Online Safety

Parent Advice to support your children online.

www.commonsensemedia.org

This website has fantastic resources for parents. It gives really helpful advice about which apps, games and other types of media and tech are appropriate for your child, how to set parental controls on various devices, how to set screen time rules, reviews on the best TV shows, books and films and help with many other tech issues. It is kept really up to date and is a really useful ‘go to’ place if you are unsure whether you want to allow your child to access a new app or game. It also includes some really useful short video clips that let you know about the pros and cons of various apps:

Parents' Ultimate Guides

Struggling to keep up with the media and tech your kids are using? Common Sense's Parents' Ultimate Guides can help keep you up to date and answer your questions about all the latest titles and trends. Whether you're trying to figure out if a new app is safe for your teen or if a popular game includes blood and gore, we've got you covered.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/parents-ultimate-guides

Here is some more detailed information on the very useful 'Internet Matters' website, explaining TikTok to parents:

https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/esafety-news/tik-tok-app-safety-what-parents-need-to-know/

Our advice at Flax is to please keep checking what your children are doing online. Regularly talk to them about how to stay safe and be kind when on the internet or using messaging apps such as WhatsApp. Think about setting a rule that your children do not use digital devices that connect to the internet when they are on their own (i.e. in their bedroom) and encourage open conversations so you are aware of their online activity.

For further advice on how to help your child stay safe online, the Childline website is very informative: https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/staying-safe-online/

Check out the latest apps and games, with information about the things you need to know to help keep your child safe. www.net-aware.org.uk

As parents and carers you have an important influence over how your child uses technology. Promoting open and honest conversation with your child will prepare them for making sensible decisions in the future. The UK Safer Internet Centre have released this helpful resource for parents and carers. https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers

See below for alternative places to access support and guidance to help keep your child safe online:

SWGfL Safety and Security Guide

This guide contains all of the South West Grid for Learning safety and security policies in one document. The guide introduces our SWGfL Safe service and details the policies that we enforce to protect your school.

thinkuknow.co.uk

This website is brought to you by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and contains loads of information on internet safety and safe surfing for young people. All hot topics about online safety are covered – including mobiles, blogging and gaming sites – and you can tell us if you feel uncomfortable or worried about someone you’re chatting to online.

Cyberbullying

Childline support for Cyberbullying

http://www.childline.org.uk/Explore/Bullying/Pages/CyberBullying.aspx

Childnet Cyberbullying resources

http://www.childnet.com/resources/know-it-all-for-parents/kiafp-cd

Safer Searching

KS2 safer search engine based on Google safe search

http://www.swiggle.org.uk/

Instruction and video about Google safe search

http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=510

General E-Safety Support

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and Thinkuknow for parents