Castleview School

Online Safety for Parents

 

Worried about something you have seen online?

If you have seen something that you feel is offensive or you have seen harmful material online, no matter where it is, please use the button below to report it.

 

SWGfL Report Harmful Content

 

The Report Harmful Content button is a quick and simple method for helping anyone to report offensive or harmful material online, no matter where they are.

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What is Ollee?

Ollee is a digital friend for children aged 8-11, created by Parent Zone and BBC Children in Need’s 

A Million & Me initiative. 

It helps children explore feelings around subjects – like school, family, friends and the world – and supports conversations between children and parents through connected accounts.

In the app, children can select an emotion they’re feeling – maybe happy, sad, worried or something else – and it will give them ideas about what to do. Even if they’re not sure, Ollee will help them figure it out. With prompts such as, “I feel lonely”, “no one listens to me” or “I’m growing up”, Ollee gives children supportive advice about that subject and how they feel. 

Parents and guardians can create an Ollee account for themselves, as well as their child. By linking accounts, children and parents can share Ollee’s advice and ideas together, helping to start a conversation about feelings. Adults can also explore the different emotional scenarios a child might be experiencing – with tailored parenting advice. 

Try it out now in a web browser or download the app to your device.

 

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Highlights

 

Current Year 23-24 22-23 21-22 19-21

 Online Safety Committee Updates 

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Student Code of Conduct (Sep '24)

To ensure the continuing education and online safety of Castleview's students, the children spend a portion of their year's first Computing lesson on a Code of Conduct. The Code keeps the children up to date with the latest guidelines and ensures they know exactly what to, and not to do online. These are are all discussed and understood as a class, before every individual in KS1 and KS2 signs their own personal copy.  These rules also appear every time a child logs in to their school computer to remind them how to conduct themselves online.

Please click below to see the rules:-

Online Safety Rules 

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Alan Mackenzie - Our Online Safety Expert!

"Online safety has been a passion of mine for a very long time; I love technology and the huge benefits that can be realised through global connectivity and collaboration...I strongly believe if you educate children using the spaces they engage in, they understand more, they're more enthusiastic, they engage and therefore the likelihood of positive impact is greater."

Alan Mackenzie Updates

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

New Feature

Purple Mash Parent Newsletter!

Please click here below

Purple Mash Parent Newsletter

If you want to know more about TikTok, read the Parent Zone Library guide, which has in-depth information on the app. 

 Read the tiktok guide

Checklist for Staying safe on Tik Tok 

SWGfL has updated its TikTok checklist leaflet. This helpful resource covers how to set up parental controls, how to block users and where to go for further help, plus more. 

Check out the checklist here

 

 

Primary school children aged 7-10 years old are increasingly being groomed to perform sexually online by predators warns the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).

The IWF, the UK hotline to report and remove child sexual abuse imagery online, have warned that since the beginning of the pandemic, they have witnessed an increase of 1,058 per cent in the number of webpages depicting sexual abuse imagery of children aged 7-10. This content was recorded by predators via internet connected devices and shared online.  Please click on the image above to view the full report.

 

The Education Team deliver education and information sessions directly with children and young people aged 3-18 years old, as well as parents, carers, teachers and professionals.

In this series we will answer some of the questions we get most frequently asked by  parents and carers about helping their children navigate the internet.

In this blog, Childnet Education Officer Georgia offers advice about gaming and chat within games.

Find out more here.

 

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Online Relationships & Dating Apps

Dating apps have grown rapidly in popularity since their introduction, transforming the way many of us meet new people and form relationships. While these platforms are typically restricted to an audience of over-18s, there are still children and young people attempting to make use of them and exposing themselves to their risks – from online harassment to outright abuse.

As a parent or educator, it can be daunting to navigate this complex and ever-evolving landscape, and to know how best we can support and protect youngsters who are accessing dating apps. This guide breaks down the risks associated with these platforms and offers expert advice on how to safeguard children from such online safety concerns.

