Online Safety - Getting SMART
The world of technology continues to rapidly advance, as such wherever possible, we need to help the children in our care stay safe.
At St Peters we take this responsibility seriously and have in place a number of policies and procedures to help our pupils explore the world of computing. We want them to learn about the benefits but also educate them as to how to manage the risks.
Safer Internet Day
Safer Internet Day (SID) is organised by Insafe - http://www.saferinternetday.org. It takes place in February of each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.
There is an internet safety cartoon below which covers the main points that we aim to exploring within the classroom, as well as a number of other resources that you can watch/read through together.
Internet Safety now encompasses more than just the potential of meeting a stranger. We also think about given out personal data, misleading information ('not everything you read on the internet is true') and downloading viruses.
Further Resources
There are numerous resources available for parents. Below we have listed a number of websites and guides - if you have any difficulty in accessing the information or have any questions please pop into the office.
For Children
Lee and Kim Cartoon on E-Safety
The Adventures of Smartie the Penguin
http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/teachers/ks1/readsmartie.aspx
Follow Smartie the Penguin as he finds out what to do to stay safe online
Hector's World
http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/5_7/hectorsworld/
Watch Hector and his friend learning how to use computers safely.
Safer Search Engines aimed at Children
Dk findout - a safe environment for children to research in based upon the DK illlustrated non fiction books - this site is fairly new and is expanding on a weekly basis.- http://www.dkfindout.com/
Paws Explore - another search engine designed for kids - http://www.pawsexplore.co.uk/
Please note that although these search engines have been set up for children they cannot guarentee that no misleading/unpleasant information will slip through.
For Parents
Keeping Children Safe
- https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Primary/ - Think You Know is a CEOP's (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) Website which aims to "make online parenting simple."
- https://www.net-aware.org.uk/networks/?order=title - The website gives details about different apps that children in school may be accessing, along with safety tips. It is run by the NSPCC.
- https://www.vodafone.com/content/digital-parenting/parents-and-carers/digital-parenting-magazine.html - Online magazine
- http://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/ - Part of the National Crime Agency - CEOP offers help and advice as well as a way of reporting concerns.
- http://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers - Childnet offers plenty of information to keep your child safe online.
- http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/parents/ - Kidsmart is an award winning website with lots of helpful information & advice. As well as an ‘early surfers’ zone is designed for children aged 3-7.
- http://www.parentport.org.uk/top-tips-for-parents/ - Key tips and e-safety advice.
- http://familylives.org.uk/advice/your-family/online-safety/ - Good advice and support as well as parent guides for twitter, facebook and social media.
- https://www.bbc.com/ownit/its-personal/when-you-see-something-scary-online - Good advise.
- support for parents and carers to keep children safe online - outlines resources to help keep children safe from different risks online and where to go to find support and advice
- guidance on staying safe online - includes information on security and privacy settings
- Thinkuknow - provides advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) on staying safe online
- Parent info - collaboration between Parentzone and the NCA providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations
- Childnet - offers a toolkit to support parents and carers of children of any age to start discussions about their online life, to set boundaries around online behaviour and technology use, and to find out where to get more help and support
- Internet matters - provides age-specific online safety checklists, guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, and a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world
- London Grid for Learning - support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online, including tips to keep primary aged children safe online
- Net-aware - support for parents and carers from the NSPCC, including a guide to social networks, apps and games
- Let’s Talk About It - advice for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation
- UK Safer Internet Centre - tips, advice, guides and other resources to help keep children safe online, including parental controls offered by home internet providers and safety tools on social networks and other online services
Getting Help for your Child
If you have any concerns about online safety please pop into the office to arrange for a convient time to discuss them. If you believe a child is in immediate danger please inform the police.
Other useful sites are
- http://www.childline.org.uk/Pages/Home.aspx - childline - 0800 1111
- http://www.beatbullying.org/ - Cybermentors is a place your children can go to talk to other people their own age if they are being bullied or are troubled by things. They also have sections on advice for parents/carers
Advice and Information
- http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology - A good resource for information and advice on gaming devices, smartphones and internet devices such as tablet PCs.
- http://www.google.com/safetycenter/families/start/ - Googles safety advice area for families including Safe Search.
- https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/174084?hl=en-GB - How to turn YouTube Safety Mode on
- http://pro-music.org/music-internet.php - Pro Music - information about copyright and copyright infringement.
- http://www.getsafeonline.org/- Learn about the real risks and understand how to protecting your family
Reporting Criminal Content
- https://www.iwf.org.uk/report - The UK Hotline for reporting confidentially and anonymously criminal online content. They work with the internet industry, police and international partners to get it removed.