Setting

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 F 020 7421 6855 www.ofsted.gov.uk enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk

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Mrs T Mason Headteacher Kineton Green Primary School Olton Solihull West Midlands B92 7EB

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – E-safety

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 19 May 2009 to look at work in e-safety.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – E-safety

As outlined in my initial letter, this visit looked at:  the extent to which schools teach learners to adopt safe and responsible practices in using new technologies  e-safety training for staff.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – E-safety

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text. All feedback letters will be published on the Ofsted website at the end of each half-term.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – E-safety

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included interviews with staff and pupils, scrutiny of relevant documentation and an analysis of pupils’ work.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – E-safety

The overall effectiveness of e-safety was judged to be good.

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Outcomes for learners

 The oldest pupils are well informed about how to avoid risks when using the internet. They routinely use trusted web sites and are clear about what to do if they come across unsuitable material.  Several pupils in Key Stage 2 own or have access to a mobile phone. They have a good understanding of how mobile phones can be misused, for example, to harass or bully someone.  Pupils from Year 2 upwards are aware that they should keep their in- school passwords and other personal information secret and the reasons for this.  Pupils know that some unsolicited emails contain pop-ups with dubious content. They know they should report these to an adult and never respond to them.  Some older pupils use social networking sites at home and they talked sensibly about the precautions they take. They could only recall one out-of school incident that occurred some time ago and said this was dealt with well by teachers.

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Quality of provision

 Plans for each subject include references to e-safety when appropriate. Within ICT lessons, all work involving internet access is preceded with reminders about e-safety. Lesson plans across the curriculum mention it. For example, when learning about emails, pupils are taught about the potential pitfalls.  Older pupils have good opportunities to make their own judgements and assess risks for themselves. Year 6 pupils, for example, spoke eloquently about how they had evaluated the usefulness of six search engines.  There is a reasonably balance between completely blocking access to information and managing pupils’ use of the internet. This enables pupils to research topics and learn for themselves how to avoid unsuitable material.  E-safety issues are covered well during personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons. Following a media account of an incident, for example, teachers revisited the issue of mobile phone safety.

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Quality of provision

During a recent ‘anti-bullying’ week, pupils acted out scenarios relating to cyber bullying and misuse of emails.  You are aware that the next step is to draw together the most effective features of the provision to provide comprehensive guidance for staff and parents.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of e-safety are good.

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Leadership and management

 A detailed policy on e-safety is regularly reviewed and updated as new technologies emerge. Staff are well aware of their responsibilities and adhere to the guidelines.  Any incidents, however minor, are logged and followed up sensitively, involving discussions with parents if appropriate.  You have a good idea of strengths and what needs to be further developed in regard to e-safety. This is evident in the existing plans to review all procedures as the ICT suite is refurbished and new equipment is acquired.  All parents sign the acceptable use policy but, as you acknowledge, more could be done to help parents to complement the school’s efforts to help their children avoid risks when using new technologies at school and at home.

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Quality of training

The quality of the training is satisfactory.

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Quality of training

 Most staff have had some training in e-safety and ideas have been disseminated across the school. This is helping to secure good outcomes for pupils in regard to e-safety.  The ICT coordinator, yourself and the chair of governors attend training sessions and share e-safety information across the school.  As the learning platform is being phased in across the local authority, plans are in hand to train all staff in the safe use of this resource.  You are aware that much of the staff training has been incidental rather than systematically planned, and rightly see this as an area for development.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 building on the existing good practice to produce comprehensive curriculum guidance for staff  devising a programme of systematic training for staff  strengthening the partnership with parents regarding e-safety.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop e-safety in the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

As I explained in my previous letter, a copy of this letter will be sent to your local authority and will be published on the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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