Case Study:
Holme Grange School
Home Grange School, a thriving Independent co-educational school for 3 to 16-year-olds in Berkshire, has fully embraced a culture of online safeguarding.
With technology continuing to evolve at an often dizzying pace, IT Lead Ajay Bhatti identified that the school needed to take a proactive approach to keeping their pupils safe online, and opted to enrol in our Certified School programme.
Keeping up-to-date with the latest online safety risks
To gain further insight into how the staff at Holme Grange approach each day, we spoke to Ajay, who has been instrumental in implementing our online safety training.
He explained: "The aim of the school is to ensure that we give every pupil the opportunity to embrace challenges, become resilient, open-minded and accepting of others."
It can be challenging to stay abreast of the changes amid a constantly shifting digital landscape.
Ajay confirmed: "I think everyone is aware of technological advances and the increasing use of devices on a day-to-day basis."
"It can be incredibly useful, but it has also presented some risks, such as talking to strangers online," he continued.
"We need to ensure that we have boundaries and that pupils are aware that they are leaving a digital footprint. The way we treat each other online should be no different than how we treat people in person."
Choosing National Online Safety
At National Online Safety, we frequently update our resources and training – so that all our member schools can be confident they’re up to date with the latest developments in the digital world.
Ajay agreed: "The challenge was finding something that is constantly updated.”
When it came to choosing National Online Safety, he revealed that the school had been impressed by the wide range of resources available, as well as the cohesive nature of the package.
Ajay recalled: “When I found National Online Safety, I discovered that the Certified School Programme was able to provide the school with up-to-date information, so that we could stay one step ahead."
"We wanted to provide parents with one platform that they can access to download the guides and complete the online safety courses," he added.
A positive response from the whole school community
National Online Safety’s expert-led training can be rolled out quickly and easily to all staff members, helping to foster a school-wide culture of digital safeguarding.
At Holme Grange, the entire school community is taking advantage of our multi-award-winning resources.
Ajay explained: "It’s still early days for us with the programme. We released it to parents and carers just before Christmas, to give them some time to look into the resources available."
"The initial feedback from staff is that it's a one-stop shop for online safety. It's been really useful to have those healthy discussions around keeping children safe online."
He went on: "We've had a number of staff who have started the CPD training and they like the fact that they can start a training course, pause it, and then pick it up when they have the time available. They can do it in their own time and it's accessible remotely, which is really useful."
A positive response from the whole school community
Ajay expressed his appreciation for the Certified School programme, highlighting the amount of knowledge, awareness and learning available to all stakeholders involved.
"The biggest benefit is that it's one platform for everyone to access," he summarised. "It's so important to have that consistency in our messaging."
Ajay concluded: "It's a one-stop shop for online safety CPD, guides and resources for everyone in the school community."