It is important to help keep your children safe online. This e-safety information offers parents advice on what they can do to avoid higher risk situations and how to cope if their children encounter them.

Key messages to share with your child:

• Never share anything with anyone they wouldn't want you or their teacher to see. THINK BEFORE YOU POST.

• Make sure they know who to talk to if they feel uncomfortable, upset or worried.

• Never communicate online with anyone they don't know AND TRUST in the real world.

• Keep personal information private.

• Don't send anything to anyone you wouldn't want to receive yourself and don't share other people's content.

Content

• Be careful which sites the rest of the family visit.

• Tell your child not to fill out online forms.

• Talk to your children about validity of sites when researching - anyone can create a website.

Social networking/chat rooms/gaming

• Talk to them about digital privacy.

• Talk to your child about 'friends' - someone they 'meet online' in NOT a friend.

• Decide what PEGI rating games you will allow them to play and make sure they are aware (be aware that extreme gaming may be a safeguarding issue)

Other tips and useful links to help you to keep your children safe online

• Explore e-safety sites - They are great fun to explore, so why not browse through them with your children?

• Facebook / Bebo / Myspace - Many of these sites have a minimum age limit of 13, so our pupils should not be using them.

• Keep your computer in a shared area - Talk to your child about what they are doing online and, if possible, set up your computer in a shared area at home so that you can all share in the sites that are available online.

Useful Guides and Links

• https://parentsafe.lgfl.net/ 

• Think U Know - containing internet safety advice for those aged from 5 to 16, along with parents and teachers, this site is produced by CEOP (the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre).

• UK Safer Internet Centre

• CEOP - Child Exploitation & Online Protection - Stay safe online.

• Vodafone Parents - Vodafone have lots of fantastic practical advice for parents. 

• Kidsmart - An award-winning internet safety programme for children.

• Family Lives : Early intervention and crisis support for families

• Kidscape - An organisation which helps to prevent bullying and child abuse.

• Childline - ChildLine is the free helpline for children and young people in the UK.

• NSPCC - Information and advice about children at risk and child abuse.