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Fake News & Scams

While misinformation and ‘fake news’ are well-known concerns online, it's also the case that scammers and other cyber-criminals can try to utilise this phony material to manipulate, frighten or otherwise persuade their victims into cooperating.

With constantly evolving scams and such a high volume of misinformation online, it's vital that parents and educators know how to safeguard the children in their care against these kinds of tactics. Our guide breaks down the most prominent ways in which scammers attempt to use ‘fake news’ to their advantage, as well as how to protect youngsters from being manipulated by such techniques.

Top Tips for Supporting Children to Develop Emotional Literacy

As we grow up, we’re inevitably exposed to new and challenging feelings – whether it’s sadness, fear or rage. These emotions can be tough to handle when we’re still learning about the world – and even once we’ve passed into adulthood – which is why emotional literacy is a vital life skill.

Of course, when emotions are running high, it can be tricky to help young people process these feelings in a healthy way, but it’s incredibly important that we do so as parents and educators. This free guide provides you with expert tips on teaching children to recognise their own emotions and deal with them in a mature manner.

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Health & Fitness Apps

Over time, more and more fitness apps have been finding their way into circulation. Usually free to download – at least initially – these apps claim to offer helpful advice and assistance in routine management to those looking to lead a healthier lifestyle.

While these platforms can be useful, they do present several safety concerns. These issues become more significant when we consider that children and young people can use these apps to stay active – whether out of concern for their own health or for reasons of body image. Our free guide breaks down the risks of health and fitness apps and offers expert advice on how to address these concerns to safeguard younger users.

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about TikTok

Among children – and especially teenagers – TikTok boasts approximately 220 million users, providing a near-endless reel of short clips intended to entertain, educate and more. However, along with its enormous userbase comes a significant number of possible risks: Ofcom have dubbed it the most likely app on which teen users would potentially suffer harm.

With the platform reaching astronomical levels of success among the younger generation, it’s vitally important for parents and educators to understand the risks it poses. This free guide lets you know about the most prominent potential dangers associated with TikTok and offers expert advice on how to safeguard youngsters who are navigating the site.

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about JusTalk Kids

 JusTalk Kids is an alternative version of the JusTalk app, aimed at an audience aged 13 and under. As that upper age limit suggests, this social networking platform is intended to be suitable for youngsters, providing them with a space of their own to interact with a community their own age.

Unfortunately, there are still risks associated with JusTalk Kids, so it’s vitally important for parents and educators to understand the potential dangers for those who use the app. Our free guide delves into the most prominent online safety concerns of JusTalk Kids, while also letting you know how to ensure that children can be protected, should they wish to create an account.

Top Tips for Staying Safe on Social Media

With social media’s ever-growing popularity among children and young people, it’s important for adults to keep themselves apprised of the associated risks and help youngsters to navigate these platforms in a safe, responsible manner.

However, it can be difficult to know exactly how to protect children and young people while they use these apps. This free guide offers you expert tips on supporting youngsters to enjoy the features of social media while avoiding the risks.

 

 

Top Tips for Safety Over the Festive Season

 

The holiday season is a time for celebration, relaxation and spending well-earned time with loved ones. While this period will hopefully be calm, it’s important that parents and educators acknowledge there are still things we can do to make these weeks as safe as possible for the young people in our care.

Of course, it’s not immediately obvious what can or should be done to stay safe over the festive season. This free guide offers expert advice on the steps you can take to enjoy a less fraught winter break, safeguarding any youngsters who might be present for the celebrations.

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Mental Health and Wellbeing Apps

The rise in awareness of mental health issues has given way to several easily accessible services to help with such problems – for example, wellbeing apps promising to serve as an assistive tool for anyone in need of support. While these can be useful to some, there are a few risks which are important to consider – especially if a child or young person is using the app.Of course, it can be tricky to know exactly where the safety concerns lie with a service intended to help and support its users – and it can be harder still to safeguard younger users. This free guide breaks down the online safety risks of mental health and wellbeing apps, before letting you know how best to keep children and young people safe if they ever wish to use these services.

