E-Safety

Keeping Safe Online

 

We are aware that technology is advancing so quickly and we are finding that children have access to the internet and apps from an early age.

 

National online safety organisation ‘Childnet’ has drawn up a list of tasks for families to complete together:

 

Take time to do a privacy check up.  Young people may want to keep in touch with their friends through social networking sites or games. It’s a good time to ask them about what sites they use, and do a privacy check-up. Encourage them to use the privacy tools on the services they use, so that the content they post is only available to people they know and trust in real life.

 

To help set these up, the UK Safer Internet Centre has a guide to the privacy settings of different sites. You can also download the UK Safer Internet Centre's safety checklists for popular sites such as Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.

 

Become an Expert

 

Although it can sometimes feel like young people are the experts when it comes to different apps and games, it’s important to remember that as an adult you are the expert in keeping them safe. To learn more about the apps, games and services children are using you can spend some time on them, familiarise yourself with their reporting and blocking features and ensure that you have the knowledge to be able to help them if they face a problem.

 

A recent blog for parents and carers ‘But everyone else is playing it!’ looks at how to decide what games and apps are suitable for children and young people.

 

And finally, the website ‘common sense media’ provides reviews on films, tv, apps and books so that you can see whether they are age appropriate.