Keeping Safe Online

HOW SAFE IS YOUR CHILD ONLINE?

As you know, we at St Pius X Catholic Preparatory School take Online Safety very seriously.  Recent online games have become quite popular with all ages of children and we would like to supply you with additional information in order to help you guide your children when they play online.  Therefore, we have listed several links which we feel would benefit parents.  Please feel free to browse these sites, add them to your favourites and talk to your children about them.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-fortnite

The following website, PEGI, is particularly good to use when you are considering which games to purchase – it gives you a brief outline of the game and a recommendation of what age group the game is suitable for: https://pegi.info/

PEGI (Pan-European Game Information) age rating system was established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games.  The system is supported by the major console manufacturers, including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, as well as by publishers and developers of interactive games throughout Europe. The age rating system was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE).

KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE ON LINE

Having access to online information and the opportunities that the digital world can offer has many benefits and for some it plays an important part of our everyday lives. However, as technology moves on at such a pace, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with new trends and developments, particularly with regard to mobile/games technologies as well as secure and safe accessibility to online material.

We have policies in place to ensure our children are learning in a safe and secure environment which includes being safe online.  The internet is like a magician’s hat. It’s full of exciting things to explore and children love it.  But whilst they seem to know what they’re doing, sometimes it’s hard for parents to keep track and we are aware that information is not always easy to find.

We are pleased to announce that we have registered our school with www.net-aware.org.uk, which states: “It can be hard to keep track of what your child is doing on social networks, apps and games. Or know how to keep them safe. That’s why we’ve teamed up with O2. Together we’re helping parents untangle the web. And teach their children to be Share Aware. Because, just like in real life, kids need your help to stay safe online.”

We would encourage you to look through the link and take steps in talking to your children, being aware of what they do online and stay up-to-date with the social networks, apps and games which are available to children.

Another good website for parental information is the NSPCC website – please follow the link below for advice and resources:

www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/

ONLINE SAFETY ADVICE FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

The ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ document sets out the legal duties with which schools and colleges must comply and also contains information on what schools and colleges should do in order to keep children safe.  At St Pius X Catholic Preparatory School, we are well aware of the risks when children use technology – whether at school or at home.

We believe that an effective approach to online safety empowers our school to protect and educate the whole school community in their use of technology and we aim to establish a mechanism to identify and intervene in any incident when appropriate.

An online safety audit with pupils and staff showed that there is an opportunity for us to inform children, parents and carers of the need to discuss online activities and the ever-evolving risk children are being exposed to, and to provide more up to date information about the online world.

Therefore, we have registered with National Online Safety (NOS), “an independent online safety training provider founded by three fathers on a mission to keep children safe online.”  This group produces super resources to help both parents and teachers keep our children safe online.

We will be posting regular newsletters from NOS to help us all keep up to date with the ever-changing world of technology.  Please take the time to look through these – although not all may be appropriate to your child, they do show a fascinating world of apps, games and websites which are easily obtainable by children.