At Old Park School the health, safety and welfare of our pupils is at the heart of everything we do. We have security measures in place, which are monitored by both the school and the Local Authority, to protect our pupils from potential danger or accessing unsuitable material online.
Safe use of the internet is important for all children and young people and at Old Park School we ensure that pupils' use of the internet is supported by a member of staff and e-safety education forms part of our curriculum. Pupils take part in a variety of activities suitable to their needs so that they can go online safely.
Parents can help by ensuring that pupils are not accessing inappropriate material at home by way of filters and parental controls. One way of doing this is to use parental control software.
Websites provide a variety of information for parents
There are some links below which will take you to sites which will provide further information and advice.
Thinkuknow has advice for parents/carers and teachers or other professionals who work with children.
UK Safer Internet Centre http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers
http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/ Kidsmart gives you lots of advice on how to stay safe online.
https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/. Leading children's charity and provider of children's services in the UK. Source of research and guidance about online safety.
www.childnet.com - Childnet International has a wealth of information for parents as well as professionals to keep your child safe online.
www.ceop.police.uk The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre works across the UK to tackle child abuse wherever and whenever it happens. Part of their strategy is providing internet safety advice for parents and carers and delivering a virtual police station for reporting abuse on the internet.
www.internetmatters.org - a range of advice for parents to keep their children (from 0 to 14+ years) safe online including online grooming and radicalisation.
https://www.facebook.com/safety/groups/parents/ – internet safety for parents – helping your teens stay safe when using Facebook.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
Vodafone have produced a Digital Parenting Magazine which informs parents about the various technologies children are accessing today. There is information on Facebook settings, Xbox360 settings, Blackberry controls, jargon busting and many more 'How to Guides'.
National Online Safety Website
A free online safety guide on social media scams.
On any social media platform, you'll often come across links to genuine-looking websites. They might include an exclusive offer for one of your favourite shops or invite you to complete a quiz in return for a particular reward. In some cases, clicking on these links takes you to a fake website where you are asked to provide your personal details. The whole enterprise is a ploy to capture sensitive details, such as your email address and password, which the scammers then exploit at your expense.
In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as phishing scams, untrustworthy URLs and 'payment first' scams.