Childnet Online Safety Toolkit

E-Safety - Help To Keep Your Child Safe Online

The best way to help your child to be safe when using the internet and new technologies is to talk to them and make sure they understand these simple rules:

• You should never give out personal details to online ‘friends’. Use a nickname when logging on and don’t share full name, email address, mobile number, school name and any photos, including photos of family or friends – any picture or video online can be changed or shared without permission.
• Talk to your child about what they are doing online and who they are talking to. Get them to show you how to use things you are not familiar with. Keeping the computer in a family room means that you can share your child’s online experience, they are less likely to act inappropriately (i.e. via webcam) and their online ‘friends’ will see they are in a family room.
• If your child receives a message that upsets them, remind them not to reply, they should save the message and show you or another trusted adult.
• Don’t open files sent from people you don’t know. They could contain a virus, or worse – an inappropriate image or film.
• An online ‘friend’ is anyone you have not met in real life; no matter how long you have been friends with them.
• Help your child to understand that some people lie online and that it’s better to keep online ‘mates’ online. They should never meet up with any online ’friends’ without an adult they trust.
• Make sure they know how to block someone online and report them if they feel uncomfortable.
• People are not always who they claim to be online.
• Make sure your child feels able to talk to you, let them know that it’s never too late to tell someone if something makes them feel uncomfortable. Don’t blame your child, let then know you trust them.

Keeping Children Safe Online at School

We use Internet filters to protect children from harm online - including cyber bullying, illicit materials and videos and the risk of radicalisation. We teach and promote E-Safety in our curriculum and any concerns are dealt with quickly. We recognise our vital role in keeping children safe from harm online and we encourage all our children to be a 'Good Digital Citizen'.

All our children are taught how to be a 'Good Digital Citizen' and how to stay safe online. Please see Our E-Safety Message page for more details.

With internet safety now part of the primary curriculum, we know that teachers and other educators need reliable resources to use during lessons. We can also help you keep parents informed and ensure they continue the conversation at home.

When it comes to educating primary school children about online safety, as teachers it can be a challenge to keep adapting your teaching materials to evolve with the child’s age and new technologies.

Education about child online safety shouldn’t stop in the classroom. With the right support, there are plenty of ways parents can be involved in the process too.

UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS)

New technologies inspire children to be creative, communicate and learn. However, while the internet is a great resource, it is important that children and young people are protected from the risks they may encounter. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) is a group of more than 200 organisations drawn from across government, industry, law, academia and charity sectors that work in partnership to help keep children safe online. The Council was established in 2010 following a review by Professor Tanya Byron and discusses and takes action on topical issues concerning children’s use of the internet.

Safer Internet Day 2016

Safer Internet Day 2016 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 9th February with the slogan ‘Play your part for a better internet’.

Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre the celebration sees hundreds of organisations get involved to help promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.

The UK Safer Internet Centre – a partnership of three leading charities; Childnet, the South West Grid for Learning and the Internet Watch Foundation – provide resources for children, schools and families, and tools for getting involved at www.saferinternet.org.uk.

Globally, Safer Internet Day is celebrated in over a hundred countries, coordinated by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network, with the support of the European Commission, and national Safer Internet Centres across Europe.

The day offers the opportunity to highlight positive uses of technology and to explore the role we all play in helping to create a better and safer online community. It calls upon young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers, and wider, to join together in helping to create a better internet. Get involved to play your part!

Police Digital Security Centre

The Police Digital Security Centre have produced some Social Media Guides to help protect children and young people whilst using the Internet.

Age Restrictions for Social Media Apps

Parent Info Articles

But, in today’s increasingly digital and screen-focused world, the prospect of keeping a child from spending any time looking at screens for two years is daunting and probably unrealistic. Many parents of young children, then, may be relieved to hear that new research is suggesting that the best way to handle screen use for young kids is a pragmatic approach based on the type of screen use and the needs of the individual child. Here are our five commonsensical tips on screens and young children.

