In school we use a filtering system to prevent children accessing inappropriate sites. We also have 'e-safety' activities to remind children of the importance of keeping themselves safe online. E-safety issues are embedded within the Computing curriculum and every year group acknowledges and encourages safe and sensible use of the internet and new technologies.
At home, sometimes children can be given unsupervised access to the Internet. This, potentially, allows them to access all kinds of society (both good and bad) and bring them virtually into their homes.
REMEMBER
The minimum age to open an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Kik, and Snapchat is 13. For Vine, Tinder and Yik Yak it's 17. YouTube requires account holders to be 18, but a 13-year-old can sign up with a parent's permission. The YouTube Terms of Service state that “the YouTube Website is not intended for children under 13”.
Therefore, none of the children at school should be using these forms of social media as a way of communicating with friends. If they follow these guidelines they will avoid other significant worries that can present themselves as a result of misuse of social media.
We have e-safety posters on display in our school. Why not make one and put it up next to the computer at home and talk about it with your children?
There is further information below to help you negotiate the securities that you can install and what to do if you have any concerns.
Supporting young people online. A free guide created by Childnet providing Information and advice for parents and carers on supporting young people online. The advice is also available in 12 additional languages including Arabic, Hindi, Polish, Spanish, Urdu and Welsh.
www.childnet.com/resources/supporting-young-people-online
Information and Advice for Foster Carers / Adoptive Parents. The UK Safer Internet Centre has worked together with Islington Council to create leaflets for foster carers and adoptive parents. The leaflets, which are free to download and easy to print, include top tips and conversation starters to help foster carers and adoptive parents get to grips with internet safety.
www.saferinternet.org.uk/fostering-adoption
Keeping young children safe online. Children love using technology and are learning to navigate websites, online games and consoles, and touch screen technology like iPads and smartphones from a younger and younger age. This advice contains top tips for parents and carers for keeping young children safe online.
www.childnet.com/resources/keeping-young-children-safe-online
A Parents’ guide to technology The UK Safer Internet Centre has created this guide to answer commonly asked questions and introduce some of the most popular devices used by children, highlighting the safety tools available and empowering parents with the knowledge they need to support their children to use these technologies safely and responsibly.
www.saferinternet.org.uk/parent-tech
Online Gaming Childnet’s guide contains helpful advice and information on supporting children and young people playing games online.
www.childnet.com/online-gaming
Internet Parental Controls The four big internet providers - BT, Sky, Talk Talk and Virgin Media - provide their customers with free parental controls that can be activated at any time. Video tutorials on how to download and use these controls are available on the UK Safer Internet Centre website. www.saferinternet.org.uk/parental-controls
Young People and Social Networking Sites Aims to help parents understand the positive and creative ways young people are using social networking spaces (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). It also points out the potential risks of using these sites and ways to minimise these risks. www.childnet.com/sns
Safety Tools on Social Networks and other Online Services Information and advice on the safety tools, age requirements and terms and conditions for a variety of online services popular with young people.
www.saferinternet.org.uk/safety-tools
Social Network Checklist Free guides produced by the UK Safer Internet Centre that contain detailed instructions and information on privacy and account
www.saferinternet.org.uk/checklists
Need help? Information about what to do if a child comes to you for help and advice about how to report online concerns such as cyberbullying, inappropriate content or illegal behaviour.
www.saferinternet.org.uk/need-help
Child Exploitation and Online Protection A police agency tackling child abuse on the internet. This website includes a unique facility that enables parents and young people to make reports of actual or attempted abuse online.
www.ceop.police.uk
CEOP’s Think U Know website contains information for children and parents, as well as a link for children to report abuse online.
www.thinkuknow.co.uk
Internet Watch Foundation Part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, the IWF is the UK’s hotline for reporting illegal content found on the internet. It deals specifically with child abuse and criminally obscene images hosted in the UK and internationally.
www.iwf.org.uk
Family Lives A national family support charity providing help and support in all aspects of family life. Useful advice and information is available online at www.familylives.org.uk and they provide a free confidential helpline on 0808 800 2222.
True Vision Online content which incites hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation can be reported to True Vision; a UK website set up to tackle all forms of hate crime, including those on the grounds of disability and transgender identity.
www.report-it.org.uk