Barley Croft Primary School
Staying safe online
Thank you to all of you who attended our Parent Workshop this week (6th February 2024) on Safer Internet Day which was all about 'How to support your child at home to stay safe online.'
The resources below are designed to support parents to help them keep their children safe online. Please download, use, and share them.
The Parents and Carers Resource Sheet offers fantastic practical advice on how to keep your child safe online.
‘Let’s Talk About Life Online’ is a resource of conversation starters to engage your child in a discussion about their online life.
The Family Agreement template is a resource to support you put the agreement in place with your child on how much time they spend online and what they view when they are online.
Online Safety Advice for Parents from NSPCC
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/#
Dear Families,
We know that keeping children safe online is of vital importance to yourself as much as it is to us as a school. Digital technologies have become integral to the lives of us all and especially to children, both within and outside school. All children are entitled to be safe whenever they access the internet and at Barley Croft Primary School we take active steps to embed online safety in our curriculum and children’s learning. We also want to help parents and carers improve their own understanding of online safety, so that they can support their children to use the Internet and digital media in a safe and responsible way.
With that in mind we are going to be sending out each Wednesday, via ParentMail, a weekly online safety newsletter called #WakeUpWednesday which will give you specific information about what to look out for when using a particular aspect of digital technology and how to support children to be safe when using it themselves.
13/03/2024 - This free online safety guide looks at managing the stress and anxiety that our increasing device use can cause. There are tips on reducing push notifications from apps, avoiding social media arguments and spotting when a child’s been upset by something online.
13/03/2024 - From using them for communication, work, shopping and entertainment, devices such as smartphones, laptops and the rest are now deeply ingrained into modern society. Small wonder, then, that young people – who’ve grown up surrounded by such gadgets – can sometimes struggle to put them down, switch them off or keep themselves occupied without them.
While limiting our screen time may require a great deal of restraint, the effort can be rewarded with significant benefits to our physical and mental health. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide has simple tips for helping to manage the amount of screen time in your household – encouraging the whole family to spend more quality time together and live in the moment.
06/03/2024 - They might not be able to pinpoint its location on a map, and they might not fully grasp the historical and political drivers behind the conflict – but in this age where news, images and video can cross continents in seconds, many children are now aware of events that could cause youngsters extreme distress and worry.
Our #WakeUpWednesday guide contains some valuable pointers for supporting children to deal with upsetting content they’ve encountered online – whether that’s to do with conflict, ongoing worries over the environment, or something else entirely. Our tips will assist trusted adults in helping young people to process any negative emotions that they may be feeling
27/02/2024 - One of the more heartwarming, life-affirming aspects of social media is being able to share special moments in our children’s lives with family and friends: from the first day at school or blowing out birthday cake candles to smiling holiday selfies and cute Hallowe’en costumes. Is there, however, such a thing as too much sharing – and can it actually put children in danger?
With potential risks such as accidentally displaying identifying details (images showing where a child lives or what school they go to, for example) and photos being seen and saved by strangers, perhaps we need to take a little more caution over what we post and where we post it. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide runs through some safety considerations when sharing images.
14/02/2024 - This free online safety guide focuses on Snapchat. It highlights a number of risks such as sexting, visible location and contact from strangers.
07/02/2024 - Whether you’re an internet newbie or a pro at surfing the web, it’s always important to keep online safety in mind. We’ve pulled together a list of top tips to make it easier for you to protect yourself and your devices in the digital world - helping you steer clear of hazards like misleading information and vicious viruses. There’s never a bad time to refresh your internet safety knowledge, but it’s an especially smart thing to do before you start using any shiny new devices!
In the guide, you'll find tips such as double-checking your news sources, taking breaks from being online and not sharing personal information.
31/01/2024 - Teenagers’ blossoming interest in romantic relationships and their devotion to online networking is a potent combination – and, regrettably, not always a safe one. It raises all kind of worries about the possibility of sharing intimate images or deeply personal information; and that’s simply with contacts their own age – to say nothing of the chance of connecting with an older stranger.
MyLOL – a site which specifically facilitates interaction between 13 to 19-year-olds – has amassed around a million users worldwide, but sadly its safeguarding protocols can’t match that level of success. The ease with which an adult could pose as a teen under a bogus birthdate makes grooming a realistic threat – and that’s far from the platform’s only risk, as our guide explains.
24/01/2024 - Roblox is one of the most popular video games on the market. By 2020, the game’s makers were claiming that more than half of children in the USA were playing it. As a ‘sandbox’ title, Roblox offers a huge amount of creative freedom: it lets players create their own gaming experiences with the Roblox Studio to build custom levels and games, which can then be shared with other players online. Roblox fosters creative thinking and enjoys a robust online community of fans.
