Simple Rules for Keeping Your Child Safe
- To keep your child safe they should:
- Ask permission before using the Internet
- Only use websites you have chosen together or a child friendly search engine.
- Only email people they know (why not consider setting up an address book?)
- Ask permission before opening an email sent by someone they don’t know
- Do not use Internet chat rooms
- Do not use their real name when using games on the Internet (create a nick name)
- Never give out a home address, phone or mobile number
- Never tell someone where they go to school
- Never arrange to meet someone they have ‘met’ on the Internet
- Only use a webcam with people they know
- Ask them to tell you immediately if they see anything they are unhappy with.
Using these rules
Go through the rules with your child and pin them up near the computer. It is also a good idea to regularly check the Internet sites your child is visiting e.g. by clicking on History and Favourites. Please reassure your child that you want to keep them safe rather than take Internet access away from them.
Talking to your children about staying safe online
We regularly use our PSHE lessons to remind your children about the importance of staying safe online. You can use some of the resources below to continue the conversation.
Breck Foundation
Recently Ofsted produced a useful 'Online Safety Webinar' for parents and schools. The webinar focuses on the work of the Breck Foundation. This foundation is a self-funding charity, raising awareness of playing safe whilst using the internet. It was established following the death of a young boy called Breck who was groomed online.
The webinar lasts for around 1 hour. For parents who are short on time we would recommend that the first 23 minutes are watched, after that Ofsed focus on what schools and inspectors can do to keep children safe.
Gaming
Things you can do to keep your child safe online:
- check your parental controls on your PC to stop then accessing inappropriate material;
- accessing games on a console or tablet? Here's how to set parental controls: Ask About Games
- have a conversation, discuss sites and apps together, talk about any concerns they may have;
- talk about personal information and what not to share online;
- is your child accessing social networks? Most of these have an age limit of 13+, check the content and age limits of what they are accessing here: NetAware
- Is your child playing computer games, check the age limit here: Netaware
Other resources
As well as the Breck Foundation website, the NSPCC website provides further resources and links on how to keep your child safe online. Live My Digital, is an educational site aimed at families. The site has links to a video series which covers the following online safety themes:
- Cyberbullying
- The digital footprint
- Identity and self-esteem
- Relationships and grooming
- Security and privacy
- Sexting
