Policy statement
At Roots and Wings Community Preschool we promote the safety and welfare of all children in our care as well as ensuring the safety of our staff team. We recognise that an online presence and the use of online resources play a part in the life of our setting. With the advances in technology, we feel it is very important to keep our skills updated and also to ensure the children in our care have safe access to these facilities. We are aware of the dangers that come with using the internet and therefore have written this policy for all out Preschool Team to use.
Online safety falls under safeguarding and therefore it is the responsibility of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to ensure the online safety policy is followed and kept up to date. We understand that online safety carries a risk of radicalisation, sexual exploitation, as well serious types of harm. We will therefore encourage our families to access information on online safety, too.
The benefits of using the internet are so vast, we feel it is important to continue to offer this in our setting and therefore created a procedure to keep everyone safe when online.
There is no preschool computer onsite, however children can access age-appropriate technology safely on tablets when accompanied by a Preschool Team member.
Procedures
This procedure was created for Roots and Wings Community Preschool to ensure the safety of children and staff when using the internet and being online.
- The DSL must ensure that all devices have appropriate firewalls and antivirus software installed. Preschool Team members must check these are running before going online
- Preschool Team member devices must be password protected to ensure children cannot access them
- Preschool Team members’ devices must be kept in a safe space, out of reach of children. At the end of each day, they must be locked in a cupboard or filing cabinet
- If devices hold confidential information, further safety precautions, such as individual passwords for sensitive documents, may need to be taken to ensure they cannot get lost, stolen, or accessed without authority to do so
- All devices accessible by the children at Preschool must have parental controls installed on them
- If links are received from suspicious sources or without explanation via email, these must not be clicked. The email must be deleted straight away
- Only setting devices must be used for taking photos or recordings of children (please see also: Use of mobile phones and cameras policy)
- Legal guardians must give written permission before any photos or recordings of children are uploaded to social media or our online learning journals platform Tapestry (please see also: Social Media Policy)
- Internet usage throughout the setting will be monitored to ensure that it is being used appropriately
- All information that is stored on setting devices follow GDPR to ensure that it is secure and protected
- Setting devices are never used for personal use
- Preschool Team members will demonstrate to the children how to use technology safely, and we will discuss with the children what to do in certain scenarios
- Every Preschool Team member will receive internet safety training to ensure that they can keep the children and the charity safe
- All communications with family members or external agencies must follow the correct forms and must be conducted in a professional manner
- All applications that are installed on setting devices must be reviewed regularly and run through by a member of the Management Team before being installed
In the event that a Preschool Team member has any concerns about online safety, they will report these concerns to the DSL.
The DSL will make sure that:
- All staff are trained and are aware of when they need to report a concern
- Any concerns that are raised will be recorded alongside any actions that were taken. These can then be reviewed and used to inform and make improvements to this policy
- Preschool Team members will always have access to training and up to date information about staying safe online
- Families and carers will be offered support on how to ensure that their children are safe when they are online
- This policy is regularly reviewed to ensure that it is up to date ant the Preschool is always reflecting and evaluating to see what could be done better
- Under no circumstances should any information, pictures or recordings of children be distributed or taken from the Preschool devices