Keeping Your Family Safe Online

We believe that the effective use of the internet is worthwhile and is an essential skill for children as they grow up in the modern world but it’s important to keep yourself and your family safe. Our school Internet provider operates a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate materials.

TOP TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR FAMILY SAFE ONLINE

* HAVE A DISCUSSION & GET INVOLVED: This sounds simple but many parents are fearful of broaching the topic or don’t know where to start, but the reality is for many children there is no longer much distinction between their lives on and offline. Ask your children about what they and their friends are doing online, to try and understand where any risks may be. Have a discussion about what information is and isn’t appropriate for your children to share, and explain why. Discuss which social networks they use and ask them to inform you of any upsetting messages, making it clear you won’t get angry.

* SWITCH ON PARENTAL CONTROL TOOLS: There are now some simple and easy-to-use filtering products available, which can help people make the right decisions for their homes. Different ISPs offer different types of filtering – for example Sky Broadband Shield uses a system of age ratings people will be familiar with - PG, 13, 18 – to decide the level of filtering to apply, and is available for free to their customers.

* GET SAVVY ABOUT TECH: These days it’s not just about the PC in the corner of the room. In many homes there are on average 7 internet-connected devices, with everything from smartphones to TVs and games consoles that connect to the web. Look out for a ‘whole home’ parental control tool that allows you to filter sites across the devices in your home.

* REGULARLY REVIEW YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS: These can control who can view your child’s profile on social networking sites and how much information, like photos and video they can see. Review these regularly on your children’s accounts – and yours too – as technology is continually being updated and settings may not automatically change to keep up.

* SET BOUNDARIES: Parental controls are not just about blocking access to websites, they are a tool to help set boundaries. Some will allow you to easily amend filters at the touch of a button, so you can set filtering during specific timeframes.

* KEEP TALKING: Young people use the internet to socialise and grow and, just as you guide and support them offline, you should be there for them online too. As they get older keep talking about how they are using the web, who they’re talking to and what they’re sharing. It is important to continue to discuss boundaries and how they are set so that they evolve along with your child’s use of technology.

Online trends and the popularity of apps changes all the time, and it can be difficult to keep up

We have attached some Fact Sheets of current trends which we hope you will find useful.

Stay Safe - Stay SMART

The following rules are what we teach our pupils in school when they start to access the internet... does your child know how to stay SMART online?

SAFE

Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information – such as your full name, email address, phone number, home address, photos or school name – to people you are chatting with online.

MEET

Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents’ or carers’ permission and even then only when they can be present.

ACCEPT

Accepting emails, IM messages, or opening files, pictures or texts from people you don’t know or trust can lead to problems – they may contain viruses or nasty messages!

RELIABLE

Information you find on the internet may not be true, or someone online may be lying about.

TELL

Tell your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied online.