Tuesday 09 February 2021 is Safer Internet Day - an annual reminder of all the joys and challenges of life-online, particularly for children.  For this year’s event, students will have an assembly on the topic of online safety and will then discuss, and agree to, our updated Acceptable Use Agreement. This sets out the ethos, values and behaviours RTS are encouraging students to adopt.

Acceptable Use Agreement

You can read the Acceptable Use Agreement here. Please discuss this with your child and  help them have a safer experience when using technology and participating online. 

Internet filter and screen time

RTS have implemented a technical solution for student-iPads, to filter out most of the inappropriate content online, via the HomeProtect Browser. This technical solution has enabled us to continue with our 20:00 ‘screens-off’ policy.  We know students are using their iPads much more during lockdown than they would during normal school operations and this should help parents/carers who find this feature useful. As always, we will continue to review our policies and practices and implement better technical solutions as and when they become available.

Online Safety Resources

• There are many good quality resources available to help you discuss online safety with your child. These are listed on here. We would like to pick out a couple that may be of particular interest during this time.

  • The first one is called NetAware from the NSPCC. This allows you to check any apps, games or social media sites that your child is currently using and find its average safety rating.

  • The second is the safety centre for Discord, a platform used by many young children to chat in real time. The platform is designed for children 13 years and over.

  • The third is the BBC’s page on some of the misleading stories that can be found on social media.

As always, we encourage you to talk with your child, about their online life, who they talk to, where they go and what opinions they may be interpreting as facts.

We hope you find this information useful.

Ms Grewal

Head of IT Data and Systems