Safer Internet Day 9th Feb 2021

What is Safer Internet Day?
Safer Internet Day is an annual event which is held on 9th February 2021. It’s a global celebration all about technology and how children and young people can use the internet responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively. Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity to focus on online safety with the young people you work with – whether that’s trying out some of the learning activities in this pack, holding an assembly or running an event. Your school or organisation could tell parents and carers about the day, and support it on social media, or you could ask young people to share their best tips for staying safe online. Find out how your school/organisation can help to spread the word in the ‘Campaign activities’ document, or online here: saferinternetday.org.uk.

 

The theme for Safer Internet Day 2021 is…
An internet we trust
Exploring reliability in the online world Safer Internet Day 2021 celebrates the amazing range of information and opportunities online, and its potential to inform, connect and inspire us, whilst also looking at how young people can separate fact from fiction. The campaign focuses on how we can know what to trust online, supporting young people to question, challenge and change the online world. It will explore how influence, persuasion and manipulation can appear online and why this may happen. It will also look at the emotional impact navigating a misleading online world can have on young people and why it is important to create a supportive, critical and questioning culture online that encourages debate and discussion. We want to give young people the skills to support one another and the strategies to spot and speak out against harmful and misleading content online.

Social Media Parent Checklist

I know social media is becoming even more prevalent at the moment with lots of us spending more time inside. It can be hard as parents to ensure the correct safety features are in place for each app. Please find the checklists below for each app.
Twitter
Roblox
Facebook
Snapchat
TikTok
Netflix

Useful Information for Parents and Carers

Setting up Parental Controls on the home internet connection may seem a little daunting but the highly-regarded Internet Matters website has some really useful guidance from major broadband providers about setting up online filters.

Tip: Use the Interactive guide on the website at: www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/interactive-guide

Agreeing some Behaviours and Expectations BEFORE children receive devices can help to prevent some difficult conversations later.  Additionally, our colleagues at Childnet have a handy Family Agreement which can be useful, especially for younger children – see: www.childnet.com/blog/family-agreement

Tip:  Good agreements work both ways so if family-time involves no tech, this applies to adults too!

Please watch the following video clips and read the useful documents to help support your children and ensure they are being responsible digital citizens.

• Family-agreement-advice
• Family-agreement-template
• Focus-OnStay-Safe-Online-Festive-Season_4917

• What is TikTok? Looking at the latest lip-syncing app

• Parents and Carers – Conversation starters

• Parents and Carers – Quick activities

• Parents and Carers – Get involved

The term ‘online safety’ reflects a widening range of issues associated with technology and a user’s access to content, contact with others and behavioural issues.

What does OFSTED say:

• Schools to work closely with all families to help them ensure that their children use new technologies safely and responsibly both at home and at school.
• Schools to provide an age-related, comprehensive curriculum for online safety that enables pupils to become safe and responsible users of new technologies.
• Schools to systematically review and develop their online safety procedures, including training, to ensure that they have a positive impact on pupils’ knowledge and understanding

What does the Computing Curriculum say:

• KS1: use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.
• KS2: use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239033/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Computing.pdf

https://www.slideshare.net/Ofstednews/childinternetsafetysummitonlinesafetyinspection

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2

With the threat of offenders using online live streaming platforms increasing there is a need to educate children about the associated risks. NCA-CEOP want to help parents and carers protect their children from online offenders like Sam, the fictional narrator of the animation, who targets children online and quickly builds trust with them. The animation below highlights the importance of parents and carers talking openly to their children about being safe online, about healthy relationships and encouraging them to speak out if anything happens online that worries them or doesn’t feel right. NCA CEOP’s Thinkuknow programme provides information for children, young people, parents and carers about staying safe from sexual abuse and exploitation online. Parents and carers can visit www.Thinkuknow.co.uk/parents for advice on keeping their children safe.