Contemporary online safety advice, innovative school information sharing tools and relevant safeguarding guidance is brought together in Safer Schools NI. Safer Schools NI ensures your essential information is available when you need it, where you need it – in your pocket! Designed for whole school communities, Safer Schools NI allows users of all ages to educate and empower themselves and those around them to stay safer on and offline.
To register your school for free now, visit https://saferschoolsni.co.uk/and click “Register Your School”.
HOW IT WORKS?
App users are categorised into ‘roles’ depending on their position within the school community e.g., Safeguarding Lead, Staff, Parents & Carers or Pupils. Each user role is provided with a specific QR, and four-digit entry code supplied by the school (upon organisation registration) to gain access to the App. If they don’t yet have a code, users can access the App by selecting “waiting for a code”.
ONLINE SAFETY GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES
- The App contains extensive age-appropriate guidance, resources, and advice on a wide variety of topics, including health & wellbeing, social media, and gaming. Each topic contains quick quizzes and digital tests to evidence and further reaffirm learning.
- For school staff, CPD certified training courses are available to take directly within the App. Topics include Safeguarding Level 1, Mental Health Awareness, and Appropriate Use of Social Media.
- ‘Daily Safeguarding News’ is delivered directly to the App for all school staff.
- Access to a weekly round-up news podcast and safeguarding alerts aredelivered to staff, parents, and carers.
- Teachers receive access to the ‘Teach Hub’, a dedicated library of downloadable resources, created by teachers for teachers for use in the school curriculum.
- Parents and Carers receive access to the ‘Home Learning Hub’, the Teach Hub’s counterpart, that ensures safeguarding education doesn’t stop at the school gates!
- All users have direct access to the ‘Online Safety Centre’ through their App or on desktop browser that explains how to set parental controls, block, mute, report, and much more, all divided by popular platforms and operating systems.
KEY FEATURES
- News Builder: Allows schools to craft and curate their own digital news content in real time.
- Push Notifications: Communicate important safety messages, news, and announcements directly to staff, parents, carers, and pupil's devices.
- Digital Noticeboards: One way communication from staff members to specific groups such as individual classes, after-school clubs, or parent groups.
- Travel Tracker: Users can choose to share their live location for a limited period of time to trusted contacts when it matters most, such as on school trips, remote working, or walking home alone.
- Report a Concern: Users can report safeguarding concerns 24/7 to a dedicated professional email inbox. These can be completed anonymously.
- School/Safeguarding directories: Interactive Directories allow immediate access to contact details for relevant staff members and signpost to credible help and advice
- Report an absence: Providing parents and carers with an effective, time-saving solution to inform the school of their child’s absence.
Join our mission to educate, empower and protect our school communities across Northern Ireland, and play your part in keeping children and young people safer on and offline by downloading the app today.
Safer Schools NI is a partnership between the Department of Education and Ineqe Safeguarding Group.
ABOUT INEQE SAFEGUARDING GROUP
A leading independent safeguarding organisation based in the UK. With over 250 years of combined safeguarding expertise and advanced software development capabilities, delivering innovative and unique safeguarding solutions and training.
The "Safer Schools" app claims to prioritize child safety but falls short in its approach. Rather than fostering a healthy environment, it appears to thrive on fear, encouraging parents to become overbearing in their quest for digital safety. This app's fear-mongering tactics seem more likely to create an atmosphere of paranoia than genuine security. Furthermore, the overstepping parental controls raise concerns about children's privacy, promoting an environment where trust is replaced by surveillance. A more balanced and respectful approach to digital safety would better serve both parents and their children.
