Tips for Staying Safe Online

Technology is an everyday part of people’s lives and schools are making increasing use of what it can offer to learning. At Selston High School School we have systems in place to make the most of technology, whilst protecting your children. Through the school’s PSHE programme, assemblies and guest speakers, we do our best to provide our students with the awareness and knowledge they need in order to recognise and avoid dangerous, destructive, or unlawful behaviour and to respond appropriately. We though would strongly encourage all families to enable security settings on home devices to help protect your children online.

Key Rules

  • Children should ideally only add on social media sites people they know and trust in real life. 
  • Don’t ban children from these sites; they will just use them at friend’s houses or on their phone, personal media player or hand-held games console. 
  • Take an interest and suggest they add you as a friend so you can keep an eye on them when they first join. 
  • Have the main computer in a communal area of the home where there is passive supervision and be reasonable about time online. Talk if you feel it’s getting out of hand (but remember how many hours you spent watching TV when you were their age – the internet is at least active not passive and they can learn a lot from it. 
  • If they have a wireless laptop and you want to stop them going online after a quota of hours is up, unplug the ‘router’ where the phone line comes into the house. 

CEOP

  • The CEOP report button is the online equivalent of dialling 999. 
  • We need to train young people, just like we do with 999, to recognise it and know how to use it if they need to. 
  • Look out for good websites that have the button built in. 
  • Some websites refuse to add the button, so visit direct: www.ceop.police.uk(opens in new tab) 
  • Find Out More: Visit the CEOP channel on YouTube. 

Get Safe Online

Get Safe Online

A database of protection advice on a range of online activities. Ranging from social media to online shopping.

Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media

Common Sense media is an advice service for forms of media entertainment. Users can input the age of their children review a range of age appropriate media content.

Online bullying

  • Cyber bullying is the use of the Internet and related technologies to harm other people, in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner. 
  • Children can be unkind to each other online. Bullying is not new but the technology has changed making it is easier to track and prove who is responsible. 
  • If you suspect your child is having a problem, the evidence will be on your computer. Inform school and if you wish to inform the Police, keep screen shots, they may wish to see them.
  • For further information, follow this link: https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/blog/cyberbullying-advice-parents-and-carers 

Social Media

These checklists provide advice and guidance on how to set privacy settings and other account settings on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. - https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/social-media-checklists(opens in new tab)   

Social Media Guidance UKCCIS

Further support for families

A Parents’ guide to Technology can be found here – https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-technology 

The following link contains useful advice and support for helping to keep your child safe online: Click here – https://parentzone.org.uk/ 

In addition: