Keeping Children Safe Online

Linda Frankland

We are aware that many children will be spending increased amounts of time on-line at the moment and we would urge you to study the following points to ensure their safety is paramount.

  1. Please be aware of what your child is being asked to do online. Teachers will be giving them specific sites to use and reminding them to tell a trusted adult if something goes wrong, for example accidentally accessing a different/unsuitable site when doing research.
  2. Where links to You Tube are suggested by teachers, parental supervision is required.
  3. Children who are being asked to work online have very clear reporting routes in place so they can raise any concerns whilst online.  When children are asked to complete independent work online, teachers are reminding them of our school policy, based on the common language of our Kidsafe Programme in school. They are taught that if they have “yukky feelings” in their tummy about something they come across, they should immediately “say no, walk away and tell a trusted adult”.
  4. As well as reporting any concerns back to their parents or teachers, children should be reminded that they can get practical support from the likes of:
  • Childline – for support
  • UK Safer Internet Centre – to report and remove harmful online content
  • CEOP – for advice on making a report about online abuse
  • If parents and carers choose to supplement the school learning activities with support from online companies and in some cases individual tutors, we would emphasise the importance of securing this from a reputable organisation/individual who can provide evidence that they are safe and can be trusted to have access to children.
  • Further support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online includes:
  • Internet matters – for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
  • London Grid for Learning – for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
  • Net-aware – for support for parents and careers from the NSPCC
  • Parent info – for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
  • Thinkuknow – for advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online
  • UK Safer Internet Centre – advice for parents and carers