This is the most recent online safety guidance sent out to parents (12.10.22)

Good morning,

Last week I sent out the information below, showing how to set up parental controls on devices, streaming services and Apps. Following on from that, I have been passed this news article relating to false age declarations on social media. It is a huge problem and OfCOM are highlighting the dangers that this poses. Please have a read and make sure that you are confident your child is safe online. The Apps listed in the research all have and age restriction of 13, well above primary school age. In our safeguarding policies we have a mantra of ‘it could happen here’ and so we must all do whatever we can to make sure the children are as safe as is possible.

 https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/oct/11/adult-online-age-eight-to-17-year-old-social-media-users

 Online Safety Information for Parents

 Setting Parent Controls

 Please find some useful resources for helping to keep your children safe online. The ‘Setting Parent Controls’ link provides the ability to use a dropdown menu for you to search for devices, games controls, social media apps etc, and then provides specific instructions. Sometimes setting controls can seem daunting, but this tool allows you to search all steaming services (something children regularly use without parental safety settings), and then get clear and details advice.

There are further links on our school website for your support (E-safety).

Advice and information for parents including weblinks:

• https://www.kidscape.org.uk/
• https://www.internetmatters.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1vSZBhDuARIsAKZlijRukbhUtpkFS2LKN2vugE4xWnkfOzGV78UI3QvirzaV-eQISiYjksAaAkU6EALw_wcB
• https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-safety-online-a-practical-guide-for-parents-and-carers/child-safety-online-a-practical-guide-for-parents-and-carers-whose-children-are-using-social-media

Resources parents could highlight to their children including weblinks:

• https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/young-people/resources-for-3-11s
• https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetsafetyforkids/resources/1/
• https://outschool.com/online-classes/internet-safety#abkyj03tm7&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ads_search&utm_campaign=int_uk-coding-ps

We are all spending much more time online at the moment and along with that may come increased risks. Please spend some time looking through the following information  https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home provided by the National Cyber Security Centre.

The Government has also issued this advice: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/digital-minister-urges-parents-to-follow-new-guidance-to-keep-children-safe-online-during-lockdown

There is also this advice from The Children’s Society: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/news-and-blogs/our-blog/invite-only-parties-and-staying-safe-online-during-covid-19-lockdown

The NSPCC information for parents is also still very current and useful to read: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

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