Staying Safe On-line
The internet is a great way for children and young people to connect with others and learn new things. It’s important that they learn how to do this safely. This video highlights a social experiment “Follow me” by Barnardos. We want to help you keep your child safe online just like you do in the real world.
Top Tips for Parents and Carers of Children & Young People in The Digital World
The LSCB offer a free Online Safety E-Learning course for Parents / Carers that takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Please follow the instructions at the bottom of this page.
To help your child to enjoy the experience of accessing the digital world we recommend you talk to your child about keeping themselves safe and what to do if they see or hear something that they find upsetting, like taking a screen shot of the evidence and reporting concerns to the site administrator, or the police via www.ceop.police.uk . Remind them they can close the App or website at any time, and most importantly to talk to you if they are worried or upset.
Web based information and social networking sites can increase the risk of a child or young person being groomed for sexual exploitation, criminal activity, general exploitation, or violent extremism. It is common for the child or young person to not recognise they are being exploited or groomed. The best way to make sure they stay safe is to have regular, open conversations with your child. You can also look through the history browser to see what websites have been accessed. If you do become worried that your child is being radicalised you can contact the Prevent Team, on 020 8314 6000 or email firstname.lastname@example.org. You can also report any other exploitation or abuse that takes place online the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub on 020 8314 6660 or email email@example.com.
Sometimes children and young people don’t think about the images they post online or share with their “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”. In response to this, the government have issued guidance for children and young people on the sharing of indecent images, this can be read here:
Online gaming via consoles, phones, and apps can provide a child access to talking to strangers and building “virtual friendships”. It is important your child understands it can be dangerous to share personal information as the person may not be who they say they are. Have a conversation with your child about this, particularly in case your child considers meeting up with someone they have spoken to online. If you do agree to this, we recommend you meet with them too, as they may not be who they say they are and it could lead to your child being harmed.
When considering buying a game or app for your child, think about the recommended age restriction and research the game on YouTube first. You may be surprised at the level of violence or content of some games and it may not be appropriate for your child’s age.
We recommend you keep your knowledge and skills of staying safe in a digital world up-to-date and by regularly by looking at the ThinkUKnow website: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ and talking to your child about their experiences.
Take the Free online 30 minute course
Aims & Objectives:
Parents and Carers of Children and Young People in Lewisham.
What do children do online? What are the risks? How can I keep children safe online? This course looks at the risks associated with online and mobile technology and demonstrates ways that you can help create a safer digital environment for children and young people.
- Know the risks associated with mobile and online technology.
- Know how to tackle these risks.
The two links used for the Lewisham training portal are:
- For new users, the self-registration link is: https://lewisham.melearning.university/course_centre (registration key is @Lewisham) – once you send off a request, you will receive a welcome email containing your log in details usually within 24 hours.
- For users who already have an account, the log in link is https://lewisham.melearning.university/user/login (please write down your login and password and keep it safe)
NSPCC On-line Safety has advice and tools to help keep your child safe online.
Think You Know provides advice on online parenting. There is also further information at Think You Know training.
Child Exploitation & Online Protection (CEOP)
CEOP is there to support young people, parents and carers while surfing online, and offers help and advice on topics such as:
- harmful content
It also enables people to immediately report anything online which they find concerning, such as harmful or inappropriate content, or possible grooming behaviour. For more information, or to report concerns, simply click on the CEOP Icon