Welcome to the Webwise Online Safety Review Tool

A comprehensive online safety review tool designed to help schools review their Online Safety policy and practice.

What is the Webwise Online Safety Review Tool?

Firstly, it is important to note that schools are at different stages of their online safety journey. The Online Safety Review Tool is designed to support schools at all stages of the journey in identifying strengths and areas for improvement across key areas: culture and environment; relationships and partnerships; curriculum; and policy, planning, and practice.

By highlighting best practice standards, the tool helps schools make gradual, meaningful progress, focusing on small, manageable actions to enhance their overall approach to online safety.

Instructions

5 easy actions for schools:

Focus on one key area: Select a specific aspect of online safety to improve annually. Every school is different and may look to how the Online Safety Review Tool can aid them to focus on areas that best fit your school’s priorities and needs.

Collaborate: The Online Safety Tool is designed to allow collaboration. Consider if there are staff members in the school who have expertise in relation to each of the key areas. This can be a useful starting point to work together to take manageable actions.

Engage the whole school community: Identify and involve all relevant members of the school community in discussions and training around online safety.

Review regularly: Revisit the Online Safety Review Tool to update and reassess the school’s online safety journey

Use free resources: Take advantage of the free materials provided to guide improvements.

How is the Online Safety Review Tool helpful to schools?

Supports Incremental Progress: Schools can focus on making small, manageable improvements each year, regardless of their current resources or stage of development.

Best Practice Guidance: The tool provides useful benchmarks to help schools align with best practice standards for online safety practice and policy.

Free Resources Available: Schools can access a range of free, practical resources to support them in enhancing online safety, reducing the burden of developing new materials.

Whole-School Approach: It encourages involvement from the entire school community – teachers, students, and parents – fostering a comprehensive approach to online safety.

Your review journey

Culture and Environment

Relationships and Partnerships

Curriculum

Policy, Planning and Practice

Mapped to the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice, the tool is structured under Four Key Areas of Wellbeing Promotion.

Under these key areas schools can review and assess their current online safety approach including security, data protection, learner safety and awareness, learner and parental involvement, cyber security, digital citizenship and training for educators.

Tool aims

Safe: Free guidance and recommended online safety steps schools can take to ensure that children stay safe online

Secure: Outlines steps for a proactive whole-school approach to mitigating against online threats and risks

Aware: Help schools to raise awareness among staff and students about their rights, responsibilities, opportunities and risks of the online environment

Empowered: Equip students and staff with the knowledge and skills to make the most of the opportunities that digital technology and the Internet has to offer

Tool features

Collaborate: Encourage whole-school input and collaboration

Identify strengths: Assess current state of online safety policy and practice

Track Progress: Review and update progress

Create an action plan: Receive feedback and resources to address gaps

Certification: Receive certificate of completion