Firstly, a BIG thank you to all the parents and carers that came this morning to support this very important event. I know many more wanted to come but couldn’t for many reasons. Mawuli gave a great presentation, which I will post online by the end of the week. In the meantime, here are some of the most important tips and topics we talked about:
Youtube
Lots of our children access this, and there are lots of good video resources on the website for learning and entertainment. However, there is a particular problem, which one of our parents highlighted, with the fact that once one video has finished, another one automatically starts, which may not be appropriate. You can turn off this function by going to ‘settings’ on youtube.
There is an app called ‘Youtube Kids’ which is specifically for children and children can only access appropriate videos on it. A couple of parents said they used this and it worked well. It can be found via google.
Parental controls and filters
These are vital in order to safeguard your children. The NSPCC works in collaboration with O2 to help parents set these up. You can phone them for advice on 08088005002 and they will talk you through how to ensure all your parental settings and controls are in place. Mawuli has used this himself and found it to be very useful.
If you are an O2 customer, you can go into any O2 shop with your phone, or your child’s phone, and they will look to ensure all the relevant protective settings are in place
Sharing personal information
It was startling to note how many children share personal information and photos online. The most important thing you can do, as parents and carers, is talk to your children and ensure that they know how to be safe online. We will reinforce this in school too.
This video is especially suitable for children aged 8-10 and is a good reminder about the importance of being safe online.
At St Andrews, we really value the importance of teaching our children how to be safe both online and in the ‘real world’. We also appreciate the opportunity to share ideas and talk to parents about this. If you would like to attend an event like the one we held today, do let us know and we will arrange something.
Thank you,
Grace
