At School

At school we take several steps to ensure that children are kept safe while using the internet and electronic communication.

We use targeted filtering to prevent access to websites that are not suitable or may be dangerous.

Internet access in supervised and we monitor the websites that are accessed.

We use a controlled email system where we monitor the children’s emails and we limit the addresses that children can communicate with. These steps are taken protect the children from unsuitable emails and identify possible cyber bullying.

Children are also taught how to use the technology safely so that they can keep themselves safe.

At Home

We appreciate parents can have a difficult job keeping up with their children on the fast changing technology available to them, let alone knowing the dangers they face. The issues of safety, privacy, online predators or grooming and cyberbullying are sometimes complex, both technically and psychologically and parents can struggle to keep up.

To help parents we have put together a selection of links to websites that will help them to ensure that their children can reap the benefits of the Internet while staying safe.

General E-safety Websites

BBC Stay Safe - http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/curations/stay-safe

Kidsmart - http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/

Childnet International - http://www.childnet-int.org/

Google Family Centre - http://www.google.com/familysafety/

Parent Info - http://parentinfo.org/ 

NSPCC Online safety - https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

Internet Filtering

All of the big internet providers can enable internet filtering to help you protect your children from unsuitable websites. The link below from Safer Internet provides information about filtering your home internet connection. But you should remember that your child may have access to the internet on their mobile device by using internet provider my the mobile provider or by connecting to other wireless services.

http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parental-controls

Social Media

We would like remind parents that the minimum age to open an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Skype and Snapchat is 13. Whilst many parents choose to allow younger children to use these services we cannot recommend this. To keep your children safe on social media parents should ensure that the correct privacy settings are enabled, and that appropriate adult supervision is provided while using online services.

Further information is available at the NSPCC site Net Aware

http://www.net-aware.org.uk/

http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safety-tools/youtube

YouTube

Many children spend a lot of time watching vloggers (Video Log).
Some children chose to emulate these Vloggers, and in doing so without careful thought can leave themselves open to bullying or online grooming by revealing personal details and making videos and comments available to anyone.
This is not illegal but the minimum age to create a Youtube account is 13. Having an account for a younger child breaks the terms and conditions of the site. It is not possible to upload videos without creating an account.

The following links provide additional information for parents and teachers:-

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802272?hl=en-GB&ref_topic=2803240

Computers

There are several ways to keep your children safe on your home computer or laptop.

Windows offers parental control systems that allow you to block or control what your children can see. The links below will help you set these up.

Windows 10
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/set-up-family

Windows 8
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/family-safety

Apple computers provide controls for parents which you can read about below.

https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21683  

Gaming Devices

All of the modern games consoles and other gaming devices can now access the internet but also provide some controls so that parents can have some control over what can be accessed.The links below will provide information on how to use these controls.

X-BOX - http://support.xbox.com/en-gb/pages/xbox-live/how-to/parental-control.aspx

PlayStation 3 - http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/basicoperations/parentallock.html

PlayStation 4 - https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/get-help/help-library/my-account/parental-controls/parental-controls-on-playstation-4/

Safer Internet Gaming Devices - http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology/gaming-devices

Smartphones and Mobiles

There a many mobile devices available now that can access the internet. The websites below provide some helpful information about the potential dangers of mobile devices.

ThinkUKnow Mobiles - http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/8_10/control/mobile/

Safer Internet Smartphones - http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology/smartphones  

If your child's device is accessing the internet on a mobile phone network then the networks are required to provide a content filter to protect young users. However this is normally switched off to start with so you will need to contact them to enable it. The links below will take you to the mobile network provider's websites.

3 - http://www.three.co.uk

Tesco Mobile - http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork

O2 - http://www.o2.co.uk

Orange - http://www.orange.co.uk

T-Mobile - http://www.t-mobile.co.uk

Vodafone - http://help.vodafone.co.uk

Virgin - http://www.virginmobile.com

Tablet Devices And Internet Enabled Devices

Safer Internet Tablets - http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology/internet-enabled-devices 

 Android Parental Controls - https://www.internetsafetyproject.org/wiki/parental-controls-android 

Here are some additional resources you may find useful  

https://www.internetmatters.org/issues/radicalisation/  

https://www.internetmatters.org/issues/online-grooming/

https://www.internetmatters.org/advice/online-gaming/

https://www.internetmatters.org/issues/self-harm/

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/sexting/