Internet

For many people searching the Internet and using the World Wide Web are synonymous. At primary level, however, it is considered inappropriate  for young children to engage in searching for the folllowing reasons:

• The skills of phrasing questions and choosing keywords so that fruitful searches result are difficult and require practice.
• High order reading skills, such as skimming and scanning, are required to make sense of a search engine's results if searching is to be productive.
• Users need the maturity to evaluate the validity of the material they find.

We, therefore, teach Internet searching at upper Key Stage 2. That is not to say that the Internet should not be used by younger children. There are many excellent resources to be found for children from the Foundation stage up but they should be chosen by the teacher.

Your school's Internet connection is filtered so as to greatly reduce the likelihood of undesirable material being accessible by children. It should be noted that no filtering system can ever be 100% foolproof and so the filter should not be considered a substitute for  vigilance and supervision by teachers and classroom support assistants. Guidance on drawing up a school Internet security policy can be found on Wired

The Internet Proficiency Scheme, aimed at Key Stage 2 pupils, is highly recomended. http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/schools

Unit 6D

Using the internet to search large databases and to interpret information