WIREDGOV

Education Minister, Huw Lewis was at the Ty Gwyn Special School in Cardiff yesterday to encourage young people to stay safe online.

During his visit the Minister launched two new resources for Welsh schools that encourage safe and responsible use of the internet and social technologies.

One is a self assessment tool that allows schools to judge and improve their online safety, while the other is a resource pack for teachers that will support them in teaching their pupils about the importance of responsible online use.

Huw Lewis said:

“There’s no doubt the internet and social technologies offer huge possibilities for learning and research, for communication and collaboration and for limitless creativity. That’s why we recently made a big investment in upgrading the broadband infrastructure for schools in every part of Wales. Indeed, 86 per cent of schools are now receiving the desired connectivity at the agreed level or better.

“However, we must also recognise that there are darker corners of the web which children and young people will encounter from time to time.  

“We’re committed to safeguarding all children and young people across Wales, and this is equally true in the online space. That’s why I’m pleased to launch these e-Safety tools here at Ty Gwyn Special School today.

The 360 degree Safe Cymru tool will enable schools in Wales to assess their e-Safety provision, policies and support. It is fully bilingual and allows schools to judge their position across 28 aspects of e-Safety and quickly identify both their strengths and weaknesses.

The tool also guides schools on what they need to do to improve their safety levels and move up to the next level.
 
Once schools are achieving high scores across the full range of indicators, they can undergo an assessment to apply for the e-Safety Mark, which is a national recognition of good practice.

Cadoxton Primary School in Barry recently became the first school in Wales to achieve the e-Safety Mark and during his visit the Minister will present headteacher, Janet Hayward and Cadoxton with their award.

The Minister will also launch a digital literacy and citizenship resource, a resource for teachers of Foundation Phase right through to Key Stage 4 that will help them to teach pupils about the importance of safe and responsible use of internet and social technologies. The resource links into the Literacy and Numeracy Framework.

Speaking about Cadoxton Primary’s success in achieving the e-safety mark, the Minister said:

“I’m delighted to award Cadoxton Primary School with their e-Safety mark and congratulate them on being the first school in Wales to achieve this. I would encourage other schools across Wales to apply for this national recognition of good practice.

“The e-Safety mark is one very practical way that schools can help to ensure their pupils will be safe and responsible global citizens and online users”.