Staying safe online

Safety Information for Parents

During school closures, children may spend more time on the internet. To help you to feel confident that your children are using the internet safely, we have shared websites and activities, below, for parents/carers and children.

For parents/carers:

Want to feel more confident with the tools your children are asking to use? Unsure about age restrictions or the risks and benefits of different tools? Want to enable parental setting on devices at home to keep your children safer? The following websites and resources are core, authoritative places to visit for advice:

  • How to enable parental settings on devices at home – https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/
  • The age restrictions on social media apps and platforms – https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/what-age-can-my-child-start-social-networking/
  • The potential risks (and age restrictions) of live streaming apps – https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/livestreaming-online-video-apps/
  • The importance of not believing everything you see online, especially in the current climate – https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/tackling-fake-news-misinformation-advice-for-parents/
  • The importance of supervising children’s use of technology (including when engaged in distance learning) ThinkUKnow – The ThinkUKnow website supports parents will a whole host of information about keeping children safe online all in one place, including a range of activity packs which have been created to support parents during COVID-19, www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Support-tools/home-activity-worksheets/ There is also a helpsheet for parents and carers you can download.

Further websites sites for parents to use to seek additional help, including:

  • NSPCC Online Safety – wide ranging guidance from the NSPCC for keeping children safe online
  • NSPCC NetAware – a great resource for finding out more about the most commonly used tools and apps
  • Parentinfo – authoritative guidance for parents on lots of different areas of online safety
  • Internet Matters (including for help with controls and filters)
  • ParentZone (‘the experts in digital family life’)