Internet Safety

As part of the new National Curriculum for Computing, every child is taught to
be responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and
communication technology.
With the internet becoming very much a part of everyday life, it is vital that
we, as a school and you as a parent/carer, keep our children safe online. On
this page there are links to websites that can give you lots of information to
help you to protect your child online.

Age Limits for Social Media

One of the most important aspects of internet safety is ensuring parents know the minimum ages children must be to use social media sites. The following information is taken from the UK Safer Internet Centre website:

Which social media services are age restricted?

WhatsApp announced in January 2022 that users need to be 13 to use WhatsApp.

Other social media services require users to be at least 13 years of age to access and use their services. This includes Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Musical.ly and Skype.

Whilst there is no age restriction for watching videos on YouTube, users need to be 13 or older to have their own YouTube account (enabling them to subscribe to other channels, like videos, post comments, share their own content and flag inappropriate content)’

More information can be found on the UK Safer Internet Centre website by clicking HERE

 

The five golden rules are:

  • Don’t give out personal information
  • Never send pictures to strangers
  • Keep passwords private
  • Don’t download anything without permission
  • Tell an adult if you receive a mean or strange message

Or watch them in this video.

…and also have a listen to this!

 

KS1/EYFS

Safety Tips for KS1 and EYFS

There are some videos on the CEOPS website, the link for which is below:

Watch Jessie & Friends: online safety education for 4-7 year olds

The following video follow the adventures Jessie and her friends of as she learns how to keep himself safe online. Further videos following the adventures of Jessie can be found on Youtube.

Please click HERE to access the Thinkuknow website. This site gives a vast amount of information about internet safety for all ages and how to keep our children safe online.

Key Stage 2

If you’re between 8 and 11, you probably know a lot about using the internet. Even though you’ve been using the internet for a while, you still make sure you keep yourself safe. There are some helpful videos on the BBC Newsround website here.

For example, the video ‘Caught in the Web‘ is a Newsround special programme all about staying safe on the internet.

The show, which is voiced by David Tennant, tells the story of a girl called Lost Princess, who gets into danger after meeting someone in a chatroom.

It also has lots of tips on how to be safe, and case studies of children with real-life experiences of how things can go wrong.

Remember:

  • When you’re chatting to people online, DO NOT TO GIVE OUT ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION about yourself. This includes your full name, address or school.
  • NEVER POST YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. Being able to link an email with a social media account makes it easier for phishing and spear phishing attacks.
  • DON’T POST ABOUT WHEN YOU WILL BE ON HOLIDAY or anything that will make you or your home a target for ne’er-do-wells.
  • Some people who you meet online may not be who they say they are. It’s easy for people to lie when they’re chatting over the internet, so DON’T ARRANGE TO MEET UP WITH SOMEONE who you have met online. If anyone asks to meet up with you, tell a trusted adult.
  • BLOCK unknown contacts.
  • DO NOT POST PICTURES OF YOURSELF on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp.
  • If you receive an email from someone you don’t know, DO NOT OPEN IT.
  • ALWAYS DELETE EMAILS FROM PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW.
  • DON’T CLICK ON LINKS OR ATTACHMENTS YOU’RE NOT EXPECTING. If you don’t know the sender, don’t click it. If you know the sender but it sounds or looks unusual or suspicious, send them a message first asking if the sent it.
  • If you are using a social media site, USE A NICKNAME.
  • NEVER PUT YOUR MOBILE NUMBER ON YOUR SITE: your real friends will already have it.
  • USE YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS! Adjust your account settings (sometimes called “Privacy Settings”) so only approved friends can instant message you. New people can still send you friend requests and message you, they just won’t be able to pester you. This means that people you don’t want to see your profile can’t!
  • USE DIFFERENT PASSWORDS FOR EVERY PLACE YOU NEED ONE, and make them difficult to guess – a mix of numbers, letters and special characters is best, and the longer the better. A password manager is a great idea. You only need to get hacked once and you’ll wish you had bothered protecting yourself!

E-Safety Sites for Parents

The ‘Child Protection and Online Protection Command’ – CEOP – Website is excellent and gives invaluable age appropriate support and information about how to keep children safe online.

If you are worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with your child online you can make a report here to a Child Protection Advisor.

The website is:

 https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre

Online bullying

Mobile Phones

https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/mobile-phone-safety/ – Having a mobile phone and going online is great for lots of reasons. But it’s important to be aware of the dangers too.

Learn how to stay safe online:

3 Mobile

EE

 O2

Virgin Media

Gaming

Screen Time – How much is ok?
The amount of time children spend on an internet device, be it a smartphone,
tablet, game console or computer, has increased significantly in recent years.
The Government and the Chief Medical Office have published very clear
guidelines which give advice about how much screen time we should allow our
children.

To read the document, please click –  Government Screen Time Document

Screen time on an iPhone can be easily limited using the ‘Screen Time’ function in the phone’s settings and on an android phone, if your child’s Android device is running Android Nougat or newer, you can set time limits on apps to manage how much time your child can spend on a specific app each day. Select your child. On the “Today’s activity” card, tap Set limits. Set a daily time limit for the app.

There are also a number of applications which will limit screen time whilst connected to the house WiFi broadband connection. One such is ‘Disney Circle’ which can be found in the App stores. It allows parents to have complete control of all devices connected to a home’s WiFi.

…and finally, from Horrible Histories on CBBC:

 

If any further information is required about keeping our children safe online, please contact the school office.

Our Internet Safety policy may be viewed by clicking HERE .