As part of National Curriculum for Computing we are required to discuss with children issues regarding E-Safety and the potential benefits and dangers of using the internet safely. We felt it would be beneficial to offer you access to the following set of guidelines that could support your commitment to E-Safety in the home as well.
What can parents/carers do? Follow the Golden Rules!
Ground Rules
Discuss as a family how the internet will be used in your house. Consider what should be kept private online (personal information, photos etc) and decide rules for discussions with friends. Make sure you know what your child is doing online much like you would offline.
Online Safety
Install antivirus software, secure your internet connection and use Parental Control functions for computers, mobile phones and games consoles to block unsuitable content or contact
Remember that parental control tools are not always 100% effective and sometimes unsuitable content can get past them, so don’t rely on them alone to protect your child. It is always advised that you should check the devices that you child has access to in order to monitor what they are doing.
Location
Locate your computer in a supervised family area. Always supervise the use of webcams in applications which allow voice or video chat. Consider your child’s use of other devices that allow internet access such as Mobile Phones, mobile devices and Games Consoles.
Dialogue
Talk to your child and ask them to show or even teach you how they use the internet and learn which websites or tools they like to use and why. Learning together can often open opportunities to discuss safe behaviour with your child
Always ensure your child knows how to block or report people online who send nasty or inappropriate messages or content. Encourage your child not to retaliate or reply.
It’s essential to be realistic – banning the internet or technology will not work in some cases and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around safe use is essential.
We hope that this information is useful for you and will help in the on-going transition as the children move towards their Secondary School adventure, where the use of mobile devices is much more prevalent on a daily basis.
Advice from West Sussex or the local Police
Dice is a supportive, non-judgemental 4 week programme for parents and carers who are concerned that their child (approx. age 9-14) might be ‘at risk’ and therefore, possibly vulnerable to exploitation. The course will focus on strategies and information to help support parents/carers in keeping their child safer from harm, as they approach and go through adolescence. Following on from the success of our DICE programme in Bradford, we are pleased to be launching a series of free courses throughout West Sussex.
Click DICE Information Leaflet with April-July Dates for more information about the courses. DICE Referral form
We have been made aware of a pop up on social media which is frightening children. It is called the Momo challenge. I am informing you so that you can be aware that this is circulating in the press and on social media. The image and content (intent) is very disturbing so we would ask that you do not view this with your children present. Once again we are reminded of the need for vigilance with regards to children’s access and use of the Internet.
https://nationalonlinesafety.com/resources/platform-guides/
We have been given some advice from Sussex Police in relation to the online game Fortnite. Please see the attached document that has been sent to us.
POLICE have issued a warning to parents about popular children’s app Roblox after flagging up concerns about naked characters and inappropriate behaviour in the game.
Please be assured that Roblox and other similar apps and games are blocked here in the school but we would urge parents to have a conversation with their children so they know how to stay safe online. Further information is available by following the link below to a news article in that has been published in the Daily Express.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/912118/parents-warning-police-alert-roblox-app-naked-characters
We have been looking at Online-Safety as part of the school curriculum so felt that the information below may be useful to you.
Keeping Children Safe Online Event – Run by Adur and Worthing Councils on Thursday 25th January 7:00pm at Worthing High School
In terms of Social Media and its impact on the world, we are keen to educate the children about the potential pitfalls of such things as they approach the recommended age for using these sites/apps.