Online Safety & Guidance

The internet is undoubtedly one of the greatest ever inventions and is an extremely useful tool for entertainment, staying in touch, sharing memories as well as finding out anything and everything. However, the internet is also full of danger which children need to be safeguarded from.

Keeping up to date with what your children are doing online can seem very daunting. Technology is constantly advancing and sometimes parents feel that their children know more about the internet than they do.

The guidance and links below are designed to help parent’s and carers to keep their children as safe as possible when online. Our best single bit of advice is to be curious about what your children are doing online, take an interest in their activities and regularly check what they are doing.

 

Concerns

If you have any concerns regarding your child and online safety please contact Mrs Ellison and Mrs Sutton via schooloffice@thepriory.wirral.sch.uk. We have an open door policy so please discuss any concerns with your child’s class teacher or with Mrs Ellison and Mrs Sutton, our Designated Safeguarding Leads.

Remember you can also report any online concerns to CEOP via their online safety centre.

 

Making the internet safer to use at home

  1. Check that your internet service provider provides parental controls so you can add a layer of security for your children and filter out inappropriate content. You can also encourage your child to use a ‘safe search’ search engine as shown here: www.safesearchkids.com. And here is a link to the education version of YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/education

  2. Talk to your child about online safety and take an interest in their activity. Especially encourage them to talk to you about anything which is worrying them online

  3. Keep online passwords safe and secure and change them often. Don’t let any of your networks be open or discoverable

  4. Agree ground rules for safe use of the internet at home. For example limit the amount of time children can spend online in any one go and restrict access at bedtime

  5. Be App aware. Many devices require downloading an app. You should check the privacy settings and permissions of any apps you download, as well as the product itself.

  6. Be device aware. Make sure your security settings include all internet enabled devices including smart TV’s and game consoles

  7. Report any concerns you have. The CEOP website below is full of really helpful information.

 

More Useful links and Sources of Information

CEOP Website – The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command website is part of the Police’s national response to internet safety. The website includes a function to instantly report any concerns about online behaviour.

Think u know website – Thinkuknow is an education programme from the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Command. Their website is full of really helpful guidance for parents, including action you can take if you are concerned about your child online. This includes: Nude Selfies and Sexting, Gaming, Using Parental Controls

NSPCC Net Aware website – This is the digital safety website from the NSPCC. It includes helpful online safety advice, resources and guidance for parents. 

Social Media Library April 2018 - An updated list of 183 gaming and social media apps commonly used by young people. The list includes the names and description of the apps.

Net Aware Apps and websites – A list of the latest apps and popular websites including a simple summary

Safer Internet website – The UK’s safer internet centre is a government backed hub of advice, including help and advice for parents and carers.

Internet Matters website – This website offers a number of useful guides about online safety for parents and carers