Online Safety

Thank you very much to Alan Mackenzie (esafety-adviser) who provides the school with the latest onlines safety information.

What are social media scams? (1/12/23)

 Social media scams target young people in a range of ways, including through their spending habits.

Get support and guidance on protecting young people from social media scams, including what you can do to tackle scams if they happen. Access HERE 

How to choose the right phone for your child (22/11/23)

 Buying your child a mobile phone can offer them a new level of independence, but it can be tricky to know where to start. Internet Matters guide to smartphones looks at the different options that could be right for your child. Access HERE 

Children’s tech guide 2023 (22/11/23)

As Christmas is approaching many children and young people will be asking for new devices. It's important that parents think carefully about these devices and the parental features that are available. It's equally important parents think about what the device will be used for.

Internet Matters has put together a really good guide for parents. Access HERE 

SWGfL TikTok Checklist Updated for 2023 (22/11/23)

From SFGfL a great guide for everything TikTok related. Access HERE

SWGfL Snapchat Checklist Updated for 2023 (22/11/23)

From SFGfL a great guide for everything Snapchat related. Access HERE

Parents Guide to WhatsApp (16/11/23)

As one of the most popular messaging apps used by all age ranges and around 2.7 billion monthly users, WhatsApp has been adding new features over the last year. Internet Matters have put together a really good 'how-to' guide for parents which you can access HERE.

Parents Guide to SnapChat MyAI (16/11/23)

A better explanation to the artificial intelligence chatbot uses within Snapchat. Chatbots are springing up everywhere now, including within apps that children and young people use, and there have been some concerns over the ethics, the information and guidance that is being given by the chatbot and more, particularly in relation to guidance that is age appropriate, privacy concerns and misinformation.

Wayne Denver has put together a really useful updated article for parents explaining what the chatbot is, how it works, the issues and some tips for parents. You can find the article HERE.

 Lego-Bulid and Talk (8/11/23)

Lego, have created some wonderful activities for children aged 6-9 years. There are six different topics which are designed to help children navigate the online world safely, including conversation starters. The topics include cyber bullying, screen time, false information and others. All the activities and resources are free. See HERE for further information.

AI and Child sexual abuse material (1/11/23)

Wired magazine have put together a number of reports from around the world where the stark reality of the worrying increase in AI and child sexual abuse material is becoming more apparent: not only is the realism of AI generated CSAM better than ever, victims are being re-victimised by offenders creating new images based on older ones and selling them via monthly subscriptions. The software used to create this illegal imagery is free and publicly available to anyone.

In one month the Internet Watch Foundation found 2.978 illegal images. More than half were primary aged children and 132 were children aged 3 to 6.

This new generation of software is being used in many different, negative ways, such as de-clothing children and de-aging adults. As the reality of AI and criminality surges ahead (e.g. deepfakes, voice cloning, CSAM etc.), we need to re-emphasise to children and young people the concerns over sharing data, such as images and videos, publicly online.

You can read the Wired article HERE and the full IWF report HERE. 

Google Family Link 

The Google Family Link has come on in leaps and bounds over the years, allowing parents greater management of their child's Google accounts (e.g Youtube) and Android devices. This includes children under the age of 13.

Internet Matters have put together a great article explaining exactly what Google Family Link is plus details instructions on how to set it up and use it. You can find the article HERE

Resources - Cyber Security

• The National Cyber Security Centre have some great resources for 7-11 year olds. Cyber Sprinters is a digital game that can be played on phones, tablets and desktop computers with activities to learn more about cyber security.  You can view the resources HERE.
• Internet Matters have a whole range of topics and resources related to issues such as phishing and ransomware, privacy and identity theft, doxxing and more. You can view the resources HERE.
• Also from Internet Matters and very useful for parents is an interactive guide to creating secure accounts, e.g strong passwords and two-factor authPlease access these entication. You can access this HERE.

Young People's Relationships with AI Chatbots

• A chatbot admitting to self-harm and initiating extreme role-play.
• Sexual dialogue.
• Lack of empathy and interpersonal skills.
• Unrealistic relationship expectations.