Setting boundaries will encourage our young people to have a better online experience and help with their well-being. This free online safety guide, from the National College, looks at the benefits of setting these boundaries. The National College has a wide range of useful information and support for online safety.

Going online can, and does, affect our wellbeing. The NSPCC provides some useful tips on how to look after our wellbeing whilst being online.

www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-wellbeing/

Like a lot of digital services, live streaming really found its niche during the pandemic – think of Joe Wicks’ at-home fitness classes, Billie Eilish’s virtual gigs and Miley Cyrus’ chat show, for example. Real-time broadcasting of video content over the internet isn’t solely the province of celebrities, however: anyone with a device and something to say (or show) can take part.

With platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Twitch all offering routes to a vast online audience, young people have enthusiastically taken up the baton – streaming on subjects from gaming to sports to live shopping (yes, really!). Potentially having strangers among one’s viewers, though, is just one of many concerns.

Click on the image to view information about Online Streaming’

We have recently linked up with Consumer Notice, an organisation based in the US. Their information on Online Safety is a really useful overview of what the dangers are that face our young people today whilst navigating the digital world. Whilst sme of the data may be slightly different in the UK the messages behind the infomration are so helpful to all pupils. We particularly like the suggestions for what steps we can do to help our young people to stay safe. Do check it out …… Internet Safety For Kids

The concept of influencers is hardly a new one. Through newspaper columns and TV spots, we’ve long been accustomed to hearing informed opinion from, say, Martin Lewis on money, Nigella Lawson on food or Mark Kermode on cinema. How the digital revolution has changed the game, however, is by providing a plethora of platforms from which literally anyone can have their say.

Online, you’ll find hordes of people holding forth on any number of topics: gaming, beauty, travel, fashion, fitness … virtually anything you can think of. What qualifies them as ‘experts’, however? Is it safe for young people to consume the oceans of content that they generate? Our #WakeUpWednesday guide to Influencers brings you the essential info on the influencer phenomenon.

Parent Zone has developed a new resource called ‘Everyday Digital’ to help families build great media literacy skills. Based on simple habits, it takes just a few minutes a day to help your family navigate the digital world with confidence. With articles, activities and events, this new programme will help your family avoid scams, rip offs and downright dodgy stuff online.

If you’ve got ten minutes, grab a cuppa and start learning new skills to share with your family.

As our young people grow up in a digital world, it is important for us to know as much as we can about what is out there in terms of apps, searching, gaming and streaming. Parent Zone offers lots of Tech Tips to support us in understanding about the digital world. Click the link to see the range of advice that Parent Zone gives.

Today, we had an Online Assembly using Google Meet … remember those days! The main idea during the assembly was that it is important that we are able to talk about what we are doing whilst online to protect us from things that worry or could harm us. All of our pupils were able to identify someone who they could talk to if they saw something that concerned them … however, only about a third of pupils said that they had actually talked to someone after having seen something that concerned them whilst they had been online. This is why the message of talking to someone is so important. Please make sure that you are talking about your life online.

Minecraft is a popular online game that has been around since 2011. This guide gives a good idea of what Minecraft is and some advice on how to help young people stay safe. The guide has been produced by National Online Safety.

Celebrating online safety learning with Be Internet Legends Day, 8 December 2022.

On Thursday 8 December, we’re taking part in Be Internet Legends Day – to think about how we can stay safe whilst being online.
Be Internet Legends by Google, in partnership with Parent Zone, helps 7-11 year-olds be safer and more confident online.

We’re taking aprt in a special interactive assembly – which parents can join from home. The assembly will focus on pupils’ well-being whilst being online.