Top Tips for Pupils
Safe surfing at home and at school:
- You have the right to feel safe all the time, including when using ICT or your mobile phone.
- If anything makes you feel scared or uncomfortable online tell a responsible adult straight away. Don’t be afraid you will get into trouble.
- If you get a nasty message or get sent anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, do not reply. Show it to a responsible adult.
- Only email people you know, or those whom a responsible adult has approved.
- Messages you send should be respectful.
- Talk to a responsible adult before joining chatrooms or networking sites.
- Keep your personal details private when using ICT or a mobile phone. Your name, family information, journey to school, your pets and hobbies are all examples of personal details.
- Don’t show anyone photographs of yourself, friends or family without checking first with a responsible adult.
- Never agree to meet an online friend in real life without checking with a responsible adult.
Responsible adults include your teachers, parents and the carers with whom you live. If you have any worries about using ICT safely at home or in school, please speak to them.
A good read for younger children is –
In a world that relies so heavily on the Internet for many, many purposes, it is vital that we teach our children how to stay safe online. There is a huge amount of non-fiction available for children to read around the subject of esafety, but there is little fiction for younger children.
Whilst being a beautifully-illustrated, fun and rhyme-driven story for 5-7 years olds, Penguin Pig has a strong underlying message that we need to think carefully before we trust what we read online. It enforces the message that some people use the Internet to trick others and that, in the event of being uncertain, children should check with a trusted adult.
Safer Internet Day
Safer Internet Day (SID) is celebrated in nearly 100 countries around the world in February of each year. In Europe, 30 countries mark the day with support from the European Commission’s Safer Internet Programme. SID is coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially among children and young people.
The following video is called ‘Jigsaw’ during which children will be able to recognise what constitutes personal. They will understand that they need to be just as protective of their personal information online, as they are in the real world. The children will learn that keeping this information private will help protect them from people that they do not know or like and help to protect them from unsolicited mail and scams. An understanding will be gained of what to do and where to go if they are worried about any of the issues covered.
This next video is called Where’s Klaus? It shows the different types of people our children could be chatting to on the internet.