Keeping Safe Online
Like you, we take on-line safety very seriously and there are lots of ways that you can keep your child safe online. Here are a few ideas:
* Password protect laptops and tablets, or keep them out of reach, so that it is easy to monitor how much time children are spending online.
* Visit https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/interactive-guide/ for help setting up parental controls on broadband, games consoles, and apps such as YouTube, Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
* Look at computer games’ PEGI ratings to see the recommended age restrictions. The symbols show you the reason why an age range has been chosen.
* Use safe search engines such as www.kidrex.com or www.safesearchkids.com
* www.internetmatters.org is a brilliant website which gives you information about how to keep children safe online. It has videos about the different apps which your child may be using, such as musical.ly and YouTube.
Want to talk about it?
Research from the UK Safer Internet Centre has identified the importance of maintaining healthy, regular dialogue with children to champion youth voice and engage in conversations about how we can all work together to make the internet a great and safe place.
For more information click here: UK Safer Internet Centre - Parents and Carers
* Net aware - allows you to check and gives a guide about aps, games and social media sites.
Who is behind Parent Info?
Parent Info is a collaboration between CEOP and Parent Zone.
Parent Zone was founded in 2005 and has a track record of providing information, support and advice to parents. In recent years, Parent Zone's work has focused on the impact of digital technologies on families. We provide information, resources and training for parents and those who work with them.
CEOP is the child protection command of the National Crime Agency. CEOP reaches over three million children and young people a year through its Thinkuknow education programme and regularly conveys its vital online safety messages to over 100,000 practitioners (such as social workers, teachers and police officers) registered to their network, who cascade these messages directly to children and young people.
What is Parent Info?
Parent Info provides high quality information to parents and carers about their children's wellbeing and resilience. Schools can host the content on their own website and use it in any other ways (in letters to parents etc) that they want.
This service is free and ranges across a wide range of subject matter, from difficult topics about sex, relationships and the internet or body image and peer pressure to broader parenting topics like ‘how much sleep do teenagers need?’
In line with CEOP’s Thinkuknow programme, some of the content covers internet safety, but it all starts from the assumption that young people make little distinction between their online and offline lives and the issues for parents are often the same. The aim is to help parents help their children be discriminating, web-literate and resilient.
Net Aware
Net Aware, is a bite-size guide to the latest and most popular social networks, apps and games kids are using. Click the name above and be taken directly to their site.
Responding To Online challenges (SWGfL)
Online challenges and scares are becoming more frequent. It's important for professionals and parents to know what to do when they arise in order to de-escalate them.
Watch this new video from UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) to find out more:
The Safer Internet Helplines can be found here, including the Professionals' Online Safety Helpline (POSH).
For more ideas and information, visit: