PRIMARY NEWS
Online safety issues reach primary school children
New primary school network launched in Bedford
A new network of nine primaries in the borough has been launched where senior leaders review each other’s schools and share best practice to help with school improvement, being brought together as part of a partnership between The Harpur Trust, The Pioneer Learning Trust and Bedford Borough Council.
It’s called the Bedford Accelerator Peer Review Network and is funded by The Harpur Trust’s Accelerator Programme, which has been set up by The Trust to support the improvement of educational outcomes in the borough. Primary schools Carlton, Hazeldene, Kings Oak, Lakeview, Livingstone, Priory, Turvey, Westfield and Wilstead, are the first cohort taking part in the Peer Review programme which will be facilitated over a three-year period with further cohorts joining annually, working towards a self-sustaining Peer Review Network of Bedford Borough schools.
Caroline Downing, Head of Education Partnerships at The Harpur Trust, said: “Having a clearly defined and purposeful peer review platform, where local school leaders visit each setting with a fresh set of challenging, yet supportive eyes, is really powerful. It can give senior leaders an opportunity to try new approaches, as well as offer school to school support.” Cori Bateman, CEO of the Pioneer Learning Trust, explained: “Peer reviewing is really powerful. Having the opportunity to hold up a mirror to your school and reflect is so valuable, but it has to be challenging, curious in nature and non-judgmental.
“I’m very excited by the development of the new network and the impact this will have on the pupils in the borough. Emerging evidence shows that by working together in a structured way towards actions and outcomes, teachers and schools can improve faster and more sustainably.”
A Censuswide survey commissioned by BBC Teach suggests that online safety, often considered an issue for teenagers, is a growing problem amongst younger children. The survey indicates that more than three- quarters (80%) of primary school teachers are aware of at least
one safeguarding incident linked to online safety in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, a third (36%) of teachers reported that safeguarding incidents, linked to online safety, had increased at their primary school. Teaching online safety, often referred to as ‘safe use of technology’ in curriculum documents, is a requirement for schools across the UK. Yet the survey suggests effectively all primary teachers (98%) find it a challenge to teach.
According to the results of the survey, 33% of primary teachers said at least one child in their class had reported being a victim of an online scam. 35% felt that the number of children being scammed each year was increasing, and the same number thought that artificial intelligence (AI) could contribute to making children more vulnerable to scams. The survey also indicates that almost half (47%) of primary teachers want better teaching resources for online scams.
The survey asked primary teachers about the challenges children faced in talking about negative experiences online. Almost every respondent (99.8%) indicated that they felt children faced challenges and, selecting from a list of options, were most likely to say that they felt children were afraid of their friends finding out; unclear as to who they should speak to; and feel there is no point in reporting an incident as nothing will change. Helen Foulkes, Head of BBC Education, said: “Teachers play a key role in keeping children safe online. But the pace of change, for instance with scams, means it’s incredibly hard to stay up to date. BBC Teach has brought together more than 100 resources covering every aspect of online safety. Together with a Live Lesson, they provide teachers and children with the tools that they need to be good online citizens.”
Primary schools partake in online reading project with Paralympian Danielle Brown
UK primary schools took part in an exclusive online reading of two- time gold paralympic gold medallist and author Danielle Brown’s book ‘Girls Rule’ by the author herself, to mark World Book Day on 6th March.
The event took place as part of the Children Today Charitable Trust’s ‘Reading for Life’ project, which aims to spread awareness of disability and neurodiversity and celebrate inclusion and diversity. The series of online reading events began in December 2024, featuring 12 separate sessions with authors including paralympic gold medallist Danielle Brown MBE, Kate Foster and Matt Stephenson. Each session includes a live reading by the author followed by a question and answer session for the children listening to it. Cheshire-based Children Today offers the free sessions to schools, pre-schools, individuals and other organisations. Participants sign up to join in and listen to the live sessions with their pupils. Lexi Heselwood, Communications Manager at Children Today, says: “‘Reading for Life’ is all about bringing more inclusive stories with disabled and neurodivergent characters to our children’s classrooms and beyond.”
March 2025
Children Today is working in partnership with confidence expert, author and speaker Cat Williams of Building Your Confidence Ltd, as well as Cheshire Education Library Services and Cheshire Public Library Services to deliver the programme of events, which run through to May 2025.
Cat is hosting each of the Reading For Life sessions. She said: “I particularly wanted to support
Children Today’s ‘Reading for Life’ project because I believe we all communicate at our best through stories. Stories transform lives by resonating through time, and change the way we see ourselves, others and the world on an emotional level.”
To find out more, visit:
https://www.childrentoday.org.uk/ events/
www.education-today.co.uk 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
