Online Subject Leader- Amanda Hulme

Email address- ahulme@longcause.plymouth.sch.uk

Children who attend Longcause have a diagnosis of Autism and a variety of other complex communication needs. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. They are very vulnerable online as they find it difficult to understand the context of danger and may find it difficult to interpret people’s intentions, thoughts and feelings through online communication and are not always able to distinguish between reality and the online world. While the internet can be a very positive place to make online relationships, this exposes them to grooming, abuse or exploitation so we focus on helping them to develop strategies to keep themselves safe. We also recognise that for many of our pupils, they perceive the people they communicate with online as their ‘friends’ and they often have limited friendships outside of school. They are therefore extra vulnerable online and we prioritise this aspect of their education. 

Intent:

What will our pupils experience throughout their online safety curriculum at Longcause?

We want our children to experience and understand the potential and capabilities of technology whilst developing an awareness of how to maintain a safe and healthy digital life. This may look different across the different pathways but the overarching themes still remain consistent.

In order for pupils to become safe, independent members of the digital world they live in, we want pupils to:

• Be knowledgeable in sending, receiving  and participating in electronic communications safely.
• Know how to protect their identity and information online.
• Know how to access support, including online support, if they are concerned about something that they see or experience online. 
• Recognise both the positive and negative impacts of social media and representations of others online. 
• Know the law around technologies, how this applies to them, and be able to identify potential harmful behaviour/ content online.
• Recognise that not everything online is true and know how to question the validity of what they access.

Implementation:     

Pupils within the Explorers Secondary, Adventurers and Year 11 pathways will have weekly sessions of online safety. This is coupled with RSHE and Positive Relationships.

Online Safety is taught through 6 termly topics, following the Educational for a Connected World Framework (2020). Skills within the Online Safety Scheme Progression ensure complete compliance to the statutory guidance Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education, which is also taught through our LLfL curriculum. Further information on our LLfL curriculum can be found here.

Impact:

Our main aim for Online safety at Longcause is for children to transfer this knowledge and have the confidence to implement these skills in functional everyday situations. We want them to be able to:

• Engage safely and creatively with a variety of technology and applications.
• To know how to spot risks involved with being in the online world. 
• To know where to get support if they encounter something online that worries them.

Parental support

For information on how you can support your child at home, please access our Online Safety for Parents page below.