Testimonial

Heritage Christian School

Prioritising Digital Safety

This testimonial explores how Heritage Christian School enhanced digital safety and wellbeing for their students with a community approach.

Summary

School Name 
Heritage Christian School

Type 
Christian, K-12

Location 
New South Wales

Champion
Paul Betenson, IT Manager

"You can't just rely on an IT solution. It has be a whole school effort from the top down."

From cyber safety education to early detection and intervention

As one of the leading independent schools in Sydney, Australia, The Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore) prioritises a comprehensive pastoral care program for its students, recognising the importance of digital resilience and fostering positive online relationships. Through character education, the school aims to develop well-rounded individuals by equipping them with essential skills to navigate both the online and offline worlds.

Shore understands that while the online and offline worlds are connected, transferring offline skills to the online space is not easy. So, for them, teaching students the significance of engaging positively and productively in their digital interactions is crucial, especially since much of students’ learning and socialising happens online.

For Shore, education plays a pivotal role in providing these necessary skills. As part of this effort, the school conducts Linewize ySafe sessions to educate students on their online safety, equipping them with relevant skills and promoting responsible digital citizenship.

What Shore wasn’t seeing: navigating the challenges of online Interactions

Shore believes in a holistic approach to student digital wellbeing. And while they were adept in educating students about the online world, they also recognised the importance of equipping their staff with the tools to better help students. A way to do this was by providing them with visibility into what their students were doing online.

As with most schools, Shore had a significant challenge in gaining visibility into students’ online activities. They recognised that incidents often took place in spaces that were inaccessible to staff, and although they worked with families and the students themselves to gain insights, this resulted in an incomplete picture.

As a result, staff were unable to intervene effectively, and implement solutions that addressed the problems they were seeing, without considerable time spent investigating, which took them away from their core responsibilities.

"It’s really challenging to get visibility on what happens online with your students. These things are happening in a place you don't have access to. Which means you spend so much time time trying to find out ‘things’, they often you don’t get the opportunity to act appropriately and help what student."

How Shore uses data to:

Inform their overall Student Care Plan

Data is an integral part of Shore’s pastoral care and wellbeing strategy. It helps them identify potentially concerning or risky trends and patterns of behaviour, enabling them to intervene in a timely way.

The availability of granular data also substantiates conversations and better informs their student support intervention plans. Findings from trend data assist the school to source speakers with relevant expertise and to implement initiatives that address specific student concerns.

Get a holistic picture of each child’s wellbeing

In addition to academic and absenteeism information that most schools collect, Shore now also gathers specific insights from their Linewize solutions around what their students are searching for, who may be potentially at risk and how they are tracking in the online world.

Linewize Monitor helps them understand the context and interactions their students are having. A human moderator assesses cases that need immediate attention and promptly notifies the school if necessary.

By understanding the broader context of each student’s situation, the school is able to tailor effective recommendations to help get students back on track. In certain cases, they may request additional details from the student, consult with parents, involve other teachers, or engage relevant students connected to the situation. This collaborative approach ensures the identification of the most suitable resolutions, tailored to each student’s unique circumstances.

Measure Program Effectiveness

Data analysis enables Shore to measure the effectiveness of its pastoral programs. Examining the frequency and themes of online incidents has helped the school refine and enhance its strategies, ensuring they align with the evolving needs of each individual student.

Distribute ownership and equip the whole school community

Shore understands that a holistic strategy must empower the whole school community to be an instrumental partner in the digital safety and wellbeing of their students. The school equips parents and guardians with relevant information, guiding them to have regular conversations with students. This has helped foster a collaborative environment at Shore, where everyone works together towards the students’ overall wellbeing.

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