E-Safety Policy
Parental Links from Safer Internet Day 2023: social media (thinkuknow.co.uk)
There are education programmes for children aged 4-7, 8-10 and 11-18 years. Parents and carers can work through the interactive programmes with their children.
How to set up parental controls
If you want to set up parental controls on a range of devices, networks, apps and sites in order to ensure your children have a safer online experience, you can download free guides from the Internet Matters website. Use the following link and scroll down the screen to access the handy search boxes to find the item you’re looking for. Once selected, you will be redirected to a free downloadable step by step guide to protecting your children when online.
https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/
Squid Game
School has been made aware that some of our junior children are watching a Netflix series called ‘Squid Game.’
This is also available to be viewed on Tik Tok.
Currently, Squid Game has a rating of 15+ as the visual content includes high levels of gore, death, violence and physical assault. It also has graphic depictions of suicide, murder and sexual assault.
Please visit the following link for further information and guidance: Safeguarding Update: Squid Game – Safer Schools (oursaferschools.co.uk)
Please contact school if you need any further support.
Lego build and talk
If you want to talk about internet safety with your child but don’t know where to start, Lego have developed a series of activities to help with your child’s digital safety and wellbeing. Follow the link below for more information.
https://www.lego.com/en-gb/sustainability/children/buildandtalk
Vodafone Digital Parenting Magazine Issue 8
Useful parents’ guide to TikTok
Fortnite online safety song for parents
On-Line Safety Message
Tameside Police want to raise awareness of a trend which is affecting the safety of children.
Social media, in particular Facebook, is being used to ask children to take a“24 hour Challenge” . The challenge involves them going missing from home for 24 hours, taking no mobile phone or food with them. They are then further challenged to be involved in risk taking behaviour such as climbing onto roofs of buildings. Children as young as 11 have taken up the challenge.
Cheshire police are investigating an INSTAGRAM account named ‘funonly94’ following multiple reports in the past 2 weeks from concerned parents of year 7 pupils at a local high School, Northwich The images that this account is sending and the content being discussed is highly inappropriate. At this time it is not believed that the holder of the Account is local to Northwich and the concern is raised due to the ‘Suggestions’ being made by this male.
Parents are asked to speak to Children about their Instagram Usage and remind them of principles of staying safe online. If the account is found on their child’s Instagram Account, it is suggested that it is Blocked and Reported to Instagram. Parents of Year 7 Students are reminded that the ‘Age restriction’ for an Instagram account is 13 Years. If any further concerns are raised then please contact DC 4107 Walton @ Northwich CID on 101
Last week Snapchat introduced a new feature, the ‘Snap Map’
This location based map allows users to see where in the country their Snapchat contacts are, as well as seeing location based photos and videos. The Snap Map shows a user’s Bitmoji, their cartoon avatar within Snapchat, pinpointed on a world map. Users can then zoom into the map to see the exact location of their friends.
How to access Snap Maps
To access the Snap Map in the latest update of the Snapchat app, users need to go to their camera screen within Snapchat and zoom out using two fingers. This will then launch the Snap Maps screen and will allow a user to see their friend’s locations.
Choose who can see your location
It is important to be careful about who you share your location with, as it can allow people to build up a picture of where you live, go to school and spend your time.
Given how specific this new feature is on Snapchat – giving your location to a precise pinpoint on a map – we would encourage users not to share their location, especially with people they don’t know in person.
There are three settings for sharing your location on the map, these are; Ghost mode, My Friends, and Select Friends. But what do these settings mean?
Ghost Mode
Ghost Mode means that you are the only person who can see your location on the map.
Within Ghost Mode you can still see the locations of your friends but they will be unable to see you. This setting will ensure that you have complete control over who knows your location.
My Friends
My Friends means that all of your contacts on Snapchat can see your location. If turning on this setting then it would be important for users to review their Snapchat contacts and also make sure that they never add someone they don’t know in person onto Snapchat.
Select Friends
This setting allows users to look through their friend list and then decide which of their friends they want to be able to view their location. This setting gives users the opportunity to control who can view their location.
Changing settings
When first opening the Snap Map users get to make a decision of who they want to be able to view their location. Once these settings are in place they can always be changed in Snapchat’s settings. This can be done in two ways:
In the Snapchat settings
In the Snapchat screen click on the Settings (cog) icon> click on ‘see my location’ > Choose the setting which suits you
On the Snap Map
Top tips
Sharing location can be a risky thing to do. Our tips for location sharing are:
- Only share your location with people you know in person. Never share your location with strangers.
- Don’t add contacts to Snapchat if you don’t know them in person.
- Regularly review your settings and take an active decision about whether you want people to know your location. Remember you can switch this off at any time. Think about where you’re sharing your location. Location services such as Snap Maps can lead people to your house. Think about what times you’re on the app and whether these are locations you want to share – if not, then turn this off within your settings.
Please visit the below for further advice and guidance:
UK Safer Internet Centre : https://saferinternet.org.uk/blog/introducing-%E2%80%98snap-maps%E2%80%99-new-location-sharing-feature-snapchat
https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/21/snap-map/
http://www.childnet.com/blog/introducing-snap-maps-the-new-location-sharing-feature-in-snapchat
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/40415706
Protecting children on social media
The NSPCC is calling for new laws to force social media sites to keep children safe. We are calling for a rule book that would be enforced by an independent regulator. The rules would ensure that social media companies do three things: provide safe accounts for under-18s with extra protections built in; create grooming and bully alerts to flag up sinister behaviour; and hire an army of dedicated online child safety guardians.
Source: NSPCC news story Date: 18 June 2017
Online etiquette or ‘netiquette’ – The dos and don’ts of online communication
The internet often plays a huge part in many young people’s daily activities; allowing them to communicate freely with others and share information with ease via messaging apps, social media and gaming networks. Posted on the Childnet blog 9th June 2017.
Roblox – a guide for parents
Our Education Officer Tom looks at the popular gaming site Roblox and gives top tips for parents wanting to help young people stay safe whilst gaming on Roblox. Posted on the Childnet blog 8th June 2017.
O2 NSPCC Community Events
If you would like to register your interest for the O2 NSPCC team to attend a community event in your area, please e-mail O2NSPCCevents@o2.com
The team can deliver online safety workshops to parents at non school community groups / clubs (approx.1hr) or attend both schools & non school community groups in a different capacity, such as be on hand to show parents how to apply parental controls to their devices.
Please note: registering your interest does not guarantee they will be able to attend – the team will respond within 5 working days to confirm the next steps.
If you require a parent workshop to be delivered for a school then NSPCC can deliver these. If any school wishes to register their interest they must email schools@nspcc.org.uk with their Name, Contact number, Email address & Name of the school and NSPCC will reply to them directly. For more information about the O2 NSPCC partnership, you can visit the O2 website here or NSPCC website here.