Online Safety Top Tips for Parents

As a parent/carer, you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online.

You don’t need to be an expert on the internet to help keep your child safe online.                           The 'Online Safety Top Tips' below and the resources on 'The National Online Safety' platform which we subscribe to as a school are there to support you as you support your child to use the internet safely, responsibility and positively.

1. 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.

2. Complete the online webinars and download the parental resource guides from 'The National Online Safety' platform. 

Watching these webinars and downloading the pdf guides will support you in understanding more about how to keep your own children safe online. 

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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. 

If you have any worries or concerns - please do contact Mrs Stafford who will be happy to help and advise you. 

The National Online Safety Platform

We are a 'Certified Online Safety School' and do subscribe to 'The National Online Safety' platform.

We know it is vitally important that all children and parents have a good awareness of the risks and potential dangers of using different online platforms. We also know there are many positives of children/parents using online platforms. 

As we are subscribed as a school, all our parents/carers now have free access to all the resources and webinars available on the NOS website. Please click the link below to access the portal and register as a parent. When registered, we would like to signpost all parents/carers to an online safety course to complete, titled:  Online Safety for Parents of Children Aged 7-11 (this will also be in the Parents/carers watch list). . 

We hope you find this platform useful.

http://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/westgate-academy