At Broomhaugh CofE First School, we have made it our mission to make the internet a safer place for children. We believe that through engaging Online Safety resources and through equipping parents and children with the knowledge they need to understand online dangers, we can make a difference together.
10 Tips to help keep children safe online
A Parent's Guide to Emotional Support
As we grow up, we’re inevitably exposed to new and challenging feelings – whether it’s sadness, fear or rage. These emotions can be tough to handle when we’re still learning about the world – and even once we’ve passed into adulthood – which is why emotional literacy is a vital life skill.
Of course, when emotions are running high, it can be tricky to help young people process these feelings in a healthy way, but it’s incredibly important that we do so as parents and educators. This is even more important when facing challenges online.
You Tube
Many of our children access You Tube every day. Please see below for some handy guides to ensure the children are doing this as safely as possible.
E SAFETY ALERTS
TikTok
It has come to our attention that a number of children are accessing TikTok either through their own accounts or their parents accounts.
This is highly unacceptable and poses a huge risk to children. The legal age for possessing a TikTok account is 13.
Without a clear knowledge of the dangers of this video- sharing app ( hence which it has an age restriction) children are at risk of watching unacceptable content and causing harm, which in turn becomes a safeguarding concern.
I have attached the national guidance with relation to TikTok and hope that you will support us in ensuring that your child, none of whom who attend Bracebridge are of legal age should be watching or using TikTok.
Many thanks
Squid Games
Netflix’s Squid Game is set to become the streaming service’s most successful show of all time, with huge numbers of viewers taking to social media to discuss each new episode. The South Korean thriller features some scenes of fairly brutal violence and is rated 15 by the BBFC. It follows a group of adults who compete to win innocent-looking playground games, but who are killed if they do not succeed at the tasks.
Squid Game’s 15 rating has not prevented clips and images from the show being uploaded onto social media sites such as TikTok, with the #SquidGame hashtag being viewed more than 22.8 billion times. There have been reports of children who have accounts on these platforms inadvertently viewing gory, explicit scenes from the programme, and parents and carers should be mindful of the prevalence of these uploads.
Siren Head
Siren head is an aggressive predator, making him a dangerous threat. It is an extremely violent monster who causes harm, serious injury or even death to others.
Please ensure you are monitoring what your child is watching online, especially YouTube, at all times.
Many thanks for your support.
Further Guidance
Online safety guidance:
These resources provide guidance for parents and carers to keep children safe online. They will, amongst other things, support you to talk to your child about a range of online safety issues, set up home filtering in a child-friendly way and set up age-appropriate parental controls on digital devices:
- Thinkuknow by National Crime Agency-CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) provides resources for parents and carers and children of all ages to help keep children safe online;
- Childnet has developed guidance for parents and carers to begin a conversation about online safety, as well as guidance on keeping under-fives safe online;
- Parent Info is a collaboration between Parent Zone and NCA-CEOP, providing support and guidance for parents and carers related to the digital world from leading experts and organisations;
- NSPCC has guidance for parents and carers to help keep children safe online;
- UK Safer Internet Centre provides tips and advice for parents and carers to keep children safe online - you can also report any harmful content found online through the UK Safer Internet Centre.