E Safety for Parents
S. Anselm's was happy to welcome many parents of boarding pupils for a talk on how to ensure the safety of children using the internet at home. Mr Berry and Mrs Young led the lecture, which was filled with advice on how to use the internet safely and securely.
A second lecture will be given for parents of Day children on Monday 2nd March at 5.30pm in the Hargreaves Hall.
Some frightening statistics were revealed about how children's internet use is ever increasing nationally in the uk, with:
• 55% access the internet everyday
• 11% used Social Networking sites
• 33% had access in their bedrooms
• 25% have met someone offline
Staff dealt with some of the current issues and highlighted risks to pupils (and parents!) in the way they use computers at home. Much of the focus was on 'communication' as the area with the most likelihood to lead to problems with everything from email to social networking.
S. Anselm's takes e-safety very seriously, which is why we have the rules on mobile phones and Handheld devices. The ICT curriculum includes teaching all about personal safety and security on the internet. Use of computers at school is monitored and firewalled to maintain maximum protection.
Extra advice to parents.
• Help your children to understand that they should never give out personal details to online friends they do not know offline.
• Explain to your children what information about them is personal: i.e. email address, mobile number, school name, sports club, arrangements for meeting up with friends and any pictures or videos of themselves, their family or friends. Small pieces of information can easily be pieced together to form a comprehensive insight in to their lives and daily activities.
• Make your children aware that they need to think carefully about the information and pictures they post on their profiles. Inform them that once published online, anyone can change or share these images of them.
• If your child receives spam or junk email and texts, remind them never to believe their contents, reply to them or use them.
• It can be easy to forget that the internet is not a private space, and as result sometimes young people engage in risky behaviour online. Advise your children not to post any pictures, videos or information on their profiles, or in chat rooms, that they would not want a parent or carer to see.
• It's not a good idea for your child to open files that are from people they don't know. They won't know what they contain—it could be a virus, or worse - an inappropriate image or film.
• Help your child to understand that some people lie online and that therefore it's better to keep online mates online. They should never meet up with any strangers without an adult they trust.
• Always keep communication open for a child to know that it's never too late to tell someone if something makes them feel uncomfortable.
There are some brilliant resources available online.
Parents should try to visit the following websites for further information and help.
www.thinkuknow.co.uk
www.getnetwise.org
www.ceop.gov.uk
Posted on
Sat, February 28, 2009
by admin