E-Safety
We had some very concerning reports recently about online safety with some of our Year 5 and Year 6 children. It is up to parents to keep their children safe online at home and all we can do at school is advise and share information and tips. Any serious concerns should be reported to the CEOP, the online police.
Giving a child a device that can connect to the internet, whether that is a tablet, phone, games console etc. means that the child can access the amazing, exciting, educational world of the internet. Without the proper parental controls children are also potentially exposed to the horrors and dangers of the internet and the people who inhabit it. To avoid these evils having easy access to your child through their device it is vital that parents are cautious and know what they are doing. There is no easy answer and all parents will have slightly different views and strategies. As a school we can help to signpost parents to helpful material that you can access online. Sites like Internet Matters have a vast range of help and advice for parents and children of different age groups:
Online safety leaflets & resources - Internet Matters
Our advice is that primary aged children are too emotionally young to cope with social media. We deal with regular problems from online falling out between children over silly misinterpreted comments. The age recommendations are there for a reason. If 13+ is the recommended minimum age then primary school children are too young. Many children are still not mature enough when they are 13.
Most of the Newsletters running up to Christmas had a link and advice about aspects of online safety if you want to look back.
We would also recommend asking the retailer for your device or internet provider, about safeguards for children, settings and filters. You may wish to filter out some of the rubbish for yourself too! It is also important to be careful about lending your own device, that may not have child settings enabled, to your child when they are out of your sight or immediate control.
The last thing we want to do is patronise parents who know what they are doing, but we deal with too much fall out from online issues to do nothing. We are always available if you want to chat or if you have any suggestions. There is a huge amount of help on the internet and we will continue to include links to useful sites in future Newsletters.
