E-Safety for Parents
At a time where being safe on the internet is more important than ever before, The Fulham Boys School are keen to ensure that the members of our community, are well equipped, educated and able to provide effective support to their children in keeping them safe online.
Any piece of technology – phones, tablets and laptops – have both benefits and risks. Many of the risks depend on how these devices are being used and the apps that are installed.
Some key concerns with children using devices are:
- Accessing inappropriate content
- Cyberbullying and harassment from both friends and strangers
- Over-sharing personal information, such as your name, location or images
- Behaving inappropriately or unkindly online
- Unwanted contact from others and strangers
- Excessive screen time
- Spending too much money
Parental controls can help you limit potential risks by setting age limits for apps, creating a list of websites that they are allowed to visit or blocking certain websites. On a shared device, you may be able to set up individual child accounts with specific safety features.
Talking with your child about how they are using their devices is an important part of keeping them safe. Open conversations let your child know you are someone they can go to with any questions or worries.
E-Safety for Students
At The Fulham Boys School we take all aspects of e-safety very seriously.
This includes the filtering and monitoring of all internet access and email through the school’s network, guiding and advising students through PHSE and ICT, warning them of the potential risks and dangers of all aspects of electronic communication and providing a source of support in the event that things become threatening or undermine a young person’s well being. This includes support and guidance for individuals, sanctions and parental meetings and, when necessary, police involvement.
Technology is part of our everyday lives and can be a great way to discover new things, be creative and connect with people. Whilst it can be an incredibly valuable learning tool, the internet can also be a dangerous place so it is important to know how to keep yourself safe while you’re online.
There are a number of excellent sources of information on the web. If you want to do a little research of your own have a look at these sites:
Cyber Bullying
Cyber Bullying is any form of bullying which takes place online or through smartphones and tablets via the internet. It can be just as hurtful and upsetting as bullying in person, and in some ways worse because the bully can make contact, even when the victim is at home meaning they can never really get away from the harassment.
There are things you can do to protect yourself though.
- Make sure you understand the privacy settings on your social media accounts and set them so only people you allow can see your personal information.
- Do not accept ‘friend requests’ from people that you don’t know.
- Don’t meet up with people you meet on the internet through social media sites.
- Never send out your password or personal details to anyone, even if you think you know them because you’ve been chatting online.
What do you do if you are being sent upsetting content and messages?
- Tell someone! We can’t do anything if we don’t know it’s happening so tell your parents, or form tutor or any member of staff at school.
- It’s much easier to take action if we have evidence so keep any evidence by saving/storing/screen printing it.
- Be e-safety smart – use the links below to learn more about e-safety.
Digizen – Information and advice to encourage responsible digital citizenship.
NSPCC and Safer Internet – Information and advice on staying safe online.
Online Safety Alliance – Information and advice on staying safe when using Social Media
CEOP – If you are worried about cyberbullying you can send a report to CEOP – The Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre
The Fulham Boys School actively promotes e-safety and the prevention of cyberbullying through ICT lessons, PSHCE lessons and assemblies. School ICT systems include robust network filtering to ensure only appropriate content is accessible.