Online Safety
It is really important that everyone (both children and adults) knows how to use the internet positively and can stay safe online. Using the Internet sensibly is something that we encourage all children to do during their time at SASM.
Children at SASM use the Internet on a regular basis as part of their digital literacy and PSHE lessons; each child has access to an iPad and laptops. Our School Parliament have issued e-safety advice and we have regular 'e-safety' activities to remind children of the importance of keeping themselves safe online. Please view what your child will cover on our curriculum pages.
https://parentsafe.lgfl.net/ - The London Grid for Learning (LGFL) online safety page is full of useful advice for parents and carers.
Keep your child safe online with the Safer Schools App!
Would you like to know what the latest crazes are online? Not sure about how TikTok or Minecraft work? Do you need to check the parental controls are set up on Christmas presents before they’re wrapped? We’re thrilled to be able to offer the Safer Schools App to parents for free. Once installed on your phone/tablet, the app will alert you whenever an online safety issue hits the news. Not only that, it contains a wealth of information about online apps and games as well as tips about how to keep your child safe. Once the app if downloaded it will stay and notify you with no further input (just make sure you allow notifications for the app). Details of how to download the app for your device are below:
Monitor and support your child with Google Family Link or Apple Screen Time:
Making sure you are aware of what your child is accessing online is vital. Google's Family Link or Apple's Screen Time help keep your child safe. Click on the links below to get started:
General Advice for Parents/Carers:
At home, children can sometimes be given unsupervised access to the Internet. This, potentially, allows them to access all kinds of society (both good and bad) and bring them virtually into theirhomes. Here are some tips and links to some other useful websites:
Facebook/Instagram etc. Many of these site have a minimum age limit of 13, so pupils should NOT be using them.
WhatsApp - not for primary aged pupils!
There continues to be a worrying national rise in the number of primary aged pupils using WhatsApp. Please be aware that WhatsApp is rated as 16+. In our school community, WhatsApp groups continue to pose challenges, despite teaching about this to pupils and conversations with parents and carers.
The main reason that WhatsApp is rated 16+ is because you cannot stop complete strangers contacting your child. Ultimately, the question we need to ask ourselves is: are you happy with the idea that anyone can contact your child directly?
Whilst this is easy to write, we know that many parents and carers face an uphill battle as pupils gain access to devices and want to stay in contact with friends. One strong alternative is Messenger Kids . By contrast to WhatsApp, Messenger Kids is: relatively safe; operated through parent’s Facebook account; there are no adverts or in-app purchases and the parent/carer has almost complete control.
The Safer Schools Learning Hub
From TikTok to Minecraft, Safer Schools produce a huge number of shareable 'quick read' factsheets to empower parents and carers to keep children safe online. You can view their guides below:
More parent and carer resources:
Talk to your child about what they’re up to online. Be a part of their online life; involve the whole family and show an interest. Find out what sites they visit and what they love about them, if they know you understand they are more likely to come to you if they have any problems.
Watch Thinkuknow films and cartoons with your child. The Thinkuknow site has films, games and advice for children from five all the way to 16.
Encourage your child to go online and explore! There is a wealth of age-appropriate sites online for your children. Encourage them to use sites which are fun, educational and that will help them to develop online skills.
Keep up-to-date with your child’s development online. Children grow up fast and they will be growing in confidence and learning new skills daily. It’s important that as your child learns more, so do you.
Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online. It is important to discuss boundaries at a young age to develop the tools and skills children need to enjoy their time online.
Keep all equipment that connects to the Internet in a family space. For children of this age, it is important to keep internet use in family areas so you can see the sites your child is using and be there for them if they stumble across something they don’t want to see.
Know what connects to the Internet and how. Nowadays even the TV connects to the Internet. Make sure you’re aware of which devices that your child uses connect to the Internet, such as their phone or games console. Also, find out how they are accessing the Internet – is it your connection, or a neighbour’s wifi? This will affect whether the safety setting you set are being applied.
Use parental controls on devices that link to the Internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones. Parental controls are not just about locking and blocking, they are a tool to help you set appropriate boundaries as your child grows and develops. They are not the answer to your child’s online safety, but they are a good start and they are not as difficult to install as you might think. Service providers are working hard to make them simple, effective and user friendly.
Peer on peer abuse.pdf