Home Learning Online Safety
Now more than ever the children are using the Internet to access their learning. We know that parents and carers are having to manage their child’s use of technology and help them learn remotely. This can feel overwhelming but we are here to help!
Here are lots of useful resources and tools that you as a parent or carer can use to help ensure your child is safe and happy online.
1.Child Friendly Search Engines:
These will limit their search results to child friendly websites. Please click on the thumbnails below to go to your preferred search engine:
2. Getting advice and guidance if something goes wrong
As young people spend more time online there is also an increase in the chances they will see something online which isn't intended for them. Whether this is fake news and impersonation, or mean comments, there are lots of places you can go for help and advice on how to report this behaviour. Although school is closed, we are still here to help. If you have any online safety concerns and want support from school staff then please email info@mapletreeprimaryschool.com.
For children:
- Childline - for support
- UK Safer Internet Centre - to report and remove harmful online content
- CEOP - for advice on making a report about online abuse
For Parents:
- Internet matters - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
- London Grid for Learning - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
- Net-aware - for support for parents and careers from the NSPCC
- Parent info - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
- Thinkuknow - for advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online
- UK Safer Internet Centre - advice for parents and carers
3. Online safety learning
Part of our ICT and PSHE curriculum teaches about online safety. Although we have already covered this with all our year groups this academic year a refresher never hurts. Childnet.com have put together some age appropriate learning resources that are linked below.
4. Communication apps
While we are all social distancing, lots of us have turned to video calling apps like skype, whatsapp and facetime to connect with our friends and families. Video calling is an incredible tool to help us feel connected in this uncertain time but it isn't without its own difficulties, especially if your child has access to their own accounts. We advise the following:
- Parents supervise the calls that children are making.
- Children only chat with people that you really know.
- Never disclose personal information about yourself.
- Immediately close the chat and report it if someone is doing or saying inappropriate or hurtful things to you.
- Don't do or say anything that you'll later regret or wouldn't want made public; any conversation could be downloaded and saved.