Internet Matters http://www.internetmatters.org.uk can help you to find out more about what your children might be doing online and give you some simple, practical and easy advice on the steps you can take as a parent to keep them as safe as possible.
Partners working in Durham now have access to a wealth of ‘Get Safe Online’ resources. Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading source of factual and easy to understand information on online safety.
There is a range of advice and information practitioners can access concerning safeguarding children. This includes gaming, texting and sexting, apps, cyberbullying, online radicalisation and safe browsing amongst others.
Other subjects such as social networking, protecting your tablets, smartphones, protecting yourself and online shopping and banking will also be of interest.
The website can be found at www.getsafeonline.org/durham
Ashleigh Hall, a 17 year old from County Durham, was raped and murdered by a stranger posing as a teenage boy on an internet social networking site. Her parents have worked together with police to create “Ashleigh’s Rules” so that other children and young people can be kept safe, here
For more information and support to help keep children and young people safe from online abuse see NSPCC’s Share Aware resources , https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware/ and also their Net Aware resource, https://www.net-aware.org.uk/, which enables you to search for and get reviews of all of the latest sites and apps so that you are fully informed of the risks.
Further specific support for parents can also be accessed through the National Crime Agency’s thinkuknow website, http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk
Meet Jessie & Friends: online safety education for 4-7 years from ThinkUKnow
Jessie & Friends is a three-episode animated series which aims to equip 4-7 year olds with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to help them stay safe from sexual abuse and other risks they may encounter online. Access the link here
To access further awareness on spotting the signs of online harm, see here
The Cyber Harm Reduction team within Durham Constabulary are keen to promote these parents guides,
For information on Sexting see here
For information on Snapchat see here
See also a parents guide to Houseparty
Cyber Protect Guide for Parents and Carers, here
A General Guide to Cyber Security, here
On line Security – Who’s educating your child online while the schools are closed ? here
Parental control apps also exist such as https://ourpact.com to help you keep your children safe.
Protect Young Eyes – Online safety for children and young people – A resource for parents and professionals
Durham Constabulary Prevent Team have highlighted the Protect Young Eyes website as a useful resource for parents and professionals. The website aims to support parents in protecting children from online dangers and also educate parents/families/teachers etc about online safety.
The website has an alphabetical list of the most popular apps and platforms for Social Media, Gaming, Photo and Video Apps and you can search for any that you may be concerned about. There is a full explanation of each platform, identifying risks to children and giving a ‘bottom line’ regarding the safety of use. The website also includes presentations and free webinars to help educate all users in online safety.
The site is American and much of the information is presented in that context but the information is useful to adults anywhere who may have safety concerns about users of platforms or just want to find out more about risks associated with platforms used by children and young people.