Children at Willow Park C of E Primary School use the Internet on a regular basis as part of their learning. In school, we have regular ‘e-safety’ activities to remind children of the importance of keeping themselves safe online.
At home, sometimes children can be given unsupervised access to the Internet. This, potentially, allows them to access all kinds of society (both good and bad) and bring them virtually into their homes.
Here are some tips and useful links to help you to keep your children safe online:
Explore e-safety sites – There are lots of links to useful e-safety sites for children at the bottom of this page. They are great fun to explore, so why not browse through them with your children?
Facebook / Twitter/ Snapchat – Many of these sites have a minimum age limit of 13, so our pupils should NOT be using them. They do not offer the same levels of protection as Edmodo, allowing children to communicate with anyone.
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.
We have e-safety posters on display in our classrooms. Why not put one up next to the computer at home and talk about it with your children?
Family Agreement
A family agreement is a great way to start a conversation as a whole family about how the internet should be used safely and responsibly when online at home, at school or at a friend’s house.
To support parents in creating a family agreement Childnet International have put together some free advice and a helpful family agreement template for families to use as a starting point.
Please find below two documents to help you create your own family agreement:
Are you worried about your child playing games which are not appropriate?
Do you understand PEGI ratings?Childnet also shows you how to set up parental controls on your TV and games Devices at home.
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).
Vodafone Parents – Vodafone have lots of fantastic practical advice for parents. You can also read their ‘Digital Parenting‘ magazine.
Internet Safety Zone – Look in the ‘Under 13s’ section for useful safety advice and information.
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.
The internet is full of information and learning opportunities which can help your child develop as a digital citizen and lifelong learner. However, the need to keep them safe online is just as important as keeping them safe in the “real” world.