Set sensible limits. With babies and toddlers, it’s important to structure and regulate screen time. Young children sleep through quite a lot of the day, so if you do allow some screen use it’s crucial to make sure their waking hours aren’t consumed by staring at screens.
Keep a balance.  Setting limits on screen time is a great first step, but the way your young children spend the rest of their time will also be important. Babies and toddlers learn best through real world experiences, and as parents already know, they require lots of interaction and face to face attention. Make sure that young kids still get lots of chances to play, explore and interact in real life, away from screens.
Choose appropriate media. It may seem obvious, but if your toddler or young child is allowed to watch TV, the content should be appropriate for their age group. It’s tempting to assume that very young children might not understand violent or inappropriate imagery, but research has found a correlation between exposure to violent content and sleep problems in children aged betwen three and five. Even children’s programming aimed at older kids might be too fast-paced or confusing for toddlers who may not yet understand silly plot lines or fantastical characters. If you allow very young children to watch TV, it should ideally be stuff that they can relate to, educational, and not too fast-paced. There’s some good video content for young children online, as well as television programmes aimed at young children, such as cbeebies.
Do digital things together. The more very young children interact with parents, carers and other loved ones, the better – and screen time is no exception. Skyping with other family members and watching a children’s TV show together while chatting about the plot are good examples of helping young children use screens in a productive way.
Try not to worry too much. Just as with any other aspect of parenting, it’s almost impossible to get everything absolutely perfect. In today’s digital world, it can be really hard to prevent children from spending too much time around screens, or to make sure they’re only exposed to age-appropriate media. There are some important guidelines to keep in mind with young children and screen use, but don’t panic if you slip up occasionally. 

How much time do children spend online?

         A lot, is the answer! So much that it no longer really makes any sense to distinguish between their online and offline lives.

• 23% of UK children begin their online lives in utero, with parents uploading their scans online.
• 73% have been online by the age of two.
• One in 10 have their first mobile device before the age of five.
• 74% of 8-11 year-olds have access to a tablet at home.
• 63% have their own smartphone before starting secondary school.
• 12-15 year-olds each send an average of 289 texts a week (41 a day).

Author: Geraldine Bedell      Original Article

How old do you have to be to use social media?

Some apps, sites and games online have age restrictions. Getting to grips with all the different age ratings can be a nightmare. Here’s our guide to the main ones.

Our top tip, though, is to check out the terms and conditions for sites your children are using or want to use. 

OK for under-13s

Why 13? A lot of very popular sites and apps make 13 the minimum age for users. This is because the United States passed a law in 1998 that said that companies could not collect data from children under the age of 13 without their parents' permission. The expense and work involved led many companies to restrict their services to over-13s.

Over-13s only

Some of the best-known sites on the web are for over 13’s only. As we have seen, this is because of American law, which specifies that anyone under 13 is a child, as far as collecting their data is concerned. (They must get their parents' permission). In the UK, under-13s registering for these sites aren't breaking UK law but they are breaching the terms and conditions of the website.

It's also worth remembering that because these sites are designed for over-13’s, they won't necessarily have procedures in place to make them suitable places for younger children.  These sites include:

Google To have a Google account and access all their main services including YouTube and Gmail you need to be over 13.  That does not mean that an under-13 shouldn't watch videos on YouTube or use Google search, it just means they can’t create an account and upload content.

Facebook You need to be 13 to have a Facebook account.  It is a violation of their terms and conditions to create an account for someone under 13.

Twitter It’s not easy to find how old you have to be to use Twitter. The information they provide for parents doesn’t specify an age nor does the information for teens. However, in their privacy policy they say that their services are not directed to persons under 13.

Instagram You need to be over 13 to use Instagram.

Snapchat You need to be over 13 to have a Snapchat account. However, some features are limited to over-18s and to use those you have to affirm that you are either over 18 or have parental consent.  At the moment, those features are only available in the US.

Vine This service is not for under-13’s, a fact that is tucked away in their privacy policy.

Spotify You cannot use Spotify if you are under 13 and anyone between the ages of 13 and 18 is required to have parental consent (not something Spotify checks).

Over-16’s only

Very few services set this as the age limit.  Once again, the limit is not a legal requirement in the UK but is a matter of the site's terms and conditions.

WhatsApp This app requires all its users to be 16 and over..

Author: Vicki Shotbolt                                   

What are parental controls and how can they help children stay safe online?

Parental controls are a key part of a parent’s online safety toolkit and a great first step to helping protect your child online, although they're not a one-stop solution to staying safe. Talking to your children and encouraging responsible behaviour is still absolutely vital.

What are parental controls?

Parental controls are software and tools that allow parents to set controls on their children’s internet use. They are a great way of helping prevent children from accessing unsuitable content online.

