Online Safety

Staying safe online is a fundamental part of our curriculum at Pucklechurch, taught both through our Computing curriculum but also more widely. For example, in our PSHE (Personal, Social & Health Education), staying safe online is regularly discussed and across all our subjects, technology is used to enhance learning in a controlled and appropriate way.

Upon starting school, we ask each family to sign an Acceptable Use Policy to commit to safe internet use. 

The online world is continually changing for both parents and teachers. Understanding what your child is doing online is important but can be a daunting for many parents. Frequently, parents require advice about specific games or apps; you can click here to visit the National Online Safety website. It has really useful guides for parents, ranging from Snapchat and YouTube to AI. The guides are short and informative and really help you to develop a quick understanding of what dangers your children could face (and how you can avoid them).

As the digital world our children find themselves in continues to evolve rapidly, we will continue to update this page with information to help support you and your children so come back often to see updated content. If you would like to talk to someone in school about an online safety issue then please talk either to your child’s class teacher or if you wish to report a safeguarding concern, please contact Mrs Jones (DSL). 

Knowledge is Key!

Advice before your get your child a Smartphone

At Pucklechurch, we take our responsibility to promote health digital habits to the childre. We operate a 'phone free' site and request that staff, parents and visitors do not use their phones around our site apart from in the event of an emergency.  

Lots of our parent community are passionate about the Smartphone free childhood movement. If you would like to know more, click here. 

Before you get your child a Smartphone:

*Talk about how social media can make us feel – both good and bad

*Model the kind of behaviour you’d like to see e.g. not reacting angrily to social media, not constantly checking your phone

* Comment openly on messages you receive

*Talk about what kind of information it’s safe to share online

*Make sure your child knows we have a choice about who we follow and what we look at

* Set up family rules on when and how everyone uses their phones e.g. no phones in bedrooms or at mealtimes

Kooth, the digital mental health organisisation, recommended that the conversation about healthy digital habits is started early and give age band advice on the sorts of things to discuss.

Age 4-6 – discuss what you watch together on phones, tablets or laptops and how this relates to the world

Age 7-11 – talk about the upsides and downsides of having a smartphone and the impact of social media.  This is adults sharing their experiences in how they negotiate social media and what they do when they see something they do not like etc. They are in no way recommending children in this age band access social media

Age 12-14 – discuss boundaries for when and how your child can use social media and how to deal with the problems / anxieties they might face

Remember there are other phones available that do not have internet access. 

App and gaming Guidelines

Before allowing your child to access apps or games, please check guidelines on age limits by visiting these sites below. 

 http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ 

https://www.internetmatters.org/

Even if apps and gaming sites are age appropraite, in order to keep children safe, it is important to have regular conversations with them to ask what they are enjoying playing online. It is imperative that these conversations are two-way, with you modelling and discussing healthy digital habits, sharing your likes and dislikes and making time to play their games.  If there is an app you are unsure they should be playing, then explain that you would like to know more, perhaps research it online together to find out the pros and cons using one of the above sites. You can then discuss why a game is or isn't suitable for their age and explain your reasoning. This will help you build a trusting relationship around being online and, hopefully, mean your child will be open and honest about what they use.

There are some current games you need to be aware of –

Among Us

popular with primary school aged children, rated PEG+9 (although was a lot higher when it was first released).

What you need to know:  If settings are public, children can chat with people they don’t know whilst playing online.

Whilst filters may block some bad language, there are words that don’t get picked up by the filter, meaning children can still be exposed to inappropriate content whilst playing a seemingly age appropriate game.

See https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/among-us for more information

Pokemon Go

In brief, Pokemon Go is a game which gets you out and about whilst using your phone to find Pokemon. This game is recommended for those over the age of 13 and we would not recommend it for any primary age children.  We do know that parents and carers play this as a family and this can be a safe way to use the app. For more information about Pokemon Go, click here

Other measures to stay safe when using this as a family are:

• talk about the privacy and safety implications of a game like Pokémon GO
•  Discuss ways to play securely together:
• keeping the app updated
• setting up a separate email account just for gaming
• using a made-up display name
• turning off location tracking when you’re not playing
• avoiding signing in through social media accounts

Other sites to Support Parents –

• https://www.saferinternet.org.uk– online safety tips for children
• https://www.childnet.com– dedicated to making the internet a safe place for children
•  https://www.internetmatters.org/
• https://www.childnet.com/
• https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
• https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/ - Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre site
• https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/ - CEOP web site with section for young people of different ages and parents / carers. Parent area includes sections on different types of technology, information on how to keep your child safe and making a report on behalf of your child.

How much screen time should I allow my child?

This is a question you may have asked yourself recently and not been sure of the answer.   Being online is a big part of our children’s lives and it can provide an opportunity to enhance skills and gain knowledge.  We need to not just consider the time children spend online but make sure it is purposeful time.   Children have a way of making us feel like we are too strict and will tell you that their best friend Bob is allowed so much more time than them.  Fear not, there is advice out there to help guide you on making a decision regarding screen time and to help you think of other things you should consider.

The Internet Matters site has produced some easy to read online guides for parents on screen time for 0-5 year olds, 7-11 year olds, 11-14 year olds and 14 plus.   These guides give you five top tips, latest statistics and  guide you in setting rules that suit your family.

A key quote from the guide:

“The truth about screen time – not all screen time is created equal, so it’s important to encourage children to have a healthy balance between passive screen time (i.e. watching YouTube) and interactive screen time (i.e. creating content or playing games online).

There is no safe level of screen time but it doesn’t mean that all screen time is harmful. Lack of evidence has meant that experts have found it hard to recommend a cut-off for children’s screen time overall.

One size does not fit all when it comes to screen time  – it’s more about getting it right for your family’s needs.”

Below is a link to the guides

0-5 year olds    https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/screen-time-tips-to-support-0-5-year-olds/

5-7 year olds   https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/screen-time-tips-to-support-5-7-year-olds/

7-11 year olds   https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/screen-time-tips-to-support-7-11-year-olds/

11-14 year olds   https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/screen-time-tips-to-support-7-11-year-olds/

14+   https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/screen-time-tips-to-support-teens/

 Phone Scams

In a three-month period during 2021, it was reported that more than 45 million people in the UK experienced a suspicious attempt at being contacted via their mobile. Phone scams are a common form of cyber-attack where fraudsters engage directly with their intended victim through their smartphone. National Online Safety have produced the parent guide below to help alert parents and carers to the tactics that scammers use to gain access to user accounts, personal data and private information for financial gain.

What Parents need to know about Phone Scams