Online Safety

The internet has become the most prominent technological phenomena in the world.  It has given families fantastic benefits but can also pose a risk to safety.  Children, who are increasingly using technology in an independent manner to game and socialise, need instruction and control to keep them safe.

We recommend that parents not only check the internet history of their children, but also the chat and app usage history.  Please make sure you know the passwords of software that your children are using so that you can monitor what they are doing and that they have not been subject to receiving or sending inappropriate messages or images.

The children have been taught to report anything upsetting to an adult and to block the sender.  Anything you deem to be of a grooming nature can be reported to CEOP - link below - which is the The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre of the police.

A polite reminder that Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Discord, and other similar apps have an age restriction of 13 (Twitter 16).  This means they are not suitable for primary aged children. YouTube has content that is not suitable for children under 13 but they have an app called YouTube Kids that is more suitable (but not perfect). Here is further information and ways of increasing safety on YouTube kids.

Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system developed by Roblox Corporation that allows users to program games and play games created by other users.  There have been concerns about some aspects of the game.  Again it is for children aged 13 and above.  Please follow this link to find out more information.

If you wish to know about the dangers of social media apps (e.g. Snapchat, Instagram), here is a link to Family Education that is well worth a visit.

If you are concerned about any online applications your children have been using or discussing with friends please feel free to come in and talk about this with the class teacher.

There's a lot of advice available about internet safety in the following places:

• Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) - use the report abuse button for advice and to report online abuse such as grooming

• Childnet International - a non-profit organisation working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children

• Digital parenting resources - helping parents help their children manage their digital world, including digital parenting magazine

• Get safe online - practical advice on how to protect yourself, your computers and mobile devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and other problems encountered online

• Internet Matters - an independent, not-for-profit organisation to help prents keep their children safe online

• Internet Watch Foundation - report illegal content online

• Parent Port - run by the UK's media regulators to set and enforce standards across the media to protect children from inappropriate material

• NSPCC online safety - helpful advice and tools you can use to keep your children safe online

• Net aware - NSPCC and O2 have joined forces to provide you detailed advice as to all social media platforms

• UK Safer Internet Centre - tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe on the internet.

• Family Education - an American site that gives information about current apps.