The KidSMART website is aimed at educating children of the dangers surrounding the internet and to be aware of how they use it. Although, unlike most others the site views e-safety in a strictly positive way,  they encourage the children to be vigilant and think about what they are doing online and how they could be safer. Other websites can shock or scare the children by using a large amount of statistics and focusing on extreme cases, which is not an effective way of educating children about the dangers.

The initial home page is  bright and easy to navigate, meaning that when children are using the site for information or help it is clear where they need to go for it or how to get it. I also think that the questions on the homepage help the children to instantly engage with the topic, since they are given something to think about before they even search for the information or use the resources in more depth. On the children’s area it also uses language and images that are targeted at that specific audience, therefore the children are more likely to connect and remember what they are being told. However, the information is also backed up by games and interactive elements, just to really stress to the children the importance of the subject. On the homepage, there are also direct links to other sites of a similar nature, including childnet, although I think there could be more links to websites, so that when the children are at home they know that there are more people to talk to if they need help- no matter what the time is.

I then looked into the teaching resources, these included plans, powerpoints and worksheets. They seemed to be incredibly well thought out and easy to teach from, creating both interesting and focused lessons for both the teachers and the children. The site seems to have a number of characters which change depending on the age range. The use of characters add a little more of a personal touch, since it allows the children to connect with them and reflect on their experiences. As an example, ‘Smartie the Penguin’ has a range of songs, videos and colouring for the EYFS audience- the teacher is also able to have a toy penguin which brings their experiences to life and so are more likely to remember what they are being taught. This topic also includes Smarties mother, which therefore helps to involve the parents into the children’s learning of e-safety which is incredibly important. I think involving parents is an effective way to approach e-safety, as it informs them of what the dangers are for their own accounts as well. Although, the powerpoints which are provided which are a little out of date and contain a lot of writing, therefore they could be updated into a more animated style story. The words on the slides can also be changed to maybe a teachers version, so that they are able to read the story while the children are following along with the images.

Overall, I think the website itself is an incredibly effective resource itself, as well as containing a range of appropriate and up to date resources. I would advocate for this website to be used across the school, as well as my own classroom. It gives teachers, parents and children a clear idea of what to look out for and how they can stay safe both at home and in schools.