Children at Rothwell Schools use the internet as part of their learning. In school, we have regular online safety activities to embed our two key values of online safety which are ‘critical eyes’ and ‘enjoyment’. We believe teaching our children to be critical of online content is key to using it safely, but also want to foster a love of using the internet to fulfil interests such as gaming, being creative and learning.
We believe that teaching a rigorous curriculum around healthy relationships is key to empowering young people to make the right choices- both in the ‘real world’ and online and all adults in school are positive and open to hearing about the children’s use of technology so we can foster an accepting culture in which children are confident that they can talk to us.
There are some fantastic resources below for parents and carers:
Parental Controls & Privacy Settings Guides - Internet Matters
This page is fantastic. You can scroll to the bottom and find step by step advice for help on settings and security for phones, entertainment and search engines, broadband networks, social media and gaming consoles.
Teaching Your Child about Internet & Online Safety | NSPCC
Advice on how to start a conversation if you’re worried about your child(ren).
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
A useful guide for parents when deciding whether online content is age appropriate
Parents and carers | CEOP Education (thinkuknow.co.uk)
CEOP is a leading online safety charity and the website has a wealth of knowledge under the ‘get advice’ heading.
Learn about online grooming to support children | Internet Matters
Learn what grooming is, what the signs are and how it happens online.
Online Safety Guidance for Parents | SWGfL
The Southwest Grid for Learning have a ‘check list’ for specific apps (such as Snapchat).
A wealth of advice of how to ‘get help’ and what to do next.
There are also paper copies of Digital Parenting magazine available in school.
Some top tips of where to start with online safety at home:
- Review parental controls on all devices which children use. For information on how to do this use: Parental Controls & Privacy Settings Guides - Internet Matters
- Have an ‘online safety agreement’ in your house and be clear about what you consider acceptable e.g Do screens go upstairs at night? How much screen time do we have on week days? Do you have passwords to your child’s apps? The following link provides a useful resource: Click to reach NSPCC
- Talk openly about what your child is enjoying online. Discuss the risks and the benefits.
- Click on the Internet Matters link above to find out about what online grooming is, how it happens and how to spot the signs.