The 360 safe online safety self-review tool has received significant updates to make the tool easier for schools to use and to reflect recent updates to national guidance in England and the ongoing developments in the use of digital technologies.
In summary the changes are:
- The aspects in the tool have been reduced from 21 to 18.
- The following aspects have been deleted, but their content added to other aspects: Professional Standards; Contribution of Learners; Agencies and Social Media
- There is a new Cyber Security aspect (the level from the Technical Security aspect will be copied to the new aspect, but the commentary will be blank)
- All level statements and improvement actions have been updated to increase their clarity and to reflect national guidance, developments in the use of digital technologies and the merging of some of the aspects.
The Online Safety Policy Templates have been updated to reflect the changes in the 360 safe tool and to make them more user friendly. The main changes are:
- The policy templates have been simplified and are now significantly shorter – without losing any of the essential statements required for a school Online Safety Policy
- There is a new “Online Safety Policy Statement” (Appendix A7) which summarises the main points from the Online Safety Policy Templates into a two page statement
- There is a new Cyber Security Policy Template (Appendix C3)
While the content in the tool has been significantly updated, the level of expected provision required for each level has only minimal change. We do however recommend that schools revisit their 360 safe reviews to ensure that their provision continues to meet national standards and relevant guidance.
With the significant updates to the Policy Templates we recommend that schools adopt the latest versions, adapting them to the school’s particular needs and circumstances.
Schools applying for the Online Safety Mark this term will be assessed against the previous standards, but should take the opportunity to revisit their review before the assessment.
