Online Safety
Thinkuknow
We think that the best resources for students, parents, carers, staff and anyone else who wants to know more about e-safety are provided by Thinkuknow.
If you would like to make use of their resources, please click here.
CEOP
CEOP stands for Child Exploitation and Online Protection. This is a national agency who work hard to protect children and young people from the dangers posed by online activity.
If you have a concern that someone has done something online that has made you or a child or young person you know, feel worried or unsafe you can make a report to CEOP via the icon at the bottom of our webpage.
Further information about CEOP and access to their resources can be obtained by clicking here.
Advice and Guidance for Parents and Carers
The risks for children when using the internet and mobile phones include inappropriate:
CONTACT: Potential contact from someone online who may wish to bully or abuse them.
It is important for children to remember that online friends may not be who they say they are, no matter how long they have been talking to them or how friendly they seem. Children must keep personal details private and agree not to meet unsupervised with anyone they have only contacted via the internet. It’s also important that you discuss with your child who they can report inappropriate conversations to and how.
CONTENT: Inappropriate material is available to children online.
Consider using filtering software and agree ground rules about what services you are happy for your children to use. Give them strategies for dealing with any content they are not comfortable with – such as turning off the computer screen. There can also be legal consequences of copying copyrighted content. Young people need to be aware that plagiarising content and downloading copyrighted material without the author’s permission is illegal.
COMMERCIALISM: Young people’s privacy can be invaded by aggressive advertising and marketing schemes.
Encourage your children to keep their personal information private, learn how to delete pop-ups and block spam emails, and use a family email address when filling in online forms.
Keep your child safe online
It is important to have regular conversations about staying safe online and to encourage children to speak to you if they come across something worrying online.
Talk to your child about the importance of creating a safe online environment, including keeping any log-in details and passwords safe.
These resources will support you to talk to your child about a range of online safety issues, set up home filtering in a child-friendly way and set up age-appropriate parental controls on digital devices:
What harms might my child experience online?
You may have concerns about specific harms which children can experience online. There are more resources to help you understand and protect your child from these, including: