Online Safety
Keeping our children safe is the number one priority for parents and for the school.
When it comes to the internet, for many of us things can be a bit mysterious and sometimes our children seem to know far more about it than we do. However, just as with other potential dangers, like crossing the road, we must take steps to be in a position that we can supervise, guide and protect our children. Children think they know everything and think that the stories they hear won't happen to them. Sadly, the children who have got into danger by using the internet probably thought the same. By following the Key Advice below and maybe familiarising ourselves with some of the content from the websites below, we can take huge steps in protecting our children.
Acre Rigg is committed to protecting our pupils online by working with National Online Safety, providing resources for all parents carers. The resources include Parent & Carer courses, online video resources and weekly guides covering a huge range of topics.
To create your account, please contact school for the link and follow this, entering your details. Once set up you'll be able to set 'Parent/Carer' as your user type.
You can access National Online Safety online via any device- including via their brand-new smartphone app. To download the app, please go to: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/national-online-safety/id1530342372 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationaleducationgroup.nos
Answers to frequently asked questions and customer service can be accessed at https://helpdesk.thenationalcollege.co.uk/helpcentre.
Some Key Advice for Parents:
Create a culture of sharing at home so it becomes just part of home life that parents are interested in what their children are doing on the computer/internet.
Keep the computer in a family room.
If children wouldn't normally do it in the real world then it's not acceptable in the virtual world either.
Put time restrictions on children's computer/internet use.
Install the Safety Dolphin to home computers.
Set preferences to Google Strict Search for Google Images.
Children should only use their school email account and not sign themselves up to other less moderated and filtered email accounts.
Any webcams should only be attached to a computer in a family room.
A friend online is not the same as a friend in real life.
Take an interest in your children's online friends, just as you would do with their friends in real life.
Internet Safety is about behaviour and not ICT, just as Road Safety is about behaviour around roads and not about the traffic which drives on them.
Don’t go home and unplug the internet! Remember the internet is a brilliant resource but it does reflect the best and worst of human nature. We cannot eliminate every risk to children but we can minimise the risks to an extent that children remain as safe as possible – again very similar to road safety.
If you have a concern about a social media site your child has accessed and want to report that concern directly to the site, follow the link for a list of the most popular social media sites.
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/14_plus/help/Contact-social-sites/
Parent & Carer Guides for staying safe online, online platforms, social media, gaming and streaming content
Links to useful websites
New e-Safety Portal for Parents and Schools - Internet Matters
https://www.internetmatters.org/
Internet Matters is a new online portal designed for parents to access simple, easy and practical advice about online safety for their children, right through from pre-school to teens. It provides tips on protecting children from online grooming, cyberbullying, privacy and identity theft and inappropriate content. Internet Matters is a not-for profit organisation set up by BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.
New website link - http://www.getsafeonline.org/durham
This site gives factual and easy to understand information on online safety. This includes gaming, texting and sexting, apps, cyberbullying, online radicalisation and safe browsing amongst others.
Other subjects such as social networking, protecting your tablets, smartphones, protecting yourself and online shopping and banking will also be of interest.
Has something happened online that has made you feel worried or unsafe? Click on the CEOP button above and make a report to one of CEOP's Child Protection Advisors.