Cybersense is a new E-safety app designed to help parents talk about e-safety issues with their children to ensure that they make smart choices to stay safe online. Aimed at children aged between 8-10 it will help them think about what they would do if they were faced with different situations online; from cyberbullying to sharing content with someone they don’t know.
http://www.internetmatters.org/hub/news/cybersense-new-e-safety-app-for-parents-and-children/
Cyberbullying and what to do if it happens to your child!
From time to time we are made aware that there are inappropriate comments about pupils which can be both hurtful and unfounded. If you feel that this is the case you can report this to CEOP who will investigate and have the offending items removed.
Teach your child never to
share their details online, even if they believe that they are talking to a friend.
Teach your child to recognise the logo below, as we do in school. Tell them to click on it if they wish to report something which has made them feel uncomfortable. (This can be downloaded onto your home desktop from www.thinkuknow.co.uk)
The address for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is:
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
33 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London
SW1V 2WG
Telephone: +44 (0)870 000 3344
www.ceop.police.uk
As a Parent / carer you need to know what your children are doing online and who they are talking to.
How to keep your child safe online:
You cannot expect to keep up to date with the latest APPs so ask your child to teach you. Learn how they use and mobiles, gaming machines, tablets etc and see what they are capable of doing. Remember you need to be on the train with your child at the start of their Journey!
Keeping the computer in a family room means that you can share your child’s online experience and that they are less likely to act inappropriately, however we this is not practicable with the use of laptops, smaller mobile devices and tablets that are available today.
Help your children to understand that they should never give out personal details to online friends —and that includes their messenger ID, email address, mobile number and any pictures of themselves, their family or friends. Most children will happily say they do this but will then give their name to someone they think is a child online!
If your child posts a picture or video online, anyone can change it or share it. Teach them to only post pictures they would be willing to share with close family members. Anyone may be looking at their images both now and in the future and one day this could be a future employer!
If your child receives spam/junk email & texts, remind them never to believe them, reply to them or open them.
Teach your child not to open attached files that are from people they don’t know. They could contain a virus, or worse — an inappropriate image or film.
Help your child to understand that some people lie online and therefore it’s better to keep online friends online. They should never meet up with any “online friends” without an adult they trust.
Consider looking at your child’s texts and emails. This is a personal decision for you as a parent but if a strange adult approached your child in the street and spoke to them…would you go over and listen in?
Teach children how to block someone online and how to report them if they feel uncomfortable. (use the CEOP logo we teach children to use at school)
Always keep communication open between you and your child. Never threaten to ban the mobile device…they will just go online without telling you! Make sure they know that it’s never too late to tell someone if something makes them feel uncomfortable. Tell them you are there to support them, not judge them and you do not want to stop them from having an on-line existence.
“Our Internet Safety Rules” that tab on this website we teach pupils in school can be downloaded from the policy. Having a copy displayed near your PC at home is recommended to keep them firmly in mind.
Other useful websites and organisations:
www.childnet.com online resources to keep children safe on the internet for children, parents and teachers
www.childnet.com/parents-and-careers key advice on reporting concerns and what par3nts need to know about the internet.
www.saferinternet.org.uk/parents A range of resources from Europe and th3 UK for parents.
www.digizen.org. Website designed to encourage safe and responsible digital use including specific info for parents on social networking
www.kidsmart.org.uk A good website for children as well as parents and teachers with fun activities for 3-7 year olds and older children.
www.saferinternet.org.uk/Parent-tech A clear and useful guide for parents on devices used by children
www.saferinternet.org.uk/parental-controls advice from the 4 big providers BT, Sky, Talk Talk and Virgin Media on setting parental controls on your devices at home.
www.childnet.com/sna A positive website which shows creative ways young people are using social networking sites as well as the dangers.
www.phonebrain.org.uk. Info about calls, texts in-app purchase and more
www.stopitnow.org.uk Useful links to the website with information about keeping children of all ages safe including sections for the under 5’s and how to speak to your child about “friends” on social networking sites
www.nspcc.org.uk/search/?query=online%20safety The NSPCC Website contains information for children and parents on keeping safe in a range of contexts.
http://www.esafetytraining.org/e-safety-videos This is a great website run by Essex police….click on the video clips tab for lots of up to date clips to watch and discuss with your primary and secondary aged child.
CEOP risks-children-face-online-advice-for-adoptive-parents
CEOP Parents and Carers Check List
CEOP inappropriate websites – factsheet
Safe Online Behaviour for adults
National Music, Film and TV internet advice for parents and teachers from Childnet
A link to report any online extremist behaviour https://www.gov.uk/report-terrorism
A collection of resources aimed at helping parents keep up with their children online http://parentinfo.org/
A huge national website for parents and teachers full of advice and resources covering a whole range of hate crimes and behaviours http://educateagainsthate.com/resources/?hub=governors
Advice for parents and teachers on how to keep children safe on the internet http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers
www.childline.org.uk for any young person under 19
www.iwf.org.uk report child sexual abuse online
www.saferinternet.org.uk includes resources for young people, from a wide range of organisations
www.o2.co.uk/help/everything-else/digital-family
www.nspcc.org.uk/shareaware An NSPCC Campaign
Information for parents of older pupils on “unhealthy relationships” and “sexting etc:
Leaflet from the “Stopi it Now!” campaign for parents concerned about their child’s sexual behaviour including online:
http://www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk/files/inform_yp_parents_leaflet.pdf
http://www.vodafone.com/content/digital-parenting This is an easy to use website which we use with pupils at school. Use some of the 10 learning modiules (designed for schools but useful for you to talk about internet safety when gaming or emailing at home) Take a look at the tools section to find out about internet security at home.
Thinking of buying your child an online gadget for Christmas? Take a minute to look at this link to make your child safe.