e-Safety

e-Safety Tips

At home, many children are often given unsupervised access to the Internet. This, potentially, allows them to access a wide range of digital material (both good and bad) and bring them into their homes.

Here are some tips to help keep your child safe online:

  • Explore e-safety sites – There are lots of links to useful e-safety sites for children in our Links section. They are great fun to explore, so why not browse through them with your children?
  • Facebook / Bebo / Myspace – Many of these sites have a minimum age limit of 13, so our pupils should NOT be using them.
  • Keep your computer in a shared area – Talk to your child about what they are doing online and, if possible, set up your computer in a shared area at home so that you can all share in the wonderful sites that are available online.

e-Safety Documents

Download – Social Networking Guidelines for Parents

Download – Legal Downloads – A guide for Parents and Teachers

Download – Online Gaming – A guide for Parents and Teachers

Some links to more information:

  • Think U Know – containing internet safety advice for those aged from 5 to 16, along with parents and teachers, this site is produced by CEOP (the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre).
  • CEOP – Receive help and advice as well as the option to report any instance of sexual contact or harmful material to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
  • Kidsmart – An award-winning internet safety programme for children.
  • Know IT All – lots of useful advice for keeping yourselves and your children safe on the Internet.
  • Bullying UK – Information and advice about bullying for children, parents and schools.
  • Kidscape – An organisation which helps to prevent bullying and child abuse.
  • Childline – ChildLine is the free helpline for children and young people in the UK.
  • ChildNeT  – Top Tips on Gaming
  • PEGI – More Gaming Information to support Paretns and Children.
  • ParentInfo – Lots of Support for computers and other child related topics

Vodaphone Digital Parenting Checklists

Vodaphone produce some useful checklists for parents of different aged children to support them with addressing online safety issues. As we are coming up to Christmas and young people may well be receiving technology as presents we thought it might be useful to circulate these.

Under 5 checklist

  • START setting some boundaries now – it’s never too early to do things like set limits for the amount of time they can spend on the computer
  • KEEP devices like your mobile out of reach and make sure you have passwords/PINs set up on them for the times you might lend them to your child… or for when they simply get hold of them themselves!
  • CHECK the age ratings and descriptions on apps, games, online TV and films before downloading them and allowing your child to play with or watch them
  • EXPLAIN your technology rules to grandparents, babysitters and parents of your child’s friends so that they stick to them when they’re looking after your child
  • REMEMBER that public Wi-Fi (e.g. in cafés) might not have Parental Controls on it – so, if you hand over your iPad to your child while you’re having a coffee, they might be able to access more than you bargained for
  • SET the homepage on your family computer or tablet to an appropriate website like Cbeebies

Age 6-9 Checklist

  • CREATE a user account for your child on the family computer with appropriate settings and make the most of Parental Controls and tools like Google SafeSearch
  • AGREE a list of websites they’re allowed to visit and the kind of personal information they shouldn’t reveal about themselves online (like the name of their school or their home address)
  • DECIDE time limits for things like using the internet and playing on games consoles
  • BEAR in mind what older siblings might be showing them on the internet, mobiles, games consoles and other devices and agree some rules as a whole family
  • TALK to other parents about their views on things like what age to buy kids a mobile and don’t be pressured by your child into letting them use certain technologies if you don’t think they’re old enough or mature enough… no matter how much they pester you
  • FAMILIARISE yourself with age ratings and descriptions on games, and apps etc, so that you can be sure your child is only accessing age-appropriate content