Digital technologies, including the internet, open up learning to children and their ability to explore and interact with the world. However, children can face many dangers using these technologies such as:

• Harmful, illegal or inappropriate content,
• Inappropriate communication with strangers or e-bullying,
• Risk of being targeted for grooming by those they make contact with,
• Loss of personal information,
• Inability to evaluate quality, relevance or bias,
• Excessive use affecting other development.

It is impossible to eliminate all risks completely so it is essential that we all teach children to understand the potential risks (in an age-appropriate manner which doesn’t frighten them) and give them skills to manage the digital world with confidence.

Useful Guides for Parents to help understand tips to keep children safe (Recommended in weekly newsletter dated 25.01.19)

The following website is particularly helpful in that it provides downloadable guides around a range of social media, games and on-line issues : 

On the 'Thinkuknow' website above, there are some really useful clips called 'Jessi and Friends' to help young children understand some important e-safety messages. We use them as part of our curriculum in Class 1 and 2 to teach about keeping safe but it would be useful to watch them at home as well to reinforce the messages. There are three clips available:

• Clip 1 'Watching Videos' for ages 4-5
• Clip 2 'Sharing Pictures' for ages 5-6
• Clip 3 'Playing Games' for ages 6-7

The page on the above link contains guides that will help parents understand the potential dangers children may be exposed to as well as giving tips for how to address these dangers such as filters and controls. Topics include: social media, settings, grooming, screen addiction and general guidance.

I think the guidance regarding commonly played 'games' which many of your children might enjoy playing, is particularly good. If any of your children play any of the following on-line, I would urge you to check out the guides (which detail the age restrictions that clearly show how some are unsuitable and potentially damaging for primary age children) following the link above:

• Fortnite (PEGI rating of suitable only for 12 and over)
• Grand Theft Auto (should not be played by under 18 anyway)
• Minecraft (age restricted to 10)
• Roblox
• FIFA

And also if your child regularly uses:

• You Tube
• Yubo
• TikTok

Do you know the recommended age limits for platforms your child may be aware of?

Children often want to use Apps or play games which seem quite innocent. However, many have features designed for older uses. A particularly useful website is the 'Net-Aware' website which grades Apps and Games according to the risk of content containing harmful material which could be sexual, violent & hatred, bullying, suicide & self-harm and drink, drugs & crime:

Many Apps/ Games have age-suitable recommendations from the creators themselves. Others are externally graded by the PEGI (though it's worth knowing that these age limits don't take into account the risks from the chatroom functions some games have). Did you know these:

General Good E-Safety and Safeguarding Advice

The following websites offer useful E-safety advice and help for parents to think about how safe interactions on-line may or may not be, including how to recognise abuse:

Websites for Children to Learn about E-Safety

The following websites offer lots of helpful advice and fun games to help children learn more about how to keep themselves safe on-line and in the digital world:

Advice for Parents for How to Control Settings, Including Social Media

As a parent, it is vital that you understand how to establish secure, safe settings for your children on the devices they may have access to out of school, but this is often challenging. Here are some websites which offer really helpful and easy-to-follow advice:

Recent E-Safety Communication Sent to Parents: