Case Study:
Norham St Ceolwulfs CofE Controlled First School
Located in the idyllic setting of Norham-on-Tweed, Northumberland, Norham St Ceolwulfs CofE Controlled First School offers the opportunity for every child to flourish.
Since signing up for National Online Safety’s Certified School package, pupils, staff and all affiliated with Norham have been given the chance build and develop their knowledge and skills around safeguarding children online and implement a whole-school approach.
They subsequently achieved their certified status in March, which obviously brought a huge sense of pride, and was a testament to the way they have gone about their learning.
Access to high-quality materials
Utilising our age-specific, online safety lesson plans, Norham have been able to deliver both engaging and informative content to their children.
That, coupled with the possibility to adopt a flexible approach to online safety training, played a huge part in the school’s ultimate decision to join National Online Safety.
Sarah Dimond, Headteacher said: “The reason we signed up was two-fold really.
“One of them was the e-safety lessons and curriculum which we accessed through that, and also to make sure staff were trained and up-to-date.
“It’s handy, because people can choose when to do it, whereas when you are trying to get someone to deliver online safety, inevitably they can’t deliver it to everybody at the same time.
“This way, everyone is getting the same message, from the same place, but they can fit it in when they’ve got time to do it.”
Meeting requirements
Our training and resources are all designed in line with the statutory requirements for schools – leaving Mrs Dimond with no doubts when it came to the validity of the training.
“The biggest advantage for us is that we know everything is in one place and knowing that it meets all the requirements,” she explained.
“We know the lessons that we’re teaching to children meet the requirements, and they’ve formed part of our new RSE curriculum.
“I know it’s up-to-date and relevant, because it is a very fast-paced and changing world.”
Prioritising online safety
Of course, it’s those messages and comprehension which will impact greatest on the whole school community, but to achieve Certified Status was something of a great accomplishment for Norham.
She declared: “It’s great to be recognised for what we’re doing and that we are prioritising online safety.
“It is important that our children are protected online and know how to keep themselves safe online and, as staff and the governors as well, that our knowledge is up-to-date.
“Knowing that children in my class use TikTok, I can look at your guides and know what I need to be saying to the children and the parents to keep them safe.”