Online Safety
Staying safe online is a vital part of children’s life and education in today’s ever-growing digital world and online safety is rooted in the computing curriculum at our school.
As a school, we feel that engaging and supporting parents and children to improve their own understanding of e-safety issues is of great importance, so they can learn to support each other when using the internet and all digital media in a safe and secure way.
At home
It is clear how important the internet is to children at home – they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It’s a highly creative place of amazing opportunities and an excellent learning tool. However, the technology children use every day can seem complicated at times and you may worry about the risks your child can face online – such as cyber-bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing or hearing illegal or inappropriate content.
Creating a comfortable environment and creating a place for dialogue to discuss any of these issues is a great starting point, a child knowing they can approach you about these issues is more likely to speak out about them. To support you with this here are a few things you can do:
- Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
- Ask them about how they stay safe online? What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
- Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the devices and apps/games that they use.
- Encourage them to help. Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
- Think about how you use the internet as a family. What could you do to get more out of the internet together and further enjoy your lives online?
For further help, Here are some conversation starter ideas from www.childnet.com
HfL Education publishes a termly online safety newsletter for parents and carers. You can download it here:
