Today’s message (Friday 05 February 2021) - Scholes (Elmet) Primary School, Leeds

Mrs Weekes is the Safeguarding Lead across all three schools in Sphere Federation. Last Tuesday’s message was the first of three from her about helping to make sure your child is safe online. In her second message, she looks at how you can give your child independence but know that they are safe…

Are you confident that they are safe?

Whether it’s your home internet, mobile, consoles, apps or games, there are always settings to make them safer while being used by your child. The key ones are:

Can they chat to strangers?
Can they video chat or ‘go live’?
Are their posts public?

Internet Matters has hundreds of guides to parental controls for different things. Take a look – they’re easy to set up and will give you peace of mind.

You don’t need to know all about the latest app or game, but if your child shows you what they’re doing and with who, you’ll be able to see if it’s appropriate or not. Remember, games that are for 18 year olds are not just more advanced – they’re not appropriate and could be harmful. If your child doesn’t show you, show an interest yourself and ask to see what they’re doing.

For parent guides to apps, including recommendations for safe apps and video platforms, have a look on NSPCC NetAware. Why not download the BBC Own It app?

And this part of today’s message comes from the local authority…

Parenting can be a tough job at the best of times, but over the past few months, parents’ resilience has been tested in every way. A blog has been created by the Children and Families Public Health team to link parents up with support, offer ideas for managing stress and tips for taking care of their children’s mental and emotional wellbeing. You may wish to share this with your pupils’ parents and carers.

Have a happy and healthy and safe weekend.