Online safety
May 2019
Just before half term the children attended an Online Safety assembly where they talked about being good digital citizens. They found out the following:
- A digital citizen is anyone who uses the internet
- Being a good digital citizen means following our online safety rules and...
- Having a kind heart, so they use kind words and are polite.
- Having a warning tummy which tells them when something they see online doesn't seem right.
- Having a thinking brain, so that they tell a trusted adult when something they see online makes them feel uncomfortable.
Please could you reinforce these at home and remind your child of them when they use the internet.
Monday 25th March 2019
In assembly this afternoon the children were reminded of the basic rules for staying safe online and we would appreciate you reinforcing the following rules at home:
- Always ask an adult before going online
- Never give out personal information without checking with your grown up first
- Never chat or play games with people you don't know
- Always tell and adult if something you see online makes you feel worried, frightened or uncomfortable
The children have been shown a child safe search engine that filters out unsuitable content. https://www.kiddle.co/ also aims to show information most relevant to children with easy to read text and from children's sites such as National Geographic Kids. You may wish to encourage your child to use this site at home.
The internet has evolved so much since its creation that combined with new technology many things have become much more easier in life. If you are lost then you can look at Google maps, if you are hungry you can now order by tapping a button on Just Eat and if you want to speak to someone abroad you can do it for free via Skype.
Here are some of the key findings that Childnet has from their survey:
- Watching Livestreams: YouTube Live is the most popular service for watching others livestream, with 44% of 8-17 year olds using this.
- Going Live: Instagram Live is the most popular service that children use to ‘go live’ themselves, with 11% of 8-17 year olds saying they had done this on Instagram, with the second most popular service - Facebook Live - being used by 9% of 8-17 year olds.
- Teens more prolific users: Almost half of teens aged 13-17 years have watched livestreams on YouTube (47%), compared to around a third (32%) of 8-12 year olds. Meanwhile, 1 in 8 teens have broadcast live on Instagram (12%), and 1 in 10 have done so on Facebook (10%). In comparison around 1 in 15 children aged 8-12 years have used Instagram (7%) and Facebook (7%) to go live.
Secondly, if you decide to livestream then make sure you don't disclose personal information if your video is public and make sure that you choose who you share your stream to carefully.
Welcome to this page, designed to give you some pointers on using technology safely. Included below is the draft school e-Safety policy, an agreement for you to read through about your own child/children's use of the internet, as well as some potentially useful links to websites that discuss Online Safety issues. More will be added as the term progresses so please keep an eye out for new documents and links.
Please find below a link to an advice site called ‘netaware’ which provides information about social media sites and highlights potential dangers. If internet safety is an issue that you are worried about please do not hesitate to contact the school and we will do all we can to support you.
Net-aware
Stay up to date and keep your child safe in today’s digital world. This site allows you to click on and understand the issues and possible dangers that your child might face if using a particular site. Just put the name of the site your child is accessing into the search engine and click to see advice about the site, and what you can do to make your child’s use of the site safer.
This article may be helpful if your child enjoys playing gaming sites, especially Minecraft.
Staying safe on Minecraft | ParentInfo
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Online Safety Information for Parents |
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As computer and other communications technologies have developed, new dangers have emerged for all those who use them. Schools have a duty of care towards their pupils, above all to enable them to use the internet and other communication technologies safely The steps we take:
Other aspects of Online safety Apart from the obvious threats to personal safety the internet involves other difficulties and dangers which the school also seeks to address through lessons on: copyright, acknowledgement of sources, assessing the usefulness of websites, assessing the reliability of information on the internet, the importance of cross-checking, verification and comparison of information, the dangers of viruses and other downloadable threats, the importance of responsible use of passwords etc. Guidance We have used the following source in our work on Online safety: The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre We also looked at the advice from Childnet international, a major international body concerned with child safety and the internet. Other bodies providing advice, additional information, guidance and activities for children: |