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Snapchat

As one of the most popular messaging apps available, Snapchat sees an enormous amount of usage across the globe – with a significant number of those utilising the platform being under 18. For that reason, it’s important to understand the potential risks to younger users when spending time on this app.

Of course, it can be difficult to identify every hazard associated with the platform, let alone what can be done to mitigate these concerns. Our guide lays out the key online safety risks of Snapchat, as well as how to safeguard young people while they use the app.

  

10 Top Tips for Parents & Educators Educating Children on Spending and Saving

Managing money can be a difficult skill to master, even for adults. As such, it’s incredibly important for children and young people to learn all they can before they reach an age at which they’ll be responsible for their own finances. Teaching strategies for saving and responsible spending early on can be a huge help to youngsters, in a way that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

It can be tricky to know the best approach for teaching money management to children, however, especially in terms of giving them practical experience with this important life skill. This guide – made in collaboration with financial education app GoHenry – provides you with expert advice on how to educate children and young people on both spending and saving their cash.

 

 

10 Top Tips for Parents & Educators Teaching Cycle Safety 

Cycling can be a fun and healthy way to pass the time for children and young people – encouraging them to go outside and stay active, while also spending quality time with parents, carers or other trusted adults. It’s also a useful skill for adult life: teaching youngsters how to use a cheaper, healthier and more eco-friendly method of transportation where possible.

However, the risk of injuries that cycling carries can quickly put young people off the hobby. If a child is being introduced to cycling as an activity, it’s essential that they’re also taught how to stay safe while out and about. This free guide offers you expert advice on how to practise safe cycling and preserve the wellbeing of children when going out for a ride.

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Fortnite

Over the years, Fortnite has become a household name in the gaming community. It was one of the first titles in the ‘battle royale’ subgenre, where players are thrown into a chaotic free-for-all on a sprawling map and fight until only one remains. Its cartoonish presentation and satisfying gameplay loop make it a potentially attractive choice for young players.

However, it’s important to remember that online safety risks are always present – especially in multiplayer games – and Fortnite is no exception. This free guide, put together with expert input, tells you all you need to know about the safety concerns of this popular title and offers advice on how to protect children and young people as they enjoy the game.

Top Tips for Encouraging Children to Choose Respect

Even among adults, it can be all too common to see disputes and differing opinions grow extremely heated, which is rarely helpful to anyone. When emotions run high, it can be easy to forget yourself and perhaps even say something you didn’t mean, hurting feelings or escalating the situation further.

For children, it’s just as important to avoid this kind of behaviour whenever possible; without the necessary guidance, however, they could struggle to identify any disrespectful behaviour, let alone recognise what they can do differently. This guide offers you expert advice on teaching children and young people to choose respect when interacting with their peers, helping to create an environment based on empathy and tolerance.

 

Top Tips for Supporting Children to Build Emotional Resilience

Facing unpleasant feelings can be a challenge, even for adults – let alone for children and young people, whose minds are still developing. To many youngsters, a mistake in an exam, a hurtful word or even losing in a game can sometimes feel like the worst thing in the world, causing them to react accordingly.

However, this isn’t always an effective way to deal with difficult emotions or life’s setbacks, so it's important that parents and educators are able impress a healthy approach to these feelings on the children in their care. This free guide offers you expert tips on how to instil emotional resilience in young people, helping them to learn from unexpected feelings and situations – and to process them in a mature, effective manner.

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Horror Films & Age Ratings

 Many children and young people enjoy exploring new and exciting genres and themes in the films and TV they consume – and as they grow, the maturity of this content will likely increase with them. However, without proper supervision and safeguarding, youngsters looking for a new title to enjoy – especially in the horror genre – might get a little more than they're ready for.

The emotional and psychological impacts of viewing age-inappropriate content can be severe. It's vital for parents and educators to know how to keep the children in their care as safe as possible while young people explore new, potentially grittier or darker, pieces of media. This free guide breaks down the risks of viewing age-inappropriate content, with a particular focus on horror, and offers expert advice on how to limit youngsters’ exposure to material that might upset or disturb them.

