It’s important to remember that the legal age to have an account on most social media – Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Snapchat – is 13 years old.The legal age for Whatsapp is now 16
E-safety is an integral part of children’s education in today’s digital world and is embedded in their learning at school. We also want to help our parents and children improve their own understanding of e-safety issues so they can learn to use the internet and all digital media in a safe and secure way.
At Home
As a parent you’ll know how important the internet is to children – they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It’s a highly creative place of amazing opportunities. But the technology children use every day can seem a bit daunting and you might worry about the risks your child can face online – such as bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content.
What you need to know about particular apps and website children are commonly using.
Please click each link.
Below are a number of websites and links to support parents / carers in being aware of the dangers online and ways that you can support your child in keeping safe when using the internet:
- Parentinfo – helping children and young people stay safe online.
- Thinkuknow – advice from the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre.
- Kidsmart – a guide to online safety for all internet users.
- CEOP – lots of useful information for parents / carers on esafety issues.
- NSPCC Netaware – guide to social networks that children use.
- You can download advice from the DfE on cyberbullying here
At School
As part of your child’s curriculum and the development of computer skills, we provide access to the internet only in teacher supervised lessons. We strongly believe that the use of the web and email is hugely worthwhile and an essential tool for children as they grow up in the modern world. But because there are always concerns about children having access to undesirable materials, we have taken positive steps to deal with this risk in school. Our school internet access provider operates a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate materials.
At the start of the school term, each class discusses how we can all stay safe online and the dangers we may face on the internet. We then ask every child /parent to sign an Acceptable Use Agreement so that we know they have read and understood our school’s rules on staying safe.
For more information you can view our E Safety policy.