Ceri is Deputy Head Pastoral at Queenswood school and like many pastoral leaders she is interested in well-being, mental health, PSHE, attendance and getting and giving the best for children. She is also the safeguarding and online safety lead, roles that are ever evolving.
Our Safeguarding Awareness Week Survey Summary Guide will be released on Tuesday 21 May.
Looking at some of the results from the Safeguarding Awareness Week survey produced by Tes, it really hit a nerve. As a DSL, it’s clear that online safeguarding has become complicated and an almost constant thread in issues that schools are dealing with. Most friendship problems will involve conversations online, often on multiple platforms and with input from others. All of this is brought into school, no matter when the online issue occurred and yet it is only a small paragraph in the KCSiE guidance.
In the survey, 93% of respondents said safeguarding had become harder due to children being more autonomous online. This freedom makes matters complicated, statements such as “lets ban phones in school” whilst effective for some, will leave pastoral leaders with questions and logistical issues like, who collects the phones every day? ‘How much time am I taking to collect and hand back phones when I also have to deal with regular pastoral issues? What happens if the phone breaks in my possession?’ To help mitigate this, schools like my own have been looking at introducing magnet pouches, with students locking their phones in their pouch at the start of the school day to enable more teaching time.
However, this still does not stop issues during the school day as phones are not the only conduit to the online world. Some schools allow laptops, which means you enter the complicated world of filtering and monitoring. Each school will use different systems and processes, all of which will have floors, take time, require constant training and will bring unintended issues.
According to the Tes survey, 30% of those who think safeguarding concerns had increased blamed an increased use of social media. I am surprised this is so low. Seeing the alerts that are raised through the monitoring system, I am horrified at the world that they are exploring and accessing. If a student hears a phrase or a word, they can Google it and potentially access unchecked websites. If they hear about an actor or actress and wonder who they are, they can Google it and find all the films they are in or even if they’re on OnlyFans. If they really like a song and they want to know the words, Google will show the lyrics, regardless of content which could include expletives, racist or sexist language. What’s worse is if a child is in trouble now, Google will often be asked for advice before friends or staff at school.
What has become clear is that one short written entry is not enough to explore such a deep issue.
So, what top tips would I suggest?
Get all stakeholders involved. This is a challenge as everyone can have different perspectives on how we should be addressing particular concerns. To get a tipping point for implementing any policy or system, you need as many people as possible.
Review your current system of monitoring, filtering and processes. Often easier said than done but do not get bogged down with each issue. There are so many aspects to this topic that no one is going to be perfect. Of course, you can also refer to the government framework in this area too.
Train your staff. They will all have their different expertise which they can bring to the table. Your history department for example could discuss fake news and propaganda. There is so much out there for schools to access that it can get complicated choosing the right fit, starting the conversation is key creating a culture within all lessons.
Educate pupils. If Google is now their best friend, we need to help them with this relationship and to use technology as safely and responsibly as possible.
Safeguarding Awareness Week
Don't miss our annual week dedicated to safeguarding (20-26 May 2024) where we'll be sharing a host of insights and best practices - including a downloadable guide, webinar, teaching resources and training.
Visit our hub page for more information.
