The Blackpool school where online safety is top class

When it comes to keeping kids safe online staff at one Blackpool school are mega.
Blackpool's Park Community Academy has been awarded National Online Safety  accreditationBlackpool's Park Community Academy has been awarded National Online Safety  accreditation
Blackpool's Park Community Academy has been awarded National Online Safety accreditation

In fact, the effort to push security in the online world to the top of the timetable during the coronavirus pandemic has landed Park Community Academy National Online Safety Certified School Accreditation.

Staff at the specialist school, which caters for pupils aged from two years to 19, decided to improve their digital awareness after lessons were forced online.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They have taken part in comprehensive training though the National Online Safety multi-award winning digital training provider.

The CPD accredited courses and educational resources support UK schools in educating the whole school community in online safety– including all school staff, senior leaders, teachers and parents – on how to make the internet a safer place for children.

Caroline Johnson is the Key Stage Two team leader/ computing Coordinator at the school.

She said: "Helping to keep our pupils, their families and our staff safe online is something we are very passionate about at PCA. We have always embedded online safety across our curriculum but during this difficult and unprecedented time it has been even more important to ensure this is a priority.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Caroline added: " Many of our families had expressed concerns that their child was spending an increased amount of time using technology so we have worked hard to support them.

"Teachers have spoken to the children and parents on the telephone about how to keep safe and even took some of the National Online Safety guides to the pupil’s homes for them to use.

"The whole PCA community have worked hard to maintain a high level of support and vigilance around online safety so we are so pleased and proud to have had this recognised and to be awarded National Online Safety Certified School Accreditation."

James Southworth, co-founder at National Online Safety, said: " By completing our training programme, the school has shown its strong commitment to implementing an effective whole school approach to online safety.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It can be increasingly difficult for schools and parents to stay ahead of online threats and ensure both children and staff are safeguarded from potentially harmful and inappropriate online material.

We arm schools with the knowledge they need to understand online dangers and how best to react to any problems."

Schools wanting to discuss their online safety provision or would like access to up to date online safety learning resources, can contact National Online Safety on 0800 368 8061.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.