E-Safety

Our Esafety Guide and our Social Media Policy are all available to read online (see bottom of this page).  Our E-Safety Policy is available in the Policies section of this website. All parents are strongly advised to read these documents carefully, to learn what to do to safeguard their children.  The school also offers free online E-Safety training courses to parents through The Child Protection Company – please contact the School Office for further details.

E-Safety Newsletter
Reading School releases regular E-Safety Newsletters to help parents stay ahead of the latest trends online. They will be included in the weekly newsletter for parents, or you can find these attached below.

Keeping Your Son Safe Online At Home
Thinkuknow, a website run by CEOP (part of the National Crime Agency) provides a range of advice and information for parents of secondary school pupils, including:

Tools available to protect your child online
Risks that your child might face
Talking to your children about their online activities
Reading School has produced  posters to make students aware of what they can do to stay safe. These are displayed in classrooms and communal areas throughout the school. 

We also require all students and their parents, as well as members of staff and governors, to sign our  ICT User Agreement, to ensure that they are aware of and are complying with the School's policies and procedures in this area. 

eSafety - Sexting
Advice for parents about talking to their child about creating, sending or receiving explicit images
'Sexting' is an increasingly common activity among young people where they share inappropriate or explicit images online or through mobile phones.
 
It can also refer to written messages.
 
As a parent, it is important to understand the risks so that you can talk to your child about how to stay safe and what to do if they ever feel scared or uncomfortable.
Regrettably, there is a national concern related to young people (under the age of 18 years of age) engaging in sending/sharing inappropriate/indecent photographs of themselves or of other children via texts, SnapChat messages, Facebook, Instagram etc. As a result of this national concern, schools have received advice regarding this safeguarding matter. This information has been shared in an age-appropriate manner with students via assemblies. Key elements to be aware of include:
 
The definition of sexting is 'images or videos generated by children under the age of 18 that are of a sexual nature or are considered to be indecent. These images may be shared between children and young people and/or adults via a mobile phone, webcam, handheld device or website'.

The sharing of sexual videos and pictures of children under the age of 18, even if the child/young person shares an image of themselves, is a criminal offence - Specifically, crimes involving indecent photographs of a person under 18 years of age fall under Section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 and Section 160 Criminal Justice Act 1988.
Under this legislation, it is a crime to take an indecent photograph or allow an indecent photograph to be taken; make an indecent photograph (this includes downloading or opening an image that has been sent via email/text/SnapChat etc.); distribute or show such an image; possess with the intention of distributing images; advertise and possess such images.
The school has been instructed that if anyone under the age of 18 years old shares/sends an explicit image of themselves, or an explicit image of anyone else under the age of 18, or engages in any of the behaviours listed above, then they are duty-bound to consider consulting with the relevant external agencies, i.e. LSCB Safeguarding Team, Social Services, the Police. The school's default position will be that it will consult with external agencies should there be a significant age difference between the sender and receiver; if there is any sense of coercion, if the image is of a severe or extreme nature; if the situation is not isolated and the image has been more widely distributed; if it was not the first time an individual had been involved in a sexting act or if there was any malicious intent.
 

What is sexting?
'Sexting' is the exchange of self-generated sexually explicit images, through mobile picture messages or webcams over the internet.
 
Young people may also call it:
 
Cybersex
Sending a nudie, picture or selfie
'Sexting' is often seen as flirting by children and young people who feel that it's a part of normal life.
 
 Click here to view a helpful factsheet on Sexting
How common is sexting?
'Sexting' is more common than you may think and has been found to be commonplace amongst children and young people.
 
There was a 28% increase in calls to ChildLine in 2012/13 that mentioned 'sexting' than in 2011/12 - nearly one every day.
 
Most young people do not see 'sexting' as a problem and are reluctant to talk to adults about it because they are afraid of being judged or having their phones taken away.
 
Normal teenage behaviour
Sending pictures and inappropriate content has become normal teenage behaviour.
 
What are the dangers of sexting?
 
Young people may see 'sexting' as a harmless activity, but there are risks. Taking, sharing or receiving an image, even voluntarily, can have a long-lasting negative impact.
 
It's illegal.
It may be common, but 'sexting' is illegal. By sending an explicit image, a young person is producing and distributing child abuse images and risks being prosecuted, even if the picture is taken and shared with their permission.
 
No control of images and how they are shared
It's easy to send a photo or message, but the sender has no control about how it's passed on. When images are stored or shared online, they become public. They can be deleted on social media or may only last a few seconds on apps like Snapchat, but images can still be saved or copied by others.
 
These images may never be completely removed and could be found in the future, for example, when applying for jobs or university.
 
Vulnerable to blackmail, bullying and harm
Young people may think 'sexting' is harmless, but it can leave them vulnerable to:
 
Blackmail
An offender may threaten to share the pictures with the child's family and friends unless the child sends money or more images.
 
Bullying
If images are shared with their peers or in school, the child may be bullied.
 
Unwanted attention
Images posted online can attract the attention of sex offenders, who know how to search for, collect and modify images.
 
Emotional distress
Children can feel embarrassed and humiliated. If they are very distressed, this could lead to self-harm or more significant harm.