Case Study:
Trinity Academy Newcastle

Trinity Academy Newcastle aims to provide a personalised curriculum, combining core subjects with more specialist choices where the learner's individual needs are paramount.

Split over two sites, the school caters for students aged 7-16, and forms part of the Trinity Academy Newcastle Trust.

Whilst assessing their online safety needs, Trinity Academy Newcastle realised that they wanted to take a whole school approach to online safety. One which incorporated staff, parents and students and provided a comprehensive solution.

They quickly learned of the benefits which our Certified School Programme could offer and, as a result of following the steps laid out on the programme, Trinity Academy Newcastle were recently awarded with their Certified School Accreditation.

Responding to an ever-evolving online world

With the wealth of resources and knowledge we have here at National Online Safety, we are able to give all schools peace of mind when it comes to providing accurate and up to date information around staying safe online.

That’s no different in the case of Trinity Academy Newcastle, who have been delighted with the expertise we have equipped them with in order to react to specific issues which arise online.

Michelle Higgins, Trinity Academy Newcastle Trust Safeguarding Lead said: “Storms are sometimes created online, so it’s about giving us the tools to know how to respond to that and to support parents in making sure they know how to respond.

“We’re about to embark on our new curriculum framework in terms of meeting requirements for the new Ofsted framework – so that will be incorporated within that.”

Expert staff training and resources

Included within our Certified School Programme are role-specific courses which allow all staff to enhance and improve their online safety proficiency.

All staff at Trinity Academy Newcastle have embraced the opportunity to learn – leading to a shared online safety confidence from all.

Ms Higgins revealed: “The staff have fed back to me that they’ve found the training great.

“Because we’ve had a lot of changes to our staff, it meant for me that staff could have somewhere they could immediately log in, register and get trained.

“In terms of keeping our students safe, it’s allowed staff members to recognise any issues and subsequently alert the relevant people. I remind staff that they’ve got those resources online and they can dip into them whenever they wish.”

Engaging parents

Of course, not all online safety issues arise during school hours, so it’s important to educate parents, carers and trusted adults with the understanding that they need to tackle any incidents at home.

“We are also able to direct parents to the resources now. The nature of our students means that a lot of our time is taken up here, dealing with issues that arise online between students, from home rather than at school,” Ms Higgins explained.

“We reached out to our parents during Parents Evening, where we had letters ready for them and members of staff on hand to inform them about the National Online Safety resources and the opportunity for them to sign up.”