Online Safety
Safer Internet Day 2022
Some resources which you may find helpful in supporting your child online are:
Advice for parents and carers from: childnet.com/parents-and-carers
Reviews and information about games, apps, TV shows and websites from: commonsensemedia.org
Help on using parental controls and privacy settings from: internetmatters.org/parental-controls
Free safer internet resources for parents carers;: https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
Parent Fact Sheets
To understand and help your children with a range of online apps and sites, use the following "Parent Factsheets" from The Key for Schools:
Top 10 Tips for keeping your child safe online
Fortnite Instagram Screen time in general Snapchat
Screen time and parental controls
Information sheet on screen time and how to keep your child safe this summer. Screen time can be an easy way to keep children entertained during the holidays. Know the risks, and what you can do to keep your child safe and healthy. Mr Finch
Click on this link - to access the attachment which has instructions to set parental controls for devices
Keeping your children safe online - useful links
Here are some useful links to help you to understand potential online dangers and to keep your children safe online:
NSPCC guide to online safety
The NSPCC guide page has a great deal of information for parents. They explain how children use the web and give guidance on how to have a conversation with chidlren about online safety. They give practical tips on setting parental controls on different types of devices.
www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
The NSPCC also have a series of online safety briefings for parents which you can download or print off:
- Sexting (PDF) summarises the key information from their sexting webpage on what sexting is, what the risks are and what parents can do to protect your children.
- How to keep your child safe online (PDF) sets out 4 TEAM steps parents can take to keep their children safe online: Talk, Explore, Agree, Manage
Net Aware from O2 & NSPCC - Your guide to the social networks your kids use- click here for more information from O2
Net Aware's Guide to Fortnite
Fortnite is currently a very popular game with junior-age children. This guide provides information for parents:
www.net-aware.org.uk/news/fortnite-all-you-need-know/
Talk to someone about online safety
Whether you want to set up parental controls, adjust privacy settings or get advice on social networks, experts from the free O2 & NSPCC helpline are here to help.
Keeping your children safe online - parent workshop
Mr Finch arranged for Sally, a Police Community Support Officer, to talk to us about online dangers and how to keep safe when using smartphones, websites and online games.
Sally's team are responsible for over 370 schools in Luton and Bedfordshire and she said that Someries Juniors had the biggest turnout of parents for such an event.
Sharing Information
The children were told not to share personal information online. This can include information such as:
- Full name
- School
- Address
- Email address
- Phone number
- Pictures
Sally advised the children to only be online ‘friends’ with people they know in the real world and to turn on their privacy settings.
We also learned to be kind when sending online messages. The children reflected that, unlike chatting face-to-face, with online chat we cannot see how the other person is feeling or reacting.
Difference in Board Games and Video Game Ratings
- Video game ratings are different from other game ratings and are more like cinema ratings – the higher the rating the more unsuitable it is for children. To qualify for a higher rating the game must have violent content, swearing or other content that is unsuitable for young children.
- With board games the age rating helps us know how old children may need to be in order to play the game due to its difficulty. If children manage to play a game for a higher rating (for example, a junior child playing an "Age 13+" strategy game) then this is something to be proud of as the child is able to do more than they are expected to. With video games is NOT a good thing to be playing a game for children rated older than you!
A number of our children indicated to Sally that they are playing games that are rated 16 or 18. We strongly advise parents to monitor the games that they play. If in doubt about getting your child a game that they are asking for, then you could check clips of games on Youtube!
For more help, parents can go to the "Think You Know" site: www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Concerned-about-your-child/
You can click here for the checklist for "Keeping your child safe online" that Sally provided at the meeting: Checklist
Here is the list of "Information and Online Resources" from Safer Internet Day 2018: Online resources for parents
