusted grown-up to ask for help or if they are worried about any content they encounter online. 

The rules of e-safety apply to any technology or device that can be used for communication and/or has access to the Internet. This includes:

• Computers and laptops;
• Mobile phones;
• Tablets, e.g. iPads;
• Games consoles, e.g. Xbox.