Furness Primary School

However it is just as important that parents are aware of the dangers and ensure their children are safe at home. There is a huge range of devices in the home which connect to the internet, from smart phones and computers to televisions and games consoles.

Remember – Internet Service Providers (such as Virgin, BT, Sky and PlusNet) all have parental controls which you need to ‘switch on’ – just contact your provider, or take a look at these videos here.

Top Tips!

• Talk to your child about their use if the internet! Be part of what they are doing…
• Make sure you know what devices in your home connect to the internet and how.
• Set boundaries! Be clear about how long they can be online and what they can do online.
• Keep all equipment that connects to the internet in a family space.
• Don’t forget though: Encourage your child to go online and explore! There is a wealth of age-appropriate sites online for your children. Encourage them to use sites which are fun, educational and that will help them to develop online skills.
• Try the ‘Think You Know’ Website (part of CEOP) which has great age-appropriate resources and activities for children and advice for parents and teachers
• Don’t let them lie about their age, most social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat) are not for children under 13. There is more guidance here
• If you or your child has concerns about something that has happened online, remember that you can report this to the police at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) 

Games Consoles – such as Xbox or Playstation – all have parental controls which can be enabled in the ‘Settings’ . However, they only work if your child is playing on account which has their information. In other words if the console knows how old the player is!

PlayStation information is here.

Xbox information is here.

Nintendo information is here.

Get Safer Online also covers many aspects on online security such as online banking, identity theft and keeping children safe.

There is a great Digital Parenting guide from Vodafone here – this contains details of setting up mobile phones with parental controls and how to use safety modes on other apps and services.

If you have a child who is due to start Secondary School find more information here.