From the Head of Junior School

This year, we have been auditing our digital safety processes as part of our strategic improvement initiatives. Part of this audit has involved surveying classes about their digital safety lessons to identify areas of improvement. 

While there is always room to improve, we are confident that our digital safety policies and practices at school are very effective in protecting our students online when they are using the school networks. Our Electronic Communication Policy and Student Mobile and Electronic Personal Devices Policy outline the requirements and expectations for using devices at school, noting that Junior School students are not permitted to use personal devices such as mobile phones at school. 

In addition to our policies, all electronic communication through the school network is filtered for digital safety. This includes all internet searches and email communications. As our students progress through the Junior School, they also take part in Digital Safety lessons. These cover topics ranging from digital security and protecting passwords and login details, through to personal safety lessons when working in an online environment. 

It is an unfortunate fact that there are predators in our community who use the online environment to target children. As much as we educate our children about the risks and ensure they understand safe practices, their brains and decision-making processes are not yet fully developed and they rely on the adults who care for them to help keep them safe. At school, that is our teachers, student support officers, administrative staff and network administrators. At home, that is their parents, extended family and other trusted adults. 

Fortunately, there are a multitude of resources to help families understand the risks and support their children in safely navigating the online environment. One of the resources that our teaching staff draw on for their lessons is eSmart, an initiative of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation. As a starting point for families, I recommend two sites in particular:

• DigiTalk: An online safety information hub for parents with resources to help begin important digital safety conversations at home  

   

• Dolly’s Dream Parent Hub: A site that partners with the Alannah and Madeline Foundation to provide parent resources to deal with online safety and bullying.

I ask that all our Junior School families take the time to have these conversations at home so we can all work together to keep our children safe.

Mr Don Thompson

Head of Junior School