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A reminder of the e-safety related events and activities held throughout the year

In addition to these standard dates, schools are also encouraged to look at including awareness days into the school calendar to focus on issues which relate to the social and emotional well-being of children and young people.

In terms of e-safety, the standard days are Safer Internet Day (February) and Anti-Bullying Week (November). However, there are many other occasions in the academic year where schools can promote e-safety related issues. National Hate Crime Awareness Week (October) can highlight ways in which schools can inform students of the legal consequences of promoting race hate on the internet. In addition, Data Protection Day (January) is another occasion to ensure that pupils and parents keep their personal data safe when using the internet.

The benefit for schools in engaging in these days is that the organisations who organise these events often have resources such as lesson plans, so that teachers don’t have to start from scratch when putting together lessons. Also, it is a good way of evidencing ways that you promote e-safety to others e.g. parents which can be included in any self-reviews or information for OFSTED.

In addition, awareness days often generate publicity from local or national media, so stakeholders may be more interested in attending events or receiving literature which relate to them. Also, many organisations offer speakers and who can come into school and offer an additional perspective when talking about these subject areas.

Whilst schools may not be able to cover all awareness days that relate to e-safety, it is important to pick out a couple, and establish them in the school calendar. Here are some suggestions:

January
BETT - 24th - 27th January 2018
Data Protection Day - 28th January

February
Safer Internet Day - 6th February 2018
No Tech for Breck Day - 6th Feb - 17th Feb 2018
Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week - 5th - 11th February 2018

March
National Safeguarding Month
National Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day - 18th March

April
Childnet Film Competition

May
Mental Health Awareness Week - Date TBC

June
Stop Cyber Bullying Day - 15th June 2018
Stand up to Bullying Day
Child Safety Week
GoGadgetFree/Unplug

July
Stand Up to Bullying Day
World Emoji Day

August

September
Sexual Health Week
Pupil Voice Week

October
Bullying Prevention Month (Cybersmile Foundation)
National Hate Crime Awareness Week
Get Safe Online Week
Digital Citizenship Summit
Digital Kids Show

November
Wear Blue for Bullying Day
Anti-bullying Week
Child Internet Safety Summit

December

If you have an event that you would like to include in this list, please email tina@e-safetysupport.com or use the comments section below.

E-safety Support members can download an e-safety planner from the support and advice area of their dashboard

A review of the e-safety related events of 2016

We also take a look forward to the opportunities in 2017.

Spring Term

In the spring term, the European Union launched a forum bringing together Internet firms like Google, Facebook and Twitter as well as law enforcement agencies to combat online extremism.

Police revealed that children as young as EIGHT are 'sexting' explicit images to each other.

A survey of more than 4,700 teenagers revealed that almost half think cyberbullying is a bigger issue than drug abuse among young people

Safer Internet Day 2016 took place with the theme Play your part for a better internet, which reached 2.8 million children!

Summer Term

In the summer term, it was announced that pornographic websites will require users to verify their age in a bid to stop children viewing harmful material online. Companies that fail to put safeguards in place will face civil sanctions under a new legal framework.

The ASCL released details of a report which reported that rising numbers of young people are suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and stress. It suggested that today's children are facing an "extraordinary range" of pressures - including modern technology - and specialist care needs to be available.

Action for Children reported that One in seven (15%) children has bullied others online, while nearly 60% of children responded that they bullied to fit in with a certain social group.

Twitter suspended 125,000 'terrorism' accounts after global calls to counter extremism online.

Autumn Term

At the beginning of the autumn term, the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) released a guidance document for schools on dealing with ‘Youth Produced Sexual Imagery’ (YPSI) or more commonly known as ‘sexting’. This was followed by new guidance from the Police to prevent criminalising some young people involved in sexting.

The annual Ofcom report, Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2016, indicated that the Internet has overtaken television as the top media pastime for the UK’s children.

The NSPCC recorded an 88% rise in children seeking help for online abuse. The number of children who contacted ChildLine increased by more than 2,000 over five-year period.

A School for teenage codebreakers is to open in Bletchley Park. The sixth-form College of National Security will teach cyber skills to some of Britain’s most gifted youngsters to fight growing threat.

What have been your significant moments of 2016?
There has been much to consider regarding online safety during 2016. Schools have once again felt the pressure of added risks that young people face when using the Internet. We would love to hear your thoughts. What have been the most significant e-safety developments or risks that have affected you, your school or your pupils? What do you think will be the biggest online safety challenge of 2017? Please use the comments section below to let us know.

New from E-safety Support in 2017
Look out for our new assembly for Safer Internet Day which will be available in early January. We will also be releasing a new cyber bullying assembly in the new year as well as issuing a new governor online training course.

You may have already noticed that the E-safety Support website has been getting a new fresh look. Over the coming days, we will be rolling out the new designs to give our members a new user dashboard area too. We will also be adding additional member features which will be announced in January. Watch out for your member email bulletins for further information.

Schools continue to fail Ofsted inspections due to inadequate training for staff

What is Ofsted looking for?
In the latest Ofsted guidance for inspectors undertaking inspection under the common inspection framework, it advises inspectors to look for evidence which demonstrates:

“the quality of safeguarding practice, including evidence that staff are aware of the signs that children or learners may be at risk of harm either within the setting or in the family or wider community outside the setting”

In addition, signs of successful safeguarding include:

“There are clear and effective arrangements for staff development and training in respect of the protection and care of children and learners.”

More specifically, when inspecting how effectively leaders and governors create a safeguarding culture in the setting, criteria includes:

“Staff, leaders, governors and supervisory bodies (where appropriate) and volunteers receive appropriate training on safeguarding at induction, that is updated regularly.”

Recent Ofsted comments
In recent Ofsted reports for schools rated 'inadequate', a number had the lack of training for staff cited as a contributing factor, with comments from inspectors including:

"Many teachers are not sufficiently trained to recognise indicators of risk or prepare pupils to stay safe."
"...staff do not have the information and training that enable them to meet the varying needs of the pupils."
"The manager and some staff do not have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues in order to effectively support children's welfare"

It is no doubt disappointing that these same schools are receiving good (and outstanding) reports for the quality of their teaching practices. However, while the lack of staff training was only one of the reasons why these schools have been rated inadequate, it can't be overlooked.

Your opinion
We would love to know your thoughts on the Ofsted requirements for staff training, the pressure it puts on school resources and how this impacts on the school as a whole. Please use the comments section below.