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E-Safety

The explosion of interactive technology and the use of the internet has transformed our lives over the past 20 years. It is now available not just to adults but increasingly to children and young people. This provides huge opportunities to learn and communicate but can also come with challenges which parents have to be aware of

E-Safety is essential for all parents to understand. The ability to understand the threats and the tools and techniques to overcome those threats will make you able to embrace technology without any of the worry that goes with it.

Are there any good web-links to find out more details and tips?

There are a number of brilliant websites which specialise in informing parents of the potential dangers of technology and also provide you with tips and techniques to help you overcome them:

Internet Matters
Internet Matters is a not-for-profit organisation working with online safety experts to bring you all the information you need to keep your children safe online.
It provides:

Advice on important E Safety issues
News and advice from industry experts
Guidance on setting parental controls and filters
Reviews on the latest technology and apps

Parent Info
Parent Info is a fantastic site and is full of resources and information. It provides high quality information to parents and carers about their children's wellbeing and resilience.

This service covers many difficult topics about sex, relationships and the internet or body image and peer pressure to broader parenting topics like ‘how much sleep do teenagers need?’

In line with CEOP’s Thinkuknow programme, some of the content covers internet safety, but it all starts from the assumption that young people make little distinction between their online and offline lives and the issues for parents are often the same. The aim is to help parents help their children be discriminating, web-literate and resilient.

CEOP is the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Organisation.
It is linked in with the National Crime Agency and is dedicated to making the web a safer place for young people. It has a great deal of information on what to be aware of online and how to combat these threats. It has a very well known Thinkuknow campagin which is a dedicated education programme rolled out to schools including Lagan College.

Thinkuknow aims to ensure that everyone has access to this practical information – children, young people, their parents and carers and the professionals who work with them.

Alongside the Thinkuknow website the programme provides educational resources, including films, cartoons and lesson plans, to help professionals raise young people’s awareness

CEOP YOUTUBE CHANNEL

TOP PARENTAL TIP:

Setting Parental Controls for Your Internet

One top parental tip is to enable your Broadband filters. These are provided free with your Internet Service Provider. They allow you to place restrictions on what is viewed online - helping to give you peace of mind about what your children are actually viewing.

It is very easy to set up and the link below will show you how. Just click the pic and it will take you to the internet matters links where you can choose your provider and get instructions for the filter installation.