Online safety
Keeping your kids safe at home
As one of the below documents states, "The internet is an amazing resource which enables children and young people to connect, communicate and be creative in a number of different ways, on a range of devices. However, the internet is always changing, and being able to keep up to date with your children’s use of technology can be a challenge. You may sometimes feel that your children have better technical skills than you do, however children and young people still need advice and protection when it comes to managing their lives online."
Below please find some help sheets for some of the most common sites including risks and steps you can take to keep your children safe. It's worth taking the time to read these to ensure you've put the correct parental controls in place and that you're not allowing your child to visit social media that shouldn't be accessed at their respective age. Please also be sure to be particularly mindful of your older children where you may give them more independence and/or less supervision.
We're doing all we can in school to help educate them and keep them safe, but when it comes to social media they're accessing that outside of school so we need everyone working together to keep them safe. If there is anything else we can do, or if you have ANY suggestions or questions, please contact us.
Signposting for children and young people
CEOP helps any child or young person under the age of 18 who is being pressured, forced or tricked into taking part in sexual activity of any kind. This can be something that has taken place either online or in ‘the real world’, or both. The CEOP Safety Centre has clear information and advice on what can be reported to CEOP, the reporting process and what will happen if you do decide to make a report. You can visit the CEOP Safety Centre and make a report directly to CEOP by clicking the Click CEOP button.
If you are experiencing online bullying or something else online has worried you please speak to an adult you trust, or you can talk to Childline at any time on 0800 1111 or at www.childline.org.uk.
Signposting for adult stakeholders
CEOP is a command of the National Crime Agency and is dedicated to tackling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. CEOP helps children and young people under the age of 18 who have been forced or manipulated into taking part, or are being pressured to take part, in sexual activity of any kind. This can be both online and offline. The CEOP Safety Centre offers information and advice for children and young people, parents and carers and professionals. You can visit the CEOP Safety Centre and make a report directly to CEOP by clicking the Click CEOP button.
Online bullying or other online concerns should not be reported to CEOP and children and young people should be directed to speak to an adult they trust, and/or referred to Childline, if they would like to speak to someone about how they are feeling.
We were fortunate enough to have a very informative and interesting presentation from Paul Platts, an Education Computing Consultant from the LA. He has been kind enough to send us some documents with details on how to support your children with regards to keeping themselves safe online.