Top Tips for Teaching Children Fire Safety

Whether it’s during a major event like bonfire night or simply while using a heater on a chilly day, fire safety is a vitally important topic on which to educate children and young people. One mistake with fireworks, electronics or open flames can have catastrophic consequences: damage to property, serious injury or even worse.

As parents and educators, it's vital that we teach the children in our care how to protect themselves around fire and flammable materials in a mature and responsible manner. This free guide offers expert advice on how to educate children and young people on fire safety, detailing what precautions can be taken to keep them as safe as possible when exposed to fire-related dangers.

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about In-Game Chat

Online gaming enjoys an apparently ever-increasing level of popularity, and many players are eager to connect with one another as they enjoy a friendly competition or go for the win side by side. Whether it’s to strategise and coordinate, or simply have a chat as you indulge in your hobby, the fact remains that plenty of games now offer means for their players to talk to one another, be that in a text or voice format.

Unfortunately, this functionality – which is used to connect with strangers just as often as it is with friends – poses several risks to younger players, and it’s vital for parents and educators to understand these safety concerns. This free guide offers expert advice on the issues that may arise when using in-game chat, and lets you know how to safeguard the children in your care as they make use of this technology.

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Instagram

Instagram is one of the most well-known social media platforms around, frequented by users of all ages all over the world, and allowing them to share photos and videos with friends, family and the wider public if they wish. The site has many younger users, allowing people as young as 13 to create an account and engage with its community.

As a popular choice of platform for teenagers, it's vital that parents and educators understand the risks associated with the site and what can be done to mitigate them. This free guide lets you know about the most prominent safety concerns on Instagram, offering expert advice on how to make young people’s experiences on the app as secure as possible.

 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Final Fantasy XIV

Massively multiplayer online roleplaying games – or ‘MMORPGs’ – are a highly popular subgenre, allowing people from all over the world to exist within the same fantasy realm, joining each other on quests or testing their skills against each other. One such title in this genre is Final Fantasy XIV, which released back in 2010 and – despite its initial failure – saw a surge of popularity in later years. 

As with any online game, there are plenty of risks associated with Final Fantasy XIV – and it’s vital for parents and educators to understand these safety concerns, in case any children in their care wish to enjoy this title. Our free guide offers expert insight into the potential hazards of playing Final Fantasy XIV and lets you know how best to safeguard any young fans of the game.

 

Top Tips for Supporting Children to Manage Conflict Effectively

As children go through life, they will inevitably come into conflict sooner or later. These disagreements can range from seemingly minor squabbles to far more serious disputes, and dealing with them in an effective, mature manner is an absolutely vital skill – one that takes some time and effort to cultivate.

In children and young people’s formative years, it’s incredibly important for parents and educators to know how to teach them conflict resolution, as well being able to model this skill effectively. This free guide offers expert advice on helping youngsters avoid unnecessary conflict and supporting them in finding solutions when clashes arise.

Top Tips for Using & Reviewing Parental Controls

With most children today having their own phones, computers and other devices, it’s vitally important that parents and educators know how to keep young people protected while using them. Between targeted adverts, age-inappropriate content, and other online safety concerns, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to keep on top of.

Parental controls, present on most devices and several apps, can make this job significantly easier – but a certain amount of knowledge is required to use them effectively. This free online safety guide will provide you with the information you need to activate and maintain parental controls on children and young people’s devices.

 

 

Top Tips for Supporting Children Going Back to School

For many children and young people, change can be hard to process – and this is no different when the time comes for them to return to school. After such a long stretch of time away, they may begin to feel creeping doubts over their lessons, their teachers, their routines, or even any friends they haven’t seen over the summer.

Parents, educators, and other trusted adults play a vital role for these children, and it is extremely important to know how to effectively support young people through this potentially difficult time. This free guide offers you expert advice on how to lend a hand to youngsters returning to education, and details what you can do to make this transition as easy as possible.

 

What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Worry and Anxiety

At times, growing up can be a stressful experience. It’s not unheard of for young people to fret about things that could potentially go wrong in their lives – and what implications this would have for their life. In some situations, this can go beyond feeling uneasy about the future and become full-blown anxiety, which affects their mental, emotional and even physical wellbeing. 

