Keeping children safe on-line.
Safer Internet Day 2024
Tuesday February 6th 2024
Safer Internet Day 2024 will take place on the 6th of February 2024, with celebrations and learning based around the theme ‘Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online’.
Safer Internet Day is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety. Each year we cover an online issue or theme that speaks to the things young people are seeing and experiencing online. Created in consultation with young people across the UK, this year Safer Internet Day will be focusing on change online, this includes covering:
- Young people’s perspective on new and emerging technology
- Using the internet to make change for the better
- The changes young people want to see online
- The things that can influence and change the way young people think, feel and act online and offline
Useful Links
Keep your child safe online
It is important to have regular conversations about staying safe online and to encourage children to speak to you if they come across something worrying online.
Talk to your child about the importance of creating a safe online environment, including keeping any log-in details and passwords safe.
These resources will support you to talk to your child about a range of online safety issues, set up home filtering in a child-friendly way and set up age-appropriate parental controls on digital devices:
- Thinkuknow by the National Crime Agency - Child Exploitation and Online Protection command (NCA-CEOP) - resources for parents and carers and children of all ages to help keep children safe online
- Childnet has developed guidance for parents and carers to begin a conversation about online safety, as well as guidance on keeping under-fives safe online
- Parent Info is a collaboration between Parent Zone and NCA-CEOP - support and guidance for parents and carers related to the digital world from leading experts and organisations
- National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) - guidance for parents and carers to help keep children safe online
- UK Safer Internet Centre - tips and advice for parents and carers to keep children safe online - you can also report any harmful content found online through the UK Safer Internet Centre
- Inclusive Digital Safety Hub and Online Safety Hub, created by South West Grid for Learning in partnership with Internet Matters - support and tailored advice for young people with additional learning needs and their parents or carers
- Parents’ Guide to Age Ratings explains how the British Board of Film Classification rates content, and gives parents advice on choosing online content well
- The Children’s Commissioner has published advice for parents on talking to your child about online sexual harassment specifically, based on input from children themselves
All About Gaming.
Follow this link for help if gaming is getting out of control.
https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/expert-opinion/what-to-do-if-gaming-gets-out-of-hand/
Virgin top tips for parents.
At Virgin Media O2, we want internet users of all ages to enjoy all the wonderful things the web has to offer, safely. However, when it comes to educating your kids about the internet, you might feel out of your depth, when they’re learning, playing and chatting to friends on websites and apps you’re unfamiliar with.
To get you up to speed on the things you should be keeping an eye out for, check out our Children’s Internet Safety Test below, and keep on top of how your little ones are making use of the world wide web.
https://www.virginmedia.com/blog/online-safety/childrens-internet-safety-test/
E-Safety
At Tudor CE Primary School we are committed to keeping children safe on-line.
We regularly talk to our children about this during computing lessons and at other times also.
We have attached some useful documents for parents to help with this at home.
Follow this link if you are worried about a child online.
https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/
E-Safety
Top Tips
There is a link to this document below.
- Talk to your child about what they’re up to online. Be a part of their online life; involve the whole family and show an interest. Find out what sites they visit and what they love about them, if they know you understand they are more likely to come to you if they have any problems.
- Encourage your child to go online and explore! There is a wealth of age-appropriate sites online for your children. Encourage them to use sites which are fun, educational and that will help them to develop online skills.
Keep up-to-date with your child’s development online. Children grow up fast and they will be growing in confidence and learning new skills daily. It’s important that as your child learns more, so do you.
- Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online. It is important to discuss boundaries at a young age to develop the tools and skills children need to enjoy their time online.
- Keep all equipment that connects to the internet in a family space. For children of this age, it is important to keep internet use in family areas so you can see the sites your child is using and be there for them if they stumble across something they don’t want to see.
- Know what connects to the internet and how. Nowadays even the TV connects to the internet. Make sure you’re aware of which devices that your child uses connect to the internet, such as their phone or games console. Also, find out how they are accessing the internet – is it your connection, or a neighbour’s wifi? This will affect whether the safety setting you set are being applied.
- Use parental controls on devices that link to the internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones. Parental controls are not just about locking and blocking, they are a tool to help you set appropriate boundaries as your child grows and develops. They are not the answer to your child’s online safety, but they are a good start and they are not as difficult to install as you might think. Service providers are working hard to make them simple, effective and user friendly.
Conversation starter ideas.
It is really important to chat with your children on an ongoing basis about staying safe online.
Not sure where to begin? These conversation starter suggestions can help.
- 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 services they use.
- Encourage them to help someone! 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 each use the internet. What more could you do to use the internet together? Are there activities that you could enjoy as a family?