Internet Safety 

Our children love to use the internet specially to play games and to communicate with their friends. The way they start using computers and the guidance they are given at this young age can set them on the right path to being safer in later life.

At our school we ensure that our children are taught the basic tips of Internet Safety in every year group.

We recently had an Internet Safety Day. It was run by Paul Hay who is an expert in Internet Safety. Paul worked with the teachers to lead an assembly and run class lessons.

We use a cartoon which was created by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection agency (CEOPs).

You can see the cartoon on YouTube by clicking here.

It tells the children the 4 Top Tips they need to remember.

• Top Tip 1 : People you don’t know are strangers. They’re not always who they say they are.
• Top Tip 2 : Be nice to people on the computer like you would in the playground.
• Top Tip 3 : Keep your personal information private.
• Top Tip 4 : If you ever get that ‘uh oh’ feeling, you should tell a grown-up you trust.

Click here to download and print your own poster http://www.pclstraining.com/app/download/2634043/Sids+Top+Tips+Poster.pdf

June 2017 Online training/information

We also held sessions for parents. It is important for all parents to learn about how children use the internet so they can carry on the discussion with their own children at home.

Paul has provided links to useful sites to learn more about Internet Safety and watch other related videos. Here is the site

www.pclstraining.com/links

Paul is also happy for parents to contact him with any questions you may have.

paul.hay@pclstraining.com

"Digital Parenting" magazine

An organisation called Parentzone have created a great magazine for parents to help them understand how young people use the internet and provide help.

Click here to download your own copy (it is a large file so may take a little time to download)

See the E-safety presentation attached below for more information on safeguarding your child on line and how to make security changes to your settings.

Additionally below we have included e-safety tips which the children learn at school which you may like to mirror at home ("SID's Top Tips") and some excellent internet safety advice and links which you may find very useful.

Why

All children use computers at school, at home or in places like libraries and clubs, and schools are keen to use the benefits of the internet to support children’s learning. Many children are now beginning to explore this exciting online world at a very young age. The internet provides children with excellent opportunities for learning and communicating with friends, but sometimes, children don’t realise that they can be as much at risk online as they are in the real world. This information aims to help you keep your children safe online by providing information on the risks and what action you can take to protect your child when they use the internet.

The Think U Know website has lots of information for support www.thinkuknow.co.uk

What you can do

Faced with all these risks, you may be tempted to just stop your child from using the computer, but most children will be able to access the internet in other places or even on mobile phones. The best thing to do is to teach your child how to keep themselves safe online and take the following action yourself;

·         Talk to your child about the dangers of using the internet, show an interest in what they are doing and agree your own ‘golden rules’.

·         Let your child know how important it is to tell you about any suspicious contacts or incidents of cyber bullying so you can take action.

·         Teach your child the basic rules of “netiquette”, behaving responsibly on the internet and keeping messages polite.

·         Let them know what kind of sites they can and can’t visit and try to encourage them to only use regulated chat rooms and social networking sites that are designed for their age group.

·         Take an interest in their online activities; talk to them about what they are doing, don’t let them access then internet unsupervised.

·         Contact your internet service provider (for example; BT, Virgin etc) for advice on family security settings and parental controls that can filter internet content, block viruses or spam email to your computer or limit access to certain websites.

·         Enforcing the use of the PEGI ratings on games and filmshttp://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/33/Children should only have access to age appropriate content and this also needs to be monitored by an adult.

·         Use a child-friendly search engine such as Safe Search to block out unsuitable websites. 

http://primaryschoolict.com

What we do in school

Our school computer system is designed to protect your child from many of these risks by blocking children’s access to unsuitable websites and supervising computer use in the classroom. Lessons based on E-safety are taught throughout the year, with the help of Hector the Protector. Hector and his underwater friends promote the skills and values children need to grow into confident, knowledgeable and caring members of the online community – the ‘building blocks’ of digital citizenship. Use these links to the Think U Know website for further resources http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk 

Golden rules

·         To make sure they stay safe online, you should teach your child:

·         Not to give out personal details online, such as their name, address or school, or anyone else’s personal details

·         Not to upload photographs or information onto social networking sites unless you agree.

·         Not to arrange to meet people they have only met online.

·         Not to open attachments to emails unless they know and trust the person who sent it.

·         Not to buy anything off the internet without your permission.

·         To only use a webcam with people they know and trust.

·         To tell you if they receive any messages or material that makes them feel uncomfortable.

CEOP - Child Exploitation Online protection - please go here for more information