While worry and anxiety can originate from many different places, it's immensely important for parents and educators to understand the effect this can have on youngsters – and how best to support them if they’re going through a difficult time. This guide provides insight into the ramifications of worry and anxiety, and how you can help children manage – and hopefully overcome – these challenges.

 

What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Sharing Intimate Images

The sharing of intimate images online can be a dangerous avenue through which abusers seek to exploit children and young people, forcibly exposing them to explicit material, coercing them into sharing self-generated intimate images, and extorting them with the threat of sharing such images more widely. From reputational impact to potential blackmail or emotional distress, and even legal consequences, exposure to this harmful behaviour can have a severe impact.

It’s important to remember that the creation and distribution of explicit material featuring under-18s – even by the child themselves – is illegal under UK law. Our guide looks at the serious concerns associated with this behaviour, and lets parents and educators know how best to address these issues and protect young people.

 

 

 

What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Online Trolling

The term “trolling” refers to sending hurtful or provocative comments – often done anonymously online – to provoke a reaction or cause emotional distress. Anonymity can embolden people into saying things they wouldn’t dare say in person. Euro 2024 and other tournaments tend to put an emphasis on this, with the abuse of both players and fans often increasing during such events. 

This free guide explores the phenomenon of online trolling, detailing its risks and letting you know how to safeguard children from this harmful behaviour. 

Some people online simply get a kick out of hurting people’s feelings, making it their mission to get a rise out of anyone they encounter. These people – known as “trolls” – are known for intentionally engaging in offensive or abusive behaviour to upset others online or provoke them into sinking to their level. At the height of events such as Euro 2024, when rivalries between various supporters reach an apex, trolling tends to see a bit of an uptick. 

Unfortunately, while “just ignore them” is genuinely good advice, it can prove very difficult to put into practice. This is especially true for children and young people, who are often still learning how to manage their emotions and sometimes react impulsively to name-calling and other mistreatment. This Wake up Wednesday, however, we’re offering expert guidance on how to keep youngsters safe from online trolling – both avoiding it entirely and responding to it effectively.

 

 

What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Gambling

 

This free guide offers insight into the risks posed to children and young people by online gambling and advises you on how to safeguard them effectively.

Online gambling has become more prevalent over the years, with such practises widely advertised on social media and even incorporated into various apps and games. It’s growing easier for children and young people to come across opportunities to gamble online, putting parents at greater risk of financial loss or mental and emotional strain. 

That said, there are steps you can take to keep these youngsters as safe as possible from the impacts of gambling, and our free guide details these for you. At the same time, our expert points out the most significant risks posed to under-18s, to help you keep these damaging pitfalls to a minimum.

 

10 Top Tips for Parents and Educators: Promoting Physical Wellbeing

 

This free guide offers expert advice on how to impress the importance of physical wellbeing on children and young people.

Football’s European Championship is now well underway, and this huge event could potentially get children interested in having a go on the pitch themselves – or perhaps they’re already passionate about sport. It could present a great opportunity to get young people engaged in physical activity and regular exercise, which has proven positive impacts on all facets of their health – including mental and emotional wellbeing. 

With all that said, it can sometimes be difficult to get children and young people motivated to take part in sports and other exercise, but there are certainly ways to do so. This guide provides you with some top tips from our expert on how to encourage young people to stay active and remain invested in their physical welfare.

 

10 Top Tips for Parents and Educators: Fair Play and Friendly Competition

 

This free guide offers expert advice on how to encourage fair play and a healthy approach to competition among children and young people.

With football’s European Championships about to kick off, it’s likely that young fans will be inspired to take to the pitch themselves – or perhaps they’re naturally sporty already. High-profile tournaments such as this can be a great opportunity to teach children and young people about what constitutes being ‘a good sport’ – not just in terms of technique, but also attitude. 