Internet Matters has developed a web app (link is external) that allows you to create a personalised checklist for setting parental controls in your home and on your family’s devices. This contains help and advice on setting the controls for your home broadband and the mobile devices your family may use, including how-to videos and step-by-step guides.

Types of controls

Talk of ‘controls’ can sometimes be confusing. In essence, there are three types that parents need to be aware of:

• Network level controls are set on the hub or router and apply to all devices connected to that hub or router (covering your whole household).
• Device level controls are set on the device itself, such as a smartphone, and will apply regardless of how and where the device is connected to the internet.
• Application controls are set on the platform or application that is being used. Examples of this would be the settings applied to Google or YouTube. Again, these apply anywhere.

What do they do?

There are many types of controls available, and they allow you to do a number of different things, such as:

• Filter and block content that you don’t want your children to see, such as violence and pornography.
• Restrict what information is shared.
• Set time limits on how long children are online.
• Control the time of day that children can access the internet.
• Set different profiles so that each family member has an access level that is appropriate to them.
• Home broadband controls

Most internet providers like BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media offer free filters (link is external), giving you control over what internet content comes into your home. This means that any device that connects to your home broadband is subject to the controls that you have set on your home router or hub. These are sometimes referred to as ‘whole home filters’.

Internet-enabled devices

Smartphones (link is external), computers and tablets (link is external) are shipped with controls that can be set up to restrict access to explicit content, in-app purchasing and other content that you don't want your child to access.

Most games consoles and devices are internet-enabled, allowing users to surf the web, as well as in-game purchasing and chat with other online players. All the major gaming consoles and devices come with controls (link is external) that allow parents to decide what can and cannot be done, both on the console itself and in online gaming platforms such as Xbox Live. Some allow you to set up different profiles with different rights for each family member.

Search engines

It’s possible that children may sometimes come across things online which are inappropriate for their age and stage of development when they are browsing the internet. The main search engines allow you to set up filters (link is external), such as Google SafeSearch, that can help you block inappropriate or explicit images from your results. These filters are not 100% accurate, but they help you avoid most adult content. You should also consider encouraging the use of child-friendly search engines such as Swiggle and Safe Search UK.

Entertainment Platforms

If you and your family access entertainment content via the internet you should also consider setting Controls on the platforms (link is external) you use. YouTube, iTunes, BBC iPlayer and Sky Go all have safety settings available. Each is different and some, such as Netflix, allow you to create individual profiles with different control levels so that each family member only sees content that is appropriate to them.

So what should you do?

Controls are not a single solution to staying safe online; talking to your children and encouraging responsible behaviour is critical. However, controls are a vital first step to helping to protect your child online, and here seven simple things you can do:

• Set up home broadband parental controls: make use of controls on your home broadband.
• Set controls on your search engine: encourage your child always to use child-friendly search engines and activate and lock the safe search settings on the browsers and platforms they use.
• Make sure every device is protected: controls should be installed on every device your child uses: mobile phone, tablet and games consoles (both home and handheld).
• Privacy settings: activate the safety measures offered by different sites; social networking sites like Facebook have privacy settings that will help prevent your child seeing unsuitable advertising.
• Block pop-ups: if you’re worried about your children accessing inappropriate content though accidentally clicking on adverts in pop-ups, BBC Webwise has advice on how to stop these.
• Find good sites and agree on them as a family: by talking to your child about their interests you can help them find suitable sites to visit and apps to use. Review these sites as they get older.
• Manage their use and access: your child may be less likely to let you know they’re distressed by something they’ve seen online if they think you’ll take away their internet access but it may be appropriate to do this in some instances. Be aware of this when talking to them, and let them know they can talk to you or a trusted adult whenever they need to.
• Internet Matters has developed a web app (link is external) that allows you to create a personalised checklist for setting parental controls in your home and on your family’s devices. The app also contains help and advice on setting the controls, including how-to videos and step-by-step guides.

Author: Carolyn Bunting                                                Original Article

6 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CHILD’S CYBERSECURITY

Children begin using the Internet for both educational and social purposes when they are very young. But when one in four people surveyed has been hacked or know someone who has, parents have reason to be concerned about protecting their children’s information online.

Anyone can be a victim of hacking, and unfortunately there is no guaranteed way to prevent it. However, following safety best practices and implementing security protocols can help keep your children and their information safe from online predators.

