Online safety is an important part of keeping children safe at All Saints C/W Primary School . We have extensive security measures in place in school, which are monitored both internally and externally, to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material. 

Online safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online and as a 360 Safe Accredited School,  we are leading the way in online safety.

We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with parents to ensure that the online-safety message is consistent. It is important that parents speak to their children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online.

It’s essential to be realistic - banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around safe use is essential.

Parental Controls

During our recent Online Safety drop in session, some parents asked about how they could set up parental controls on their devices at home.

Please find below a link to the UK Safer Internet Centre's advice page on parental controls. As always, if you have any questions/comments, please speak to Mr Davies.

Talking Online Safety with your child

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.
1. Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
2. Ask them about how they stay safe online.
3. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them?
4. What is OK and not OK to share?
5. 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.
6. 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.
​7. 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?

What are the issues facing our children today? 

The internet is an amazing resource which enables children and young people to connect, communicate and be creative in a number of different ways, on a range of devices. However, the internet is always changing, and being able to keep up to date with your children’s use of technology can be a challenge. You may sometimes feel that your children have better technical skills than you do, however children and young people still need advice and protection when it comes to managing their lives online. Issues that your child may encounter on the internet will vary depending on their age and online activities. We have grouped potential online risks into these 4 categories. 

Conduct: children may be at risk because of their own behaviour, for example, by sharing too much information Children need to be aware of the impact that their online activity can have on both themselves and other people, and the digital footprint that they create on the internet. It’s easy to feel anonymous online and it’s important that children are aware of who is able to view, and potentially share, the information that they may have posted. When using the internet, it’s important to keep personal information safe and not share it with strangers. Discuss with your child the importance of reporting inappropriate conversations, messages, images and behaviours and how this can be done.

Content: age-inappropriate or unreliable content can be available to children Some online content is not suitable for children and may be hurtful or harmful. This is true for content accessed and viewed via social networks, online games, blogs and websites. It’s important for children to consider the reliability of online material and be aware that it might not be true or written with a bias. Children may need your help as they begin to assess content in this way. There can be legal consequences for using or downloading copyrighted content, without seeking the author’s permission.

Contact: children can be contacted by bullies and/or other people you do not wish your child to talk to. It is important for children to realise that new friends made online may not be who they say they are and that once a friend is added to an online account, you may be sharing your personal information with them. Regularly reviewing friends lists and removing unwanted contacts is a useful step. Privacy settings online may also allow you to customise the information that each friend is able to access. If you have concerns that your child is, or has been, the subject of inappropriate contact or approach by another person, it’s vital that you report it to the police via the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (www.ceop.police.uk). If your child is the victim of cyberbullying, this can also be reported online and offline. Reinforce with your child the importance of telling a trusted adult straight away if someone is bullying them or making them feel uncomfortable, or if one of their friends is being bullied online.
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Commercialism: young people can be unaware of hidden costs and advertising in apps, games and websites Young people’s privacy and enjoyment online can sometimes be affected by advertising and marketing schemes, which can also mean inadvertently spending money online, for example within applications. Encourage your children to keep their personal information private, learn how to block both pop ups and spam emails, turn off in-app purchasing on devices where possible, and use a family email address when filling in online forms.

PEGI (Pan European Game Information) Ratings
Age ratings are systems used to ensure that entertainment content, such as games, but also films, tv shows or mobile apps, is clearly labelled with a minimum age recommendation based on the content they have. These age ratings provide guidance to consumers, parents in particular, to help them decide whether or not to buy a particular product for a child.
Video games are enjoyed by a very diverse group of players throughout Europe. Both children and adults, men and women, play games regularly, either on a dedicated game console, a personal computer, or a mobile device like a smartphone or a tablet. While most games are suitable for players of all ages, others are only suitable for older children and young teenagers. A specific portion of games on the market contain content that is only appropriate for an adult audience. The PEGI rating considers the age suitability of a game, not the level of difficulty. A PEGI 3 game will not contain any inappropriate content, but can sometimes be too difficult to master for younger children. Reversely, there are PEGI 18 games that are very easy to play, yet they contain elements that make them inappropriate for a younger audience.

Fortnite

You have probably heard your child talking about this game for the past several months, but what is it all about? Please read the article below to find out.

Parental Resources

There are some fantastic resources for parents produced by the UK Safer Internet Centre. Please click the link below to access these resources for free!