E-Safety at Uckfield College

In today's digital world, online safety is more important than ever. At Uckfield College, we are committed to ensuring that our students can enjoy their time online safely, access secure digital spaces, and make the most of the incredible opportunities a connected world offers—appropriate to their age and stage of development. As they grow, it is essential that students learn to:

  • Recognise online risks and protect themselves
  • Balance the benefits of technology with responsible usage
  • Develop critical thinking skills to navigate online content
  • Behave safely and respectfully in digital spaces
  • Make a positive contribution to the online community

Our Approach to Digital Literacy and E-Safety

We have carefully aligned our Digital Literacy and E-Safety curriculum with the ‘Education for a Connected World’ framework (2020). This ensures that students gain age-appropriate knowledge, skills, and awareness across eight key strands, helping them stay safe and confident online.

How We Teach E-Safety

Online safety is embedded throughout our curriculum and College life. Students develop essential digital skills through:

  • Computing and Life Learning lessons
  • Cross-curricular activities in all subjects
  • Dedicated Digital Literacy and E-Safety Deep Learning Days
  • Specialist assemblies on key online safety topics
  • PDT (Personal Development Time) activities

Supporting Parents and Carers

We understand that supporting your child’s online safety at home is just as important. Below, you’ll find two highly recommended websites and a guide to mobile parental controls to help you create a safer digital environment for your child:

NSPCC - Keeping children safe online

UK Safer Internet Centre

Parental Phone Controls

For further advice or concerns about online safety, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Together, we can help students navigate the digital world safely and responsibly.

Our Digital Literacy and e-Safety curriculum responds to the following key areas:

Self-image and identity

 

This strand explores the differences between online and offline identity beginning with self-awareness, shaping online identities and how media impacts on gender and stereotypes. It identifies effective routes for reporting and support and explores the impact of online technologies on self-image and behaviour.

Online relationships 

 

This strand explores how technology shapes communication styles and identifies strategies for positive relationships in online communities. It offers opportunities to discuss relationships and behaviours that may lead to harm and how positive online interaction can empower and amplify voice.

Online reputation 

 

This strand explores the concept of reputation and how others may use online information to make judgements. It offers opportunities to develop strategies to manage personal digital content effectively and capitalise on technology’s capacity to create effective positive profiles.

Online bullying 

 

This strand explores bullying and other online aggression and how technology impacts those issues. It offers strategies for effective reporting and intervention and considers how bullying and other aggressive behaviour relates to legislation.

Managing online information 

 

This strand explores how online information is found, viewed and interpreted. It offers strategies for effective searching, critical evaluation and ethical publishing.

Health, well-being and lifestyle 

 

This strand explores the impact that technology has on health, well-being and lifestyle. It also includes understanding negative behaviours and issues amplified and sustained by online technologies and the strategies for dealing with them.

Privacy and security 

 

This strand explores how personal online information can be used, stored, processed and shared. It offers both behavioural and technical strategies to limit impact on privacy and protect data and systems against compromise.

Copyright and ownership

 

This strand explores the concept of ownership of online content. It explores strategies for protecting personal content and crediting the rights of others as well as addressing potential consequences of illegal access, download and distribution