At Forty Hill, we like to encourage our children to use the internet in a safe way. We use iPads and computers regularly, allowing the children freedom to research and investigate our ever-changing world as well as develop the skills of coding and touch-typing.

However, we also recognise the potential challenges and danger that access to technology can present. Forty Hill CE School stands with the Local Authority regarding keeping our children safe online and ensuring children have frequent opportunities for screen-free activities. We advise our parents to follow the new guidelines from the Local Authority below:

https://traded.enfield.gov.uk/public-assets/attach/8533/Keep-Your-Child-Safe-Online-Guide-2024.pdf

Please follow the above link to the Parent’s Guide to Technology produced by Enfield Council.

From January we shall only allow our Year 6 children to bring in non-smart phones if they are walking independently to school. Please follow this link to a range of suitable phones that are recommended for phone calls only-

 https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/alternatives

When children first started getting smartphones in recent years, there was no research about their impact. Now there is, and it’s overwhelming. Exposing children to technology and information their brains are not yet developed enough to deal with, can cause a whole host of problems, from triggering anxiety and eating disorders, to opening the door to cyberbullying or sexual predators, according to the latest research.

At Forty Hill CE School, we embrace technology as an educational tool and recognise its role in majority of professions our children will go into as adults. However, we are also seeing the adverse effects of smart phones, social media and online platforms such as Tik Tok and YouTube influencing language and conduct negatively. By having an online presence, when they are not emotionally or socially developed enough to deal with the volume and content of material, we are putting our children in a very vulnerable position- both from a safeguarding and mental health perspective.

‘When we give our children access to the whole world in their pocket, we give the whole world access to our children.’

Please take time to look at the statistics below, and work with us by following this new guidance in Keeping Children Safe Online from Enfield Council, so we can protect our children and enable them to flourish in every way.