Hi all 

Week 3 is complete and we are moving into our school setting into routine and timetable. 

My blog this week is about some protective measures to keep our children safe. 

The internet is a wonderful tool and over the past 20 years or so has changed the world - certainly in the 2 years of the pandemic where we were able to use the net to communicate, work and educate . It's certainly changed our lives in education. Sometimes - we do become over reliant on technology - through our phones, iPads, laptops and screens and now - with the use of AI - the world can look like a different place. 

If you are reading this thinking: “What is Alison’s point here?”

As a team ,we've looked at how much time our young people are spending on devices and more importantly - what they are looking at . Out school has 2 - what I only can describe as an electronic safety wall - similar to a firewall - that ensures that anything students , or staff are searching is safe. If it’s not - it’s flagged to us.

So from Monday, we will be using 'YouTube Kids' as the main YouTube platform. I have asked staff teams to work closely with students for them to be able to explain the reasoning behind this , which is to keep our young people safe online . Through sharing this with you via this blog -  I'm asking for the same support at home. 

In the meantime, we will continue to education our young people - through the ICT curriculum (eSafety) and through RSHE. I'm looking forward to hearing students' comments through school council on how this is going. 

Finally, I'm sharing a lovely letter I received from a year 8 student Corey this week. Corey is a regular visitor to my office - mainly to check out my books. But on Friday - Corey presented me with a beautifully written letter on what he thinks should be the school rules, namely: 

Thank you Corey for sharing your thoughts on school. I'm sure you will be amazing to represent our school voice on the council .

That's it for now. Have a fab weekend and enjoy the last part of summer before we move into October (how fast had that gone?!)

Stay safe .

Mrs T x