e Safety Information for Parents

The following article has been recommended by an e Safety adviser (who has carried out e Safety training in school) as a very interesting article for parents from the website, Common Sense Media: Why the Best Parental Control is You.

The Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children's Board have produced the following e safety advice:

There are four simple tips that we should share with children, no matter what their age, in order to help them keep themselves safe on the internet:

1. Remember that people we meet on the internet are strangers and they may not always be who they say they are. Just as many children who use Facebook lie about themselves (you should be 13 to have an account), other users can also lie about who they are. It’s important that children and young people only add people they know in the real world as friends.
2. Never share personal information online. Websites like Facebook allow users to tell the whole world every intimate detail and there may be occasions when users of other website may ask for children and young people to share personal information such as phone numbers, emails, locations and pictures. It’s important to remember that this information should only be given to people that they have met in the real world and that they trust – they’d never consider telling a stranger in the street.
3. Always be nice to others online just like they would in the real world. Every website and service they use will have rules against bullying online and reporting tools are available if someone is being horrible to them. Equally, if they choose to be nasty to others, they can be reported themselves which may result in a loss of service for a period of time.
4. If they ever feel scared, worried or unsafe when using the internet, it’s important that they talk to an adult they trust. This can be parents, their teacher or another member of their family such as an auntie, uncle, even grandparents. CEOP also offer a reporting tool called Click CEOP which children and young people can use.

Managing Abuse Online

It’s important that we try to build resilience in children and young people, to help them better manage online abuse mentally and emotionally. With that in mind, why not encourage them to adopt the following strategy when faced with abusive behaviour online:

• Ignore the individual. By far the hardest thing we will ever ask anyone to do, but also one of the most important. While still acknowledging the pain that these messages can cause, by resisting the urge to retaliate you can sometimes stop hurtful comments escalating into a full blown public argument. The individual has sent a message to get a reaction, encourage them not to give them one
• Save a copy. Evidence can sometimes be needed to show others what has been said online but children and young people don’t want to have to see the message or the individuals name every time they open their messages. Encourage them not to delete the message but if they need to, get them to screenshot it on their phone
• Block and Report the person. Blocking stops them from contacting you again, while reporting will inform the site who can then deal with the individuals behaviour, possibly sanctioning them if they have breached the rules on the site. Blocking is an essential digital skill and should be seen as a first line of defence in managing abusive individuals or peers online
• Talk. Telling someone what has happened could make them feel better, or allow someone else to help resolve any issues - especially if the abusive individual is known to them in the real world. Services such as Childline and Kooth can offer support to children and young people, but telling a trusted adult is still something we should actively encourage.

Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board have begun to produce monthly newsletters detailing information for parents/teachers advising them of topical information regarding Internet Safety to help with their young children.

The newsletters can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

Useful websites for Parents/Carers on Internet safety

I would like to draw your attention to a source of advice for parents/carers with regard to e safety. Digital Parenting Magazine is a guide produced annually to keeping children safe online. It is produced in association with Vodafone.

Issue 5 is packed with information and advice about bullying, peer pressure, screen time and much more. It is a good place to start exploring the digital world together as a family. Please click on the link below to access one of the magazines.

http://www.vodafone.com/content/digital-parenting/learning-and-fun/digital-parenting-magazine.html#

NSPCC – Help for Parents

To help parents keep their children safe online, NSPCC have launched their Net Aware app to give parents the tools and knowledge to access advice on the go. Net Aware is the only guide for parents where social networking sites and apps aimed at children are rated by other parents, helping them make an informed decision about which is most appropriate for their child at different ages.

As part of their partnership with O2, they have updated their Net Aware guide with nine new sites with reviews from parents and findings from their recent Net Aware survey with primary school children.

It’s vital that parents sit down together with their children regularly to talk about which social media sites they are using, and how to get help if they need it.

Their Net Aware guide can support you as parents in having conversations with your child/ren about staying safe online. For further advice save their O2 and NSPCC online safety helpline number (0808 8005002) for parental control queries or concern about a social network their child uses. Save the helpline number in your phone and share with friends and family. http://www.net-aware.org.uk/

On the 22^nd December 2015 the Department for Education issued a press release stating that all schools will be required to put in place strengthened measures to protect children from harm online. Linked to this the Department for Education have issued a guide to help parents/carers keep their children safe online which has been produced by the UK’s Council for Child Internet Safety. A copy can be found at the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/490001/Social_Media_Guidance_UKCCIS_Final_18122015.pdf.pdf. This guide is intended to help children understand the risks and benefits of social media and prevent risks becoming problems.

The National Crime Agency’s CEOP Command has revised and updated the parents content on the Thinkuknow website at http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk. The updated site gives a refreshed suite of articles and guidance on all aspects of child internet safety.

Be Share Aware – and keep your child safe online
 

We tell our children it’s good to share – but online it’s different. In fact sometimes sharing online can be dangerous. Being Share Aware will help keep your child safe online. Share Aware is part of the NSPCC’s website and can be accessed via the link www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware

The NSPCC have put together a guide which is aimed to reassure parents/carers and give the information and advice you’ll need to keep your child safe online. The internet’s an amazing place, so we want to help your child to get the most out of it, and to do that safely. Click on the link below to access a PDF version of the guide.

Online Safety a Guide for Parents Share Aware from the NSPCC

www.internetmatters.org has advice for parents on e safety at home. The key message for parents is LEARN ABOUT IT, TALK ABOUT IT, DEAL WITH IT so you can make informed choices about your child’s online safety.

www.thinkuknow.co.uk provides parents with information on internet safety and advice as to where you can go for help.

http://www.kidsmart.org.uk

http://www.digizen.org

http://www.saferinternet.org.uk

Click on the link below to find out about some child friendly search engines produced by CfBT (Lincolnshire School Improvement Service)

Child_FriendlySearch_Engines_for_primary_school_cfbt

IF YOU HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT ANY CHILD’S eSAFETY PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT SCHOOL FOR ADVICE/SUPPORT OR TO REPORT THIS