Staying Safe Online
E-safety for parents
As a school we teach our children about keeping safe online in PSHE lessons and in Computing lessons. We have a newly appointed group of children who work with Mr Ellis, our computing lead, to teach children about keeping safe online.
As a parent, you’ll know how important the internet is to children – they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It’s a highly creative place of amazing opportunities. But the technology children use every day can seem a bit daunting and you might worry about the risks your child can face online – such as bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content.
You can download a simple checklist that may help you start to protect your children online and decrease the risks they face. Or you can engage with your children regarding their use of the internet while at home using the conversation starters below.
Each year we take part in Safer internet day. 2023’s theme is ‘Want to talk about it?’ and is to get children talking about their online life which will allow us to best support them if something worries them. Here are some conversation starters from www.childnet.com.
- Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
- Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
- Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
- Encourage them to help. Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
- Think about how you use the internet as a family. What could you do to get more out of the internet together and further enjoy your lives online
If any parents would like some support with setting up devices or keeping children safe online please contact us at school and we would be more than happy to help.
Here is a useful checklist to help get you started with setting up a device for your child:
Resources
Please read the following leaflet from Cleveland Police who are a key partner in ensuring young people are knowledgeable of online issues.
The following leaflet is from Hartlepool and Stockton Safeguarding Children Partnership *New for 2023*
Privacy settings are an important part of keeping our young children safe and you can find out more information about them here.
Parental controls are such a vital tool. Common Sense Media have created a guide here. Internetmatters.org have also created a guide that you can access here.
Following the age rating is so important to ensure your child is accessing safe content for them. Common Sense Media have a useful search bar that allows you to search for any TV show, film, app, game – anything that your child may be accessing! These can be searched for here.
Below you will find extremely useful safety cards that clearly explain how to adjust any privacy settings on consoles, streaming apps and other forms of technology.
Further information about staying safe online can be found on the following websites:
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk
http://ceop.police.uk
http://www.childnet.com
http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/parents
https://www.internetmatters.org/issues
https://www.commonsensemedia.org