Heads' Tips - internet safety

The internet is an amazing tool and an integral part of our children’s lives providing both new opportunities and new potential dangers. As a parent you will want to equip your daughter with strategies for staying safe in the online world as much as you do in the real world. Here are our Heads’ Tips on staying safe online…

Advice for parents

• Try to keep all computers which your daughter uses to access the internet out in the open, where anyone could see what is being written and communicated there rather than tucked away in her bedroom. If your daughter objects, point out that if there is something being said which she feels uncomfortable about sharing, then it is almost certainly questionable, if not necessarily absolutely wrong. Openness is one of the key ways to keep safe

• Set up a family email address that should be used if they want to subscribe to any services online.

• Involve your children in writing your own family code of acceptable internet use. Remember that what’s acceptable for a teenager isn’t necessarily OK for a primary school-aged child, so get their input.

• Tell children not to give out their personal details. In particular, younger girls should be aware this is not just telephone numbers and addresses, but also the name of their school, their intimate thoughts and feelings and, increasingly, pictures of themselves. Once information has been sent out in an email, by mobile phone or posted onto a website, it can be easily copied or forwarded to others and you don’t know where it will end up or who will get it

• Encourage younger girls to memorise and follow the S.M.A.R.T rules at /www.kidsmart.org.uk/beingsmart/

• Be brave – limit the time you allow your daughter to spend on the computer.

• Talk to your daughter. Don’t assume everything is bad. Find out more before saying no…

• Always be honest and open with your daughters about potential dangers. You cannot protect them from the reality of risk but you can educate them so that they are able to cope with it. If you are honest and open with them they are more likely to be open and honest with you.

• Understand what your daughter is doing online. Get to know the internet, set up your own social networking account, so you have an idea about the perks and the pitfalls. If you aren’t confident with computers, go on a course. Then you can have a more informed discussion with your daughter

• Make sure that the security settings on computers are appropriate and use your browser’s controls as some offer differing degrees of security for each family member.

• Invest in good internet filtering software. There are various parental controls on the market to restrict content, website addresses and even the time of day that the internet is accessible. Have a look at www.getnetwise.org for advice on what is available.

• The minimum age to have an account is 13. If someone younger than this has one, they have provided incorrect information on the sign up form. Facebook will remove such accounts

• Use Facebook yourself. Become your child’s Facebook friend. If they won’t accept you as a friend, encourage them to accept a different relative or close family friend. This helps everyone keep in touch and people always think twice if they know that Granny can see what they are posting!

• Cyberbullying – do not delete messages, save or print to have as evidence that cyber -bullying is taking place

• Schools will want to deal with any bullying under their Anti-bullying Policy, even if it takes place away from the school’s site. Ideally print out what is being said and give it to the appropriate member of staff.

• Report abuse: If you suspect an adult is trying to contact your child on the internet you can report it through the The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).

Technical Tips

• Click here for instructions on how to save a record of abusive messages in MSN’s Instant Messenger

• Securing your Facebook profile – download the document below this article which offers suggestions to help keep your Facebook account secure.

• Useful sites
  www.parentscentre.gov.uk
  www.thinkuknow.co.uk
  www.ceop.gov.uk/
  www.chatdanger.com/
  www.childnet.com/
  www.kidsmart.org.uk/beingsmart

Advice for girls

• The internet is a public place not a private space. Remember not to post anything online that you would not want the world to know or see.

• Don’t write anything in MSN, email or social networking sites that you wouldn’t be happy to say face to face.

• Keep your password safe. Treat it like your toothbrush – never share it.

• Use a nickname online (not your real name) and a nickname that is not going to attract the wrong type of attention!

• Always have a good look at the privacy settings of any spaces you post personal information on and make sure you know who can see or copy your stuff!

• Get your friends and family to have a look at your spaces to check that you aren’t giving out too much personal information or posting inappropriate photos/films because they might see something you’ve missed.

• Look out for your friends online and do something if you think they are at risk.

• Treat your online space with respect – only allow your real life friends to link to you…if you haven’t met them in real life don’t link to them.

• Beware: people might not be who they say they are, and their photos may not be real.

• If you are uncomfortable, upset or threatened by something you have seen or heard via the internet – remember it’s never too late to tell someone.

With Thanks to the Heads & staff at the following schools:
Dame Alice Harpur School, Farlington School, Highclare School, Northampton High School GDST, Palmers Green High School, Peterborough High School, Pipers Corner School, Priors Field School, Redmaids School, Portsmouth High School GDST, St Catherine’s School Bramley, St George’s School Ascot, St Mary’s School Calne, The Kingsley School, The Royal School Hampstead, Withington Girls’ School, Woldingham School