Bank Holiday Monday - 6th May 2024. School is closed.
You’re probably well aware of WhatsApp and its huge user-base. The app has become a go-to for a convenient and easy way to keep in touch on an individual basis as well as in groups.
But are there any possible risks, and how safe is it for children? Here's everything you need to know
(Parent Zone)
WHAT PARENTS AND CARERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OMEGLE
Recently we have noticed a lot of conversations about the website ‘Omegle’, and we know parents and carers may have also heard about Omegle in the news recently.
We want to help you to support your child with ‘living life online’. The best way to do this is to keep an open and honest dialogue about their online interests by ‘checking in’ with your child’s online activity regularly.
You can find out more about ‘Omegle’ and some safety tips by looking at https://www.childnet.com/blog/what-is-omegle-key-things-parents-and-carers-need-to-know/
And by reading the attached poster.
As usual, if you have any concerns regarding your child’s safety online, please don’t hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher.
Today we celebrated Safer Internet Day 2023, joining hundreds of schools around the world in keeping safe online.
Mr Staples kick started the day with a whole school assembly and classes throughout the school got talking about our lives online.
We spoke about what to do if we see something that upsets us, who to speak to about it and keeping the lines of communication open with each other about what we do online.
Ask your child about the activities we did in school and get involved in some further activities at home by following the link below
https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
It is really important to chat with your children on an ongoing basis about staying safe online. Not sure where to begin? These conversation starter suggestions can help.
Look out for monthly updates on this blog, giving you updated advice on keeping Fairlands children safe online.
It isn't long now until Safer Internet Day
Next Tuesday, Fairlands will be joining schools across the UK to promote staying safe online.
Every February, Safer Internet Day is celebrated, globally to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology for children and young people. This year, the theme is,
Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online
This is a fantastic opportunity for us all at Fairlands to start a conversation with our children, about using technology responsibly, critically and creatively.
We all have our part to play. In school, we will be promoting using the internet safely across the year groups and the children will be taking part in various activities and discussions.
We would be delighted if you could join us in celebrating the day by continuing the conversation at home. Whether you have 5 minutes to start a conversation or hours to spare, the Safer Internet Centre have created some free activities including top tips, quizzes and films for parents and carers, which you can use at home with your child. These are available at:
https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
So let us all work together to make space for those conversations and keep Fairlands children safe online. Have fun!
Happy New Year!
As we begin a new term and a new year, we are sure that many of you have acquired new devices into your households. It can be a minefield, making sure that we are keeping ourselves and our families safe online.
Attached is a free online safety guide from the National Online website, focused on staying safe on new devices. It highlights a number of tips such as double-checking your news sources, taking breaks from being online and on sharing personal information.
Other good sources for tips and advice can be found at the following links:
https://www.parents.parentzone.org.uk/morearticles/digital-resilience-a-parents-guide
https://parentzone.org.uk/library
In addition to this, we also celebrate Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 7th February. Keep a look out for further details to follow!
As usual, if you have any concerns regarding your child’s safety online, please don’t hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher.
Online Safety for Going Back to School
Summer 2022. Lionesses. Heatwaves. Commonwealth Games. Lightyear. She-Hulk. Then we blinked, and suddenly it was “new term this” and “back to school that”. Another school year means months of fresh online trends to jump on, different things to message about, and cool new games to play. Whatever your child enjoys online, this online safety guide from the National Online Safety website has a reminder of some top tips to help them do it safely.
Please take some time to share this with your child as we begin another year of working together to keep the children in our school safe online.
If you have any concerns or questions, please ask to speak to your child’s class teacher or one of the Online Safety team.
It’s the first week of the summer and everyone wants a rest. For many families, devices and gaming are used more than ever during this time, as the summer break means a chance to spend more time online. This makes it even more important to stay vigilant and ensure our children are using them safely. Attached are some tips and reminders from the National Online Safety website and the blog image contains prompts to share with your children. Let’s make being online safe and fun for everyone!
Online Gaming Update – Minecraft
Minecraft is a popular game amongst many pupils in our school. This classic game can aid spatial awareness, coding skills and computer aided design, whilst encouraging creativity and problem solving. There are still elements of risk and it is worth noting the controls and restrictions that can be put in place for your child, to ensure they have as risk free experience as possible. Attached is updated advice from the National Online Safety website. Please take a look and discuss with your child’s class teacher if you would like further support.
Social Media Update - Tik Tok
Many children in our school have been talking about watching videos on Tik Tok, having an account and needing followers. While watching videos of people doing something interesting or funny may seem harmless fun, there are underlying concerns that should be considered when children below the recommended age of 13 years old are accessing this platform. Attached is an update from the National Online Safety website. Please take a look and discuss further with your child’s class teacher if you would like support.
Our whole school focus for this term is around online safety, with three key themes: Respect, Report, Remain Safe.
This week, KS2 joined a live, virtual assembly, hosted by Google and Parentzone. During it, they learnt about being internet safe and internet kind through the Interland world and the Internauts that live there.
There are further family and individual activities, along with support and advice for parents here