Please take note that the majority of social networking sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and many others have a minimum age limit of 13. Should your child have their own account they are not only in breach of the user agreement but at a huge risk of accessing information, content and people that are outside of your control.

 

Specific social networking risks include…
Harassment or online bullying (“cyberbullying”) on the part of your children or others’.
Posting information about themselves that:
a) could be used to embarrass or manipulate them;
b) could cause psychological harm; c) could be used by criminals to steal their identity or property or – though very rare – determine their physical location to cause physical harm
Damage to reputation or future prospects, because of young people’s own behaviour or that of their peers – unkind or angry posts or compromising photos or videos.

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Spending too much time online, losing a sense of balance in their activities.
Exposure to inappropriate content.
Potential for inappropriate contact with adults.
Do you look after your Digital Footprint?
We have all heard of the term “digital footprints” but do we really understand what they mean?

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Essentially a digital footprint is data that is left behind when users have been online.
Whatever we are doing on the internet we can leave a trail of information behind us which people can use to determine what we might be interested in buying, or for other less savoury purposes such as trying to hack into our online accounts and trying to access passwords etc.

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A lot of employers will also use social media to vet prospective employees so it is important that you are mindful as to what you post on any such sites.

As the internet becomes bigger and bigger it is becoming increasingly important to think about what might happen to the ownership of the photos that you own and content that you write. Remember that what goes on the internet normally stays there, even if you do delete posts there will be a trail of data that you have left behind.

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Some useful guidelines to discuss with your child –
• Have a chat with them to find out which sites they visit at home.
• Let them know what is expected of them and what is a “no go”.
• Explain the dangers of posting content and the trail that can be left behind.
• Ensure that they know not to post personal details including pictures, holiday details etc.
• Encourage them never to divulge any personal information such as age, address or contact details to anyone online.
• Remind them it is a criminal offence to use the internet to threaten or harass people.

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To download a copy of the school's internal assurance Cyber Response Plan please click

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For further information on e-safety - please go to the CEOP site: CEOP link

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To download a copy of Keeping your child safe online while they are off school, please click on: Thinkuknow keeping your child safe online while they are off school

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For a free copy of Digital Parenting, please click the link.

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Childnet have produced a useful guide for parents and carers about supporting your child online: Parents-and-carers-resource-sheet-1019

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To download guidance about online gaming, please click on: Online-gaming-an-introduction-for-parents-and-carers-2017

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To download a copy of What Parents need to know about Facebook, please click on: What parents need to know about Facebook

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To download a copy of What Parents need to know about TikTok, please click on: What parents need to know about TikTok

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To download a copy of What Parents need to know about Minecraft, please click on: What parents need to know about Minecraft

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To download a copy of What Parents need to know about video games, please click on: Do-Video-Games-Actively-Cause-Violent-Behaviour

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To download a copy of What Parents need to know about YouTube Kids, please click on: YouTube-Kids-Guide

 

To download a copy of What Parents need to know about Fortnite, please click on: What Parents need to know about Fortnite Battle Royale

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To download a copy of What Parents need to know about Nintendo Switch, please click on: What parents need to know about Nintendo Switch

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To download a copy of What Parents need to know about Virtual Reality, please click on: What parents need to know about Virtual Reality