The internet is a wonderful place filled with amazing information and resources. We all worry about who or what our children could come into contact with online and how we can protect them especially during this time when more children are using the internet to access school work, online resources and to stay in contact with their friends.
Most children use the Internet safely and responsibly plus, we shouldn't lose sight of the Net's positive attributes. A balance is needed between concerns for online safety and empowering children to explore and enjoy of this wonderfully rich resource, safe in the knowledge that they can talk to you about anything they may encounter.
Here at Arley Primary we want to support you through this difficult time to keep your child safe online.
It is really important to chat with your children on an ongoing basis about staying safe online.
Not sure where to begin? These conversation starter suggestions can help.
Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
Encourage them to help someone! Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
Think about how you each use the internet. What more could you do to use the internet together? Are there activities that you could enjoy as a family?
Social Media
Social networking is hugely popular and during this time when children are seeking other ways to connect with friends may be being used more within your household. All of the children at Arley Prinmary School are too young to have pages on social networking sites such as Facebook. However we understand that, despite pupils not being allowed to have pages on Facebook etc, that sometimes they do so with the agreement of their parent or carer. They can make their use safer by setting the highest security settings, changing their name on the site to a made up one that only their friends will know and blocking access to everyone except people that they actually know.
Social media, like all forms of public communication, comes with some risks. Not all of these risks turn into actual problems; and if children never face any risks, they never learn how to deal with them. By helping your child understand what the risks are, you can play a big part in preventing them from turning into problems. As your child spends more time online and on social media it becomes increasingly important that, as well as password security, they understand how information can be spread across the Internet. In order to stay safe, they need to know what can be shared and what mustn’t.
Within this section of our website we have put together a help guide of apps and games that your children may be using during this time. If your child is using a game or ap that is not listed please contact the school and we will try to support you to find out more about it.
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