This guide collates our expert’s tips for encouraging fair play and friendly competition between children. It will help you to ensure that they can relish an enjoyable game of football, rugby or something else entirely — without unhealthy approaches to winning and losing polluting what could be an uplifting experience for all.

 

What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Pop Ups

 

This free information guide addresses the online safety risks of pop-ups, letting you know how to make children aware of this prominent marketing technique.

On the internet or on social media, it’s likely that you’ve come across the occasional pop-up – promising a great deal on some product or service, declaring that you’ve won some kind of prize, or making any other number of tempting claims. This marketing tactic has been around for almost 30 years and shows no signs of disappearing any time soon.

Unfortunately, pop-up advertising carries with it various online safety risks, as we can never be certain where those links will take us or how legitimate their creators are. These ads can be especially risky for children and young people, who may not yet be able to look at such marketing with a critical eye. However, our free online safety guide will educate you on pop-ups, their associated risks, and how to safeguard yourself and young people from this phenomenon.

Source

Meyer et al., Advertising in Young Children's Apps: A Content Analysis, 2019 

 

10 Top Tips for Parents and Educators: Encouraging Healthy Friendships

 

A study from the British Psychological Society found that the majority of children (71%) had at least one close friend as early as five years old 👫😊 These connections can form rather quickly and develop with equal speed. At such a young age, it can be remarkable how suddenly two children can hit it off with one another 🚀.  However, it is deeply important that children can recognise both the features of a healthy relationship, as well as the potential signs of a less healthy dynamic ☣️ Our #WakeUpWednesday guide offers some top tips on reinforcing the formation of healthy friendships among children and young people. 

 

What Parents and Educators Need to Know about School Avoidance

 

School avoidance is a sharply increasing phenomenon, with tangible negative effects on children’s wellbeing and education. The factors that come together to make a child consciously avoid seeing their classmates and teachers can be much more complicated than is often assumed. A careful, mindful approach from parents, carers and educators is required to help children return to an environment that may be causing them intense anxiety. 

Our guide aims to help you understand the issue of school avoidance – not only its potential roots and ramifications, but also what you can do to help children and young people navigate these obstacles and continue their education.

10 Top Tips for Managing Exam Stress.

Exam stress – sometimes referred to as test anxiety – is of course a long-running issue for children and young people. Many experts have suggested that the enforced break to traditional testing during the pandemic (specifically the relative lack of familiarity with exam situations) has exacerbated this problem for those who are currently in education.

The possible impact of exam stress on children’s mental, emotional and physical wellbeing is difficult to overstate – and students’ need for support is seldom greater than during these periods of their academic life. Our guide offers you ten practical tips for helping young people to manage exam stress and minimise its potentially detrimental effects.

 

What Parents & Educators Can Learn from the Ofcom Media Report 2024

On 19th April 2024, Ofcom released their annual Media Use and Attitudes Report, detailing the findings of several surveys and their implications for parents, children and young people in the UK. These statistics often include plenty of thought-provoking information relating to online safety.The report itself is extremely extensive, so instead we've provided a bespoke selection of data gathered by Ofcom about children and young people’s experiences on social media, video games and the like. Check our guide for a thorough breakdown of the headline findings.

 

What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Clickbait

While scrolling online, you’ll almost inevitably have come across posts or links with headlines like “You Won’t Believe These 10 Crazy Facts about …”. Such lurid language – and the often-dubious nature of the content it promotes – has become something of a running joke on the internet. Yet while these articles are often laughed at by communities online, they can have an insidious side.

Clickbait, as it’s known, can frequently function as part of a trap: intended to draw users in for the sake of advertising revenue or, in worse cases, masking an attempting to collect their personal information. This #WakeUpWednesday guide explores the various risks of clickbait and offers some top tips for evading the pitfalls of this controversial marketing technique.

 

10 Top Tips for Parents and Educators: Encouraging Open Conversations at Home

This free information guide provides some expert tips on helping children feel able to talk frankly and honestly.

