Internet and Online Safety Guidance for Parents
NATIONAL ONLINE SAFETY APP - IT IS FREE
Please sign up to the FREE National Online Safety Mobile App to receive free parent webinars to support and guide your children at home with internet and online safety. The website is used for Staff training and your children's E-Safety education in school therefore we also feel it essential to offer this support to parents at home.
If you have any questions around signing up to the website please speak to your class teacher regarding this.
#WAKEUPWEDNESDAY - This weeks report is all about...SMARTWATCHES
Wearing the latest tech is becoming more and more popular. We are seeing more children in school wearing smart watches and discussing the technology they have at home. The National Online Safety website has released figures explaining that more than 170 millions smartwatches have been sold globally in 2022 alone! Smartwatches have their benefits like supporting our health and reminding us to go for a walk or be more active however they also have potential risks. Look at the following guide to help keep young wearers safe and understand how to set the safety features. Click Here to learn about SMARTWATCHES!
OFCOMS MEDIA USE AND ATTITUDES REPORT 2023 - THE FINDINGS
Following on from the recently released OfCom's Media Use and Attitudes' Report 2023 (see below the overview generated by the National Online Safety website) we have attached a few guides to support Online and Technology use at home:
Ofcom's Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes' Report 2023- The findings - Click here to see
CYBER BULLYING - THE SUPPORT GUIDE
70% of parents and carers are worried about their children being cyber-bullied online. Find a guidance leaflet to support with combatting online bullying here.
TODDLERS AND THEIR TABLETS
The OfComs 2023 report has highlighted the concerns around toddler screen time: 75% of 3-4 year olds use tables to go online. 18% of these children are playing games online. Read the following guides to support your toddlers on tablets at home.
ONLINE SAFETY AND MENTAL HEALTH
Online Safety and Mental Health
As many of our children are using screen and online devices on a daily basis it is vital we consider the impact these are having on their mental health and wellbeing.
The following guides offer advice for supporting a healthy use of an online device, online safety and discussing mental health at home:
What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Social Media and Mental Health
Safe and Healthy Online Habits
KEEPING PASSWORDS SAFE #WAKEUPWEDNESDAY
Guidance from the National Online Safety website has released the following advice when setting a secure password. A Google survey has stated that 52% of people routinely use the same passwords for multiply different websites and social media platforms and around 1 in 10 of us using the exact same password across all of their online accounts. What that means, of course, is that any hacker successfully cracking our password would find themselves with access to not simply one of our online accounts, but several at the same time. Successful hackers are then able to use this information to gain access to our private and personal information rapidly. Around 100 online accounts are hacked per second!
In the guide you'll find a number of top tips on setting stronger passwords such as how to get creative, what to avoid, and the value of multi-factor authentication.
STRESS AND ANXIETY CAUSED BY FOMO
In the current day we can access items, chat to friends and family on the other side of the planet and play games with the click of a button. This is remarkable and the digital world has given us alot more freedom but this also opens up more social pressures, anxieties and can cause lack of patience when needing to wait for something that can otherwise be accessed rapidly.
Games, apps and other social media platforms can cause anxiety and stress by constant notifications filling up device screens and causing pressures and expectations for replying or gaming with friends when we are requested this can lead to FOMO. Young people are now open to stresses, anxiety and pressures that previous generations simply never encountered. The following guide issued by #wakeupwednesday's on the National Online Safety site offers support for reducing the amount of notifications from apps, how to avoid social media arguments and how to spot when a child is or has been upset by something they have encountered online.
FOMO- The Fear Of Missing Out
Managing Device Stress and Anxiety
USEFUL GUIDES FOR INTERNET AND ONLINE USE AT HOME
Use the links below to look at ways to keep your family and children safe when learning online
Setting Parental Controls at Home: There are several Parental Control Guides offered by your home internet providers, please Click Here to access them all or watch the videos below