Improve Your Computer and Internet Literacy

You need to be familiar with safe computer and Internet practices before you can teach your children how to behave online. Take a computer class, read a guide book or browse online tutorials and resources to learn more about Internet safety, computer viruses and safely downloading and sharing files.

Before allowing your child to download any programs or applications, read the user manual and fine print to learn about the data it may gather from your computer and how it might be stored and used.

Teach Internet Safety Best Practices

Educate your children about potential online dangers and how to protect themselves from becoming victims. Your children should follow these rules to improve their cybersecurity.

Create strong passwords for each online account. A strong password should be a sentence that’s at least 12 characters long. Focus on positive sentences that you like to think about and are easy to remember.
Never share passwords with friends or strangers. Write them down and keep them in a safe place away from your computer, or consider using a password manager if your child needs help remembering their passwords.
Ignore requests or messages from strangers and unknown usernames or email addresses.
Never download an unknown or suspicious email attachment, app or software program.
Never share personal information, such as home addresses, Social Security numbers, names or ages.
Encourage your children to ask questions and seek help if they are uncertain about a particular website or program.

Set Rules and Boundaries

Teach your children that Internet use is a privilege. Enforce your family’s online safety rules and guidelines, such as specific times they can use the Internet and acceptable websites and apps. For more insight on family online safety rules and guidelines, check out theESET/National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) “Behind Our Digital Doors” survey results.

Be Mindful of Children’s Internet Use

Depending on your child’s age, don’t let them use the Internet for long periods of unmonitored time. This can be difficult when you are a busy parent, but one option is to keep the computer in a common living space where you can supervise your child. Alternatively, you can use parental software that monitors their Internet searches, detects inappropriate behavior and/or limits the time they can spend online.

You may decide to tell your child about the monitoring software, but keep in mind that if they know the software’s name they may be able to find a tutorial on how to disable it.

Understand the COPPA Rule

Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, websites and apps covered by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act — commonly known as the COPPA Rule — must get parental consent before requesting any personal details from a child under the age of 13. These details include your child’s name, address, phone number, email address, physical location, photos and videos. These websites must also disclose how your child’s information will be used.

While the COPPA Rule is helpful for many sites, there is always the possibility a website may not follow this requirement. Also, children may pretend to be older by inputting a different age to gain access without parental permission. COPPA offers some protection, but it is important to be aware which sites your child uses.

Install Security Software

Even tech-savvy users are at risk of becoming victims of an Internet hack. Reduce the risk of hackers infiltrating a device by installing antivirus software that scans for, detects, exposes and removes malware — helping to protect you from viruses, spam and identity theft. NCSA has a list of free security check-ups and tools you can use.

These tips will help you protect your children and their information online, making you feel more confident and at ease.

About the Author

Sarah Brown is a tech specialist with a love of all topics relating to the Internet of Things (IoT). She writes about upcoming technologies and Internet safety. Sarah believes that the through entertainment, technology and the written word, we can all stay connected to each other and create a safe environment out in the ether. 

Credit: https://staysafeonline.org/blog/6-ways-to-improve-your-childs-cybersecurity/

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REVIEW INFORMATION REGARDING THE USE OF FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS.

At East Wickham Primary Academy, we take E-Safety extremely seriously. It is important to remind young people of the dangers when using online technology and the Internet when at school and at home.

We continue to promote E-Safety throughout each year group by instilling our students with core values and behaviours when using the Internet. These include:

·         Never give out your name, address or contact details to anyone over the Internet

·         Never meet up with someone you met on the Internet

·         Always speak to an adult you trust if you see or hear something which makes you feel uncomfortable

·         Never share a photo of yourself

·         Never share your usernames and passwords

·         Don’t send nasty emails to people as this can be seen as cyber-bullying

·         Don’t download something if you don’t know what it is

While at home, we highly recommend:

·         Children only use a computer in a shared area of the house

·         Parent regularly check the Internet History

·         Ensure that Parental Controls are installed

The following links are some useful resources that parents can look at for further information:

http://www.net-aware.org.uk/ - a site where parents rate social media apps and sites based on the features their appropriateness. 

https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/blog/digital-safety-staying-safe-online.html - An article that gives families a general overview of several dangers on the Internet and how parents can address them, such as child online safety and social media safety.