 

 

Top Tips for Supporting Children Who Are Experiencing Bullying

Bullying has long been a pervasive issue in schools – and, being realistic, it’s regrettably a problem which is always likely to exist to a certain extent. There are still plenty of steps we can take as trusted adults, however, to lend support, comfort and reassurance to children who are going through this deeply upsetting experience.

Such a highly emotive topic can be a difficult one to talk about with children – but honest, open communication nevertheless remains vital to young victims’ wellbeing. It’s important to be aware, then, of effective ways to broach and explore the subject. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide has expert advice on effective ways to support children who are being bullied.

 

Smartphone Safety Tips for Young People

According to Ofcom, 69% of under-18s use a smartphone as their main method of going online. Additionally, 49% of children use them for online gaming – putting smartphones only behind consoles (59%) as the device of choice for playing games on. Most people won’t require such statistical evidence, however, to acknowledge the huge importance of phones to young people.

Given that Santa’s recent visit is likely to have bestowed smartphones on an even greater number of young people, it’s a particularly opportune moment to ensure that children are able to use their handsets responsibly – and, above all, safely. From passcodes to parental controls, and from screen time to scams, our #WakeUpWednesday guide has the essential advice.

 

Supporting Children to Deal with Upsetting Content 

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.

 

What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Among Us.

Created in 2018 by a small indie studio that (at the time) had only four employees, Among Us has become one of the gaming world’s biggest breakout hits of recent years. In 2020, for example, it was the world’s most-downloaded mobile game. Its simplicity helped Among Us to resonate with younger players in particular: the game’s second largest audience slice is the 13–18 age bracket.

While the 7+ age rating, emphasis on teamwork and cartoonish, colourful graphics all suit a young fan-base, however, the game does carry more serious risks than betrayal by a team-mate or an untimely on-screen demise – with in-game purchases and possible contact from strangers on our #WakeUpWednesday guide’s list of hazards that trusted adults should bear in mind.

 

What Parents and Carers Need to Know About WhatsApp

This online safety guide is an updated examination of WhatsApp – the globally popular messaging platform which contains both old and new hazards for young users.

 

Information on AI Virtual Friends 

Reuters reports that ChatGPT is the fastest-growing consumer app in history, with around 13 million users per day 📈 Given those sorts of figures, it’s no surprise that a host of AI imitators have arrived – with many being grafted onto existing social networking platforms.

The guide looks at the type of AI-powered online companions proving popular with younger users – and highlights what trusted adults need to know about these ‘virtual friends’.

Please click on the image above to download a PDF version.

 

Information on Smart Watches

They’re convenient for staying in touch on the go (almost two billion messages are sent from smartwatches every year), but this simultaneously can put younger wearers at risk of being contracted by strangers via their smartwatch – if the device isn’t configured properly. There’s more advice on how to avoid potential smartwatch pitfalls below:-

Please click on the image above to download a PDF version.

 

Information on 

Spotify has become the world's most popular music streaming service - but how suitable is it for children to listen to?  This guide brings you the inside track on Spotify!

 Please click on the image above to download a PDF version.

 

Please click on the link above.

 

 

 

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Stay upto date and keep your child safe in the digital world.

Below are some useful links to keep yourself abreast of latest developments.

Parent Zone have produced a guide to all the latest online platforms that are currently trending with young people.

Follow the link https://parentzone.org.uk/advice/parent-guides

 

The new Better Internet for Kids (BIK) website features a section specifically dedicated to parents and carers to help them influence, support, educate and protect their children in the online world.

https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/fr/discover/parents-and-carers

 

 

Click here for your parent guide to the social networks, websites, apps and games that children are currently using from Common Sense Media, NSPCC and O2.

 

Common Sense

Kids today spend over 50 hours of screen time every week. Common Sense helps adults and kids thrive in a world of media and technology. One of the services they provide are trusted reviews for Games, Books, Apps and Movies - so you know exactly what is and is not appropriate.

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Microsoft's Top Tips for Safer Families

For more detailed information and advice from the company, visit: Microsoft - Online Safety.

 

Click here for general information, advice and guidance on keeping your children safe online.

 

 

The Ultimate Guide to Protecting Your Child Online in 2021

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