Abercarn Primary School has become the first school in the area to sign up to a social network designed for kids.
Unlike other sites such as Facebook or Twitter, Greatbritishkids.com, which is headquartered in Ystrad Mynach, only allows under 18s to become members by partnering with schools to verify users’ ages.
The site has already gained more than 4,000 members from across the UK.
Abercarn Primary Head Teacher Mr Gareth Roden said: “With social networking and the web becoming a more integral part of the lives of young adults, I am delighted to sign up our school to Greatbritishkids.com.
“Technology moves so quickly so it’s good to know there is a responsible social network available that keeps under 18s safer online.
“The verification process is quick and simple and gives the peace of mind that members of the site will be safe.”
Greatbritishkids.com was set up by father-of-four Hywel Dance and his business partner Miles Phillips, both from Pontypridd.
Mr Dance, said: “As a parent myself, I know the concerns about people using fake identities to get onto social networking sites.
“My business partner and I were getting increasingly worried about the safety of children online and we decided to apply real world principles.
“You would not take your kids to football training or ballet dancing lessons unless you trusted the teacher to look after their best interests while in their care.
“We see our website as no different, when we get a new member it’s our responsibility to look after them and do everything in our power to keep them safer, while still having fun on the site.”
A free online community for children, it offers all the features of a social network and its own radio station.
It also provides educational tools such as writing a blog, text that translates into 75 different languages and the opportunity to create and take part in polls.
The site is monitored by moderators and has a built-in alert button on every page with links to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), Childline and the Samaritans.
It has zero tolerance to bullying and filters out all inappropriate words and images.
Mr Luke Greenslade, IT technician at Abercarn Primary, said: “As part of our IT lessons we teach our children about the importance of internet safety.
“Greatbritishkids.com provides a safe online environment because our pupils can only join when we have verified that they are who they say they are and it gives them a positive experience of social networking.”