Support for parents
Useful websites
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
In addition to the above, did you know that online activity can be monitored via your broadband provider to ensure that your child stays safe on the Internet? GoCompare, have also compiled a guide to broadband parental controls and Internet safety for children - check their guide out for further information at https://www.gocompare.com/broadband/parental-controls/
Vodaphone have also now added a parent 'help section' to their website which shares some of the best online learning apps and age-specific online safety tips. Click on the link for more information: https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/digital-parenting
Please monitor their online activity and check that all options, on each accessible device within the home, are age appropriate. For example, Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram and many other social media apps are age 13+ . Gaming has a PEGI age rating system just like the DVD classification system and it is easy to find out what is and what is not appropriate by visiting https://pegi.info/page/pegi-age-ratings.
If you need further help locking a device down, do check out the following:
General advice: www.internetmatters.org
Apple: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201304
PC: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/family-safety
Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zerodesktop.appdetox.dinnertimeplus
The NSPCC have also put together a webinar to share how to keep your children safe on gaming platforms here.
Online Safety newsletters
Hertfordshire publish a really useful and parent-friendly newsletter each term which gives you pointers and valuable advice - these can viewed at the bottom of this page.
The most recent Autumn 2024 newsletter (below) provides a guide for parents around Smartphones vs feature phones with some schools banning the use of phones on the premises altogether. The newsletter also contains gaming tips for parents of neurodivergent children and the growing concerns around content and conduct in the Discord chatrooms.
The Summer 2024 newsletter shares updates on age ratings for the apps that are most used by children. This is also a reminder that users must be a minimum of 13 years old for both WhatsApp and Snapchat. A concerning development around safeguarding our children, which you may have also heard via the news channels, is sextortion. The newsletter below shares a section on: 'What parents/carers need to know'.
The Spring 2024 newsletter is around online safety skills. There are a number of games for KS2 children to support with this and for you as parents, there is help to support you and your family stay safe online.
The Autumn 2023 newsletter is about 'Understanding and responding to online challenges' and setting parental controls. In addition, it shares a child-friendly search engine called 'Swiggle' and how to report online grooming.
The Summer 2023 newsletter gives advice on factors to consider when buying your child's first phone and shares the risks of WhatsApp and BeReal.
The Spring 2023 newsletter is about the risks of live-streaming and also contains three lovely online story books for children aged between 4 and 7 years. IIt also guides parents on how to report social media sites.
The Autumn 2022 newsletter is about online safety and shares helps you to help your children stay safe on chat apps.
The Summer 2022 newsletter includes an explanation on how to set up parental controls and individual safety settings on your child’s favourite app or game, which can help stop unwanted contact from people they don’t know.
The Spring 2022 newsletter included a guide for keeping under 5s safe online and a 'What parents need to know about Squid game'.
The Autumn 2021 newsletter has a comprehensive parental guide section which gives information and safety advice on many popular games and apps including; Fortnite, Disney+, Clash of Clans and Roblox. It also gives you guidance on what to do if you are worried about something that has happened to your child online.
The Summer 2021 newsletter addresses the risks of WhatsApp as well as tips on how to keep children safe on Netflix.
The Spring 2021 one has links to guidance around age and content ratings on apps and games and child-friendly search engines.
Our school Online Safety Policy can also be viewed here or below.
Additional 'in school' support for parents
On Tuesday 17th October 2023, Richard Maskrey and School Consulting Ltd presented a free information session on E-Safety and how to keep your child safe online. Richard is a renowned speaker who has also appeared as a specialist in this area on national television. He has also been the E-Safety Lead for Hertfordshire. In this meeting he was able to share the latest information on:
- Current online trends and risks
- How to keep your child safe
- Where to find help and support
It was great to see so many parents at the event. Richard has put together an eSafety factsheet for all parents containing a list of the sites he shared at this meeting - please see the attachment below.
Comments from parents who did attend included:
' I found it really helpful. I attended the 2019 talk when my son had only just started reception and it has helped me approach things differently in the years since (for example my 8 year old has only just got a version of Minecraft as Richard had advised of the 8+ rating!). The session was a great reminder of what said before but also with uptodate info and struck a different chord now I have a Year 4 child!'
'If I do nothing else, I will be keeping the lines of communication open between myself and my children, making sure they always talk to me if they are worried',
'I cannot believe those things actually happen!' (although now they do).