ONLINE Safety
It is vital that we work together to keep children safe online. We encourage you to broach Online Safety carefully with your child, in order to maintain open lines of communication, so that children are more likely to talk to an adult if they have any problems or concerns.
USEFUL WEBSITES AND INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
Here is a link to a FREE online safety workshop for parents that can be watched at home at your own convenience.
Free online safety virtual workshop | NSPCC
Please also see below a list of useful websites that may be able to support you with keeping your children safe online.
Do not hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher about any questions or concerns you have about their use of devices inside or outside of school.
ThinkUKnow – The Thinkuknow website provides parents and children of all ages with the information that they need to stay safe online.
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
Childnet International – Through the childnet website, parents and carers can find invaluable information concerning online safety. Childnet resources will help you to understand the issues, set up parental controls on the internet services in your home and even provide conversation starters to help you talk about online safety with your child.:
https://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/have-a-conversation
NSPCC NetAware – Because it is difficult to keep up to date with all the latest in social media and online gaming, the NSPCC has developed the net aware tool. If you follow this link and type in the name of any social media site, net aware will tell you all you need to know about it.
https://www.net-aware.org.uk/
Safer Internet Centre – Safer internet day seeks to bring together parents and children to raise awareness of the risks children face online. Last year they were able to get their message across to 2.8 million children and 2.5 million parents.
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers
Hectors World – Hector’s World is a series of fun and engaging cartoons that teach 5-7 year old children all about how to stay safe online.
https://www.hectorsworld.com/
CEOP: Child Exploitation and Online Protection – CEOP is a national crime agency. If you have any serious concerns regarding the online safety of your child, you can click this link to make a formal report.
https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre
Childline – Information for children on mental health
https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/your-feelings/mental-health
NSPCC – Tips and advice for parents including having conversations with children
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social Media is a powerful tool, often used in excellent ways (see the school Facebook account for a wonderful example of positive Social Media in action, but we know it can be a risky subject.
Be a part of your child’s online life; involve the whole family and show an interest. Find out about the sites they visit and what they love about them. If they know you understand they are more likely to come to you if they have any problems.
So what should my child be using?
The image below gives a clear outline of age restrictions on many popular social media sites: