Online Safety for Parents

The world of technology is always changing and it is important that parents keep up-to-date with changes, what your sons/daughters are doing online, the dangers that are out there, and how to provide advice and support.

This page will be regularly updated with updates from external sources, videos and presentations given in assemblies.

General advice sites

These sites are regularly updated with advice for parents so we would strongly advise visiting them on a regular basis:

Thinkuknow - the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) site. This is the arm of the Police targeted at e-safety.
CEOP Reporting page - the main CEOP page which allows reports of e-safety issues to be made.
NSPCC - The NSPCC has a lot of resources for various e-safety issues.
Net-aware - What social networks are children using - find out here. There is also an email sign-up on this page for social network updates.
internetmatters - Helping parents keep their children safe online (including radicalisation)

These sites cover the key areas of e-safety - please visit them for advice on the following:

Cyberbullying - this can take place on any social media or through text messages. Some children think that it is OK to say whatever they want online, and need to realise that cyberbullying can lead to tragic outcomes.
Grooming - there are paedophiles online now whose sole intention is to befriend children online in order to abuse them. Ensure that students know personally who they are talking to online!
Inappropriate web sites - pornography, gambling, race hate, and other adult web sites. Filtering can be useful but no filter is entirely safe. It is essential students are open if they come across material they are uncomfortable with online.
Losing control over pictures and video - this can be private images, once it's on the internet, there is no getting it back.
Online reputation - anything a students says or posted on the internet is there forever and could affect a student trying to obtain a job or education place later in life.
Overuse/addiction - some students are addicted to the internet and it becomes their life.
Viruses, hacking, and security - just because you have anti-virus installed and up-to-date you are not necessarily safe. It is important to online download material from reputable web sites.
Radicalisation - There’s a chance that your child may meet people online or visit websites that could lead them to adopting what you consider to be extreme views, and becoming radicalised.