eSafety
Please find below the termly newsletters which the Department for Education produce to make parents and carers aware of any online issues which have been flagged to them. They contain some really useful advice for you to use to support your children with the online world and help to keep them safe.
Websites for you to use with your child to help with the esafety conversation.....
Thinkuknow website...... this website has been specially developed by CEOP for children of all ages to help them to learn about staying safe online. There's information for parents here too.
Kidsmart...... help and advice for children using the internet.
Digi Duck's Big Decision....... Esafety book (and more) for KS1 children - A brilliant online safety resource for younger children
Home and Family Guidelines
- Talk together and have fun learning together.
- Involve everyone and agree your family guidelines and rules. Remember that sometimes what is acceptable for a Year 6 child is not necessarily acceptable for a Year 3 or Reception child.
- Discuss regularly online safety and go online with your children. Communication is the key to eSafety.
- Keep virus and firewall software up to-date.
- Enable your ‘browser safe’ search option and/or consider using internet filtering software, walled gardens and child-friendly search engines.
- Keep the computer in a communal area of the house, where it's easier to monitor what your children are viewing. Never let children have webcams, or similar, in their bedroom.
- Talk to your children about why they should not to give out their personal details. If they want to subscribe to any online service then make up a family email address to receive the mail.
- We all love to chat and children are no different. Encourage your children to use moderated chat rooms and never to meet up with an online ‘friend’ without first discussing it with you.
- Time children spend offline following a range of other activities is equally important. Time spent online should be monitored to help prevent obsessive use of the internet
- Encourage your children, and in fact all family members, to tell you if they feel uncomfortable, upset or threatened by anything they see online.
- Have proportionate responses if the family guidelines are not followed.
What is a Digital Tattoo? The National Crime Agency, CEOP, gives it's top tips on making sure that a child's online reputation is just as good as their offline one.
Parent Info website..... Here you'll find a collection of articles, tips, expert advice and resources designed to help parents keep up with what their children are doing online.
It can be difficult to stay on top of the wide range of sites and devices that young people use, the following advice might help.......
Four steps:
- Have ongoing conversations with your children about staying safe online
- Use safety tools on social networks and other online services, eg Facebook privacy settings
- Decide if you want to use parental controls on your home internet
- Understand devices and the parental control tools they offer in the Parents' Guide to Technology
NSPCC Share Aware....... Follow this link to the NSPCC website it helps you to keep your child safe while they are online; giving you help & advice, plus videos you can share with your child. Please make sure you watch the videos BEFORE you watch them with your children and only watch them with your child when they (and you) are ready for the resulting conversations. Start with the document below to start being share-aware.
Cyberbullying..... One in five young people have experienced bullying by text message or via email. This web site gives advice for children and parents on bullying and cyberbullying. Follow this link to a booklet that gives practical help and advice about cyberbullying.
Safer Internet Day.....something we mark every year in school. Have a look at this website for more information.
Entertainment and Software Ratings Board......Follow this link to The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) will help to keep you up to date with new games being launched and advice on their suitability for all ages. Below is a booklet from the ESRB about video games, parental controls (xbox360, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 & PSP) and online safety.
Pan European Game Information..... Link HERE (PEGI) provides advice regarding the age suitability of a game.......age ratings are systems used to ensure that entertainment content, such as films, videos, DVDs, and computer games, are clearly labelled by age according to the content they contain. Age ratings provide guidance to consumers (particularly parents) to help them decide whether or not to buy or give a particular product to their child.
The rating on a game confirms that it is suitable for players over a certain age. Accordingly, a PEGI 7 game is only suitable for those aged seven and above and an PEGI 18 game is only suitable for adults aged eighteen and above. The PEGI rating considers the age suitability of a game, not the level of difficulty.
Parents keep your children safe online......Internet Matters is a website that can help you do this. Protect your children by activating simple parental controls around your home - here's how, with an interactive guide!
Virus protection help......Follow THIS LINK to Malwarebytes and download a piece of software that can help with getting rid of viruses.
Google Family Safety Centre - Link HERE
Get Safe Online - Link HERE
Web Wise - BBC website - Link HERE
Safety & Privacy settings for social media apps download the document below for help with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube Kids, Pinterest, Tumblr, Skype & Gmail.
Social Media help sheets for parents.......
Useful Information......
Do you need to report or need advice? Follow this link for help.