In the guide, you'll find tips on avoiding potential hazards such as online daters, in-app purchasing and contact with strangers.
13/12/2023 - As we approach the winter break it is important to be mindful of how we keep our children safe online. This free online safety guide on online content gives you 10 tips to keep your children safe:
The internet has transformed the ability to access content. Many apps that children use are dependent on user-generated content which can encourage freedom of expression, imagination and creativity. However, due to the sheer volume uploaded every day, it can be difficult for platforms to regulate and moderate everything, which means that disturbing or distressing images, videos or audio clips can slip through the net. That’s why we’ve created this guide to provide parents and carers with some useful tips on keeping children safe online.
In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as age inappropriate content, privacy issues and mental health
29/11/2023 - Gone are the days of Black Friday only existing in the physical environs of the high street. Now, both this retail landmark and its sister event, Cyber Monday, see deals and discounts displayed across almost every online retailer. The array of reductions makes this an ideal moment to treat a loved one (or yourself!) to those treasured items for considerably less than their usual cost.
The frantic dash for the best bargains online, however, also harbours several risks: chiefly, cybercriminals hoping to exploit people’s excitement and hoodwink them out of their hard-earned cash. Our #WakeUpWednesday has some expert pointers on keeping your both your money and your personal information safe while still making the most of the spectacular sales.
29/11/2023 - This week's free online safety guide focuses on managing what your children watch on Television. The guide takes a look at how to tackle a range of potential risks such as unrated content, inappropriate content and screen time.
22/11/2023 - This week's free online safety guide focuses on supporting children’s mental health: 10 conversation starters for parents. Talking about mental health to children is sometimes hard.
The guide takes a look at a number of tips such as talking about mental health naturally, being open and honest and asking twice.
15/11/2023 - This week is Anti-Bullying week and this week's free online safety guide focuses on combatting online bullying. It highlights a number of tips such as playing online games with your child, talking about your child’s online life and being prepared to listen without showing any judgement or criticism.
01/11/2023 - Please find attached this week’s online safety guide which this week is on ways to sensitively address upsetting news content that children may have seen online.
25/10/2023 - You might know Five Nights at Freddy’s by reputation, even if your child has never actually played the game. Via playground rumours and circulated footage on platforms like YouTube, this 12-rated survival horror series (so far comprising nine games, several spin-off novels and a movie adaptation) has become possessed of a certain cult status among far younger players.
Whether the initial interest is sparked by peer pressure or morbid curiosity, this spooky saga of things that go bump in the night seems to resonate with many pre-teen gamers. However, as our #WakeUpWednesday guide explains, the sinister characters, unrelenting sense of tension and some disturbing themes are all potential hazards that parents and carers should be aware of.
12/10/2023 - They might not be able to pinpoint its location on a map, and they might not fully grasp the historical and political drivers behind the conflict – but in this age where news, images and video can cross continents in seconds, many children are now aware of the terrible recent events in Israel. It’s a situation, of course, that could cause youngsters extreme distress and worry.
Our #WakeUpWednesday guide contains some valuable pointers for supporting children to deal with upsetting content they’ve encountered online – whether that’s the attacks in Israel, ongoing worries over the environment, or something else entirely. Our tips will assist trusted adults in helping young people to process any negative emotions that they may be feeling.
20/09/2023 - Please find attached this week’s online safety guide which is about Snapchat. It highlights a number of risks such as sexting, visible location and contact from strangers.
20/09/2023 - Behind video-sharing platforms (like YouTube) and streaming TV shows and movies, gaming is the third most popular online activity for children in the UK. In fact, according to recent data from Ofcom, an overwhelming 89% of children aged 3 to 17 play video games. Of those, more than one in five (22%) talk to other players online who they don’t know outside the game.
The risk of contact from strangers is just one of the reasons that many parents are concerned about their child’s gaming: increased screen time, inappropriate content and in-game spending also figure among the most frequent fears. Agreeing on some rules around your child’s gaming activities can certainly help, and our guide has some useful tips for establishing these boundaries.
This free online safety guide looks at the benefits of setting boundaries around video gaming to help young people learn healthy online habits.
13/09/2023 - Please find attached a ‘live-streaming’ guide which explains the hazards and precautions to take to help young people when accessing online live streaming services.
30/08/2023 - Welcome back to a new school year ! We know that looking after children’s wellbeing is something we all work hard to achieve and this week’s free online safety guide has tips for looking after children’s wellbeing when being online – including going tech free before bed, avoiding comparisons with others, and pausing before they post.
We are pleased to share the news that we recently had a successful safeguarding audit of our school. As a result of the findings from the audit we do kindly request that parents do not use mobile phones on-site when dropping off or picking up their children as this helps to keep all children safe on our school site. Staff may talk to you about this as necessary.