Summer Term 2014 Edition Summer Term 2014 Edition | Page 3

Inspecting
e-safety in
schools
The new briefing paper from Ofsted
is more detailed and comprehensive,
making specific reference to an
e-safety curriculum, how parents are
engaged, training for staff and how
the school website can contribute to
informing parents and keeping them
up to date. Reference is also made
to schools that have obtained the
E-Safety Mark or other recognised
standard.
The Ofsted briefing paper lists
indicators of inadequate practice as:
• Personal data is often unsecured
and/or leaves school site without
encryption
• Security of passwords is ineffective,
for example passwords are shared
or are common with all but the
youngest children
• Policies are generic and not
updated
• There is no progressive, planned
e-safety education across the
curriculum, for example: there is
only an assembly held annually
•There is no internet filtering or
monitoring
• There is no evidence of staff
training
• Children are not aware of how to
report a problem
The Ofsted Report recommends that
schools:
• Audit the training needs of all staff
and provide training to improve
their knowledge of and expertise in
the safe and appropriate use of new
technologies
• Work closely with families to
ensure that children use new
technologies safely and responsibly
both at home and at school
• Use pupils’ and families’ views
more often to develop e-safety
strategies
• Manage the transition from locked

down systems to more managed
systems
• Provide an age-related,
comprehensive curriculum for
e-safety
• Work with others to ensure that
pupils educated away from school
are e-safe
• Systematically review and develop
their e-safety procedures, including
training
If you would like to discuss this
briefing further or would like any
help or advice, please contact us.
We can offer you support in the
following areas:
• Auditing your level of e-safety
provision through the free 360
E-Safety Tool
• Staff training for e-safety and
protection of professional identity
• Governor training for e-safety and
protection of professional identity
• Parent e-safety awareness
sessions
• Preparation for the application of
the E-Safety Mark
• EPICT Accreditation for a member
of your staff