Safeguarding Online

Safeguarding Online Safety

 

Online Safety at Tunstall Nursery

Please click here to view advice and information from Childnet International in many languages.

Click here to view tips and websites about how to keep you and your child safe online.

The internet, computers and other digital devices are all wonderful resources that we are lucky to have at our disposal. When used correctly and responsibly the internet can be a place to learn, watch, play games, research and so much more but it must be used safely. In a world of growing technology this is a vital part of education.   Some children are more competent on a device than a grown up, but they might not yet have developed a full understanding of online safety.

Touch screen technology has allowed children at a younger age to confidently explore the internet and click on a link which may not always be appropriate.

What is online safety?

Online Safety is staying safe whilst using any electronic device; this could be using the internet or other means of communication such as text/instant messages, gaming devices, (Playstation, Xbox), emails and social networking.

Online safety can be broken down into three sections:

Content – What children see online.

Some online content is unsuitable for children and can be hurtful or harmful. This is often true for content accessed via social networks, online games, blogs and websites. It only takes one misspelt word to lead to a search that could show harmful images. It is important for children to understand that not everything they read on the internet is true.

You can help by:

*  Ensuring you have appropriate filters on your computer and online searches to prevent children accessing inappropriate material.

*  Talking about the validity of information found on the internet.

Conduct – How children behave online.

Children need to be aware of the impact that their online activity can have on both themselves and other people, and the digital footprint that they create on the internet. Writing or saying something online or in a message may feel anonymous but it could have a devastating impact to someone or themselves in the future. An example of this is cyber bullying.

When using the internet, it is important to keep personal information, including name, age, school, address, safe, and not share it with strangers.

You can help by:

  • Discussing with your child the importance of reporting inappropriate conversations, images or behaviours.
  • Discussing why it’s important not to share important information over the internet.

Contact – Who children speak to online.

It is important for children to realise that friends made online may not be who they say they are.  The Stranger Danger rule still applies online.

You can help by:

  • Regularly reviewing friends lists and removing unwanted contacts.
  • Customising the information that each friend is able to access through the privacy settings.
  • Reinforcing with your child the importance of telling a trusted adult straight away if someone is bullying them or making them feel uncomfortable, or if one of their friends is being bullied online.

 It is important to start these conversations with children as young as possible.  It maybe that when you first start letting them use the devices connected to the internet they only watch things when they are in the room with you.  Or you let them watch things through trusted sites, some website have more safety measures as they are aimed at children.

At Tunstall children are supervised when they are on the computers and the websites they are accessed are monitored.  We teach children that they can only go onto the computers with our permission and onto the sites we have allowed.

How can you as parents help?

The best way to teach children how to be safe online is by understanding what they are doing when using an electronic device. By talking to and working with your child, you will know what sites / games they use and whether they are suitable.

Understand the online world, and build an environment of trust amongst your family.

If your child feels comfortable speaking to you about something they might have seen that made them feel uneasy, then you can fix the problem, there and then.

Always use search filters.

This is a simple and quick way of restricting sites that might make a child uncomfortable.

Useful links

The Little Leaflet on Cyper security - Met Police

LGFL young people's guide to online safety

NSPCC Keeping children safe online

Kid's health online safety for parents

NSPCC - setting up parent controls

Online Safety for Parents and Carers - this is provided by the LA and is free to complete