Online Safety
As a parent or carer you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online.You don’t need to be an expert on the internet to help keep your child stay safe online. Here is some advice to support you as you support your child to use the internet safely, responsibly and positively.
The issues
The internet is an amazing resource which enables children and young people to connect, communicate and be creative in a number of different ways, on a range of devices.However, the internet is always changing, and being able to keep up to date with your children’s use of technology can be a challenge.You may sometimes feel that your children have better technical skills than you do, however children and young people still need advice and protection when it comes to managing their lives online.Issues that your child may encounter on the internet will vary depending on their age and online activities.
Top Tips for staying safe on the internet
Talk to your child about their favourite websites. Starting a conversation on a positive foot can lead nicely into a chat about online safety.
If your child loves to use social networking sites, teach them about protecting their personal information by thinking about what they are sharing and who they are sharing it with. Show them how to use privacy settings, and how to block and report – and advise them to only accept friend requests from people they know in real life.
Remind your child that showing respect for others online is just as important as showing it offline. Encourage them to think before they post and encourage them to show positive behaviour online. Remind them that once something has been posted online, it is there for anyone to see and is very hard to delete.
There are lots of ways that you can advise your child about cyberbullying. If they are worried, remind them to save the evidence and to always tell an adult they trust if something upsets them online.
There are ways in which you can help to prevent your child from seeing inappropriate content online. Have you considered parental controls and filtering in your home and also on your children’s personal device?
Websites for more information
To make the most of the internet, children need to make smart decisions. Be Internet Legends empowers younger children to use the web safely and wisely, so they can be confident explorers of the online world.
Tips, advice, guides and resources to help keep your child safe online. As a parent or carer you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online. You don’t need to be an expert on the internet to help keep your child stay safe online. Our advice and resources are here to support you as you support your child to use the internet safely, responsibility and positively.
CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the abuse and exploitation of children in the real and ‘e’ world. Often it is referred to as an online 999. By clicking on the button, young people and parents can get advice on a range of issues such as viruses, hacking and dealing with bullying online.
Childnet International has a collection of resources designed to help you talk to your child about their online life, manage boundaries around family internet use and point you in the direction of where to get further help and support.
ParentINFO is a collaboration between ParentZone and CEOP. There are useful guides and articles on helping your child stay safe online.
The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) provides advice and information on keeping children safe online and support for parents and carers.
The Cyber Choices programme was created to help people make informed choices and to use their cyber skills in a legal way. It's aim is to show the positive ways of using the internet to make a contribution to society and to stay safe. There are resources, videos and stories designed to help parents and carers discuss online usage in a positive light.
Information and support for helping parents and carers keep their children safe online.
Advice on how to tackle teasing and bullying.
Think U Know. A website full of resources for both parents and children on how to be safe online and offline.
As a parent or carer it is important that, if you suspect any form of online abuse for your child, you report it to the relevant place.
Below are some links to sites to report online abuse. We would also encourage you to report it to school to provide you with extra support in order to tackle any online issues.
Reporting a hate crime to the police. This includes bullying and harassment.
Reporting online child sexual abuse content.
Reporting all forms of harmful content online: threats, bullying, abuse etc.
Reporting inappropriate images that have been shared.