At St Louis, we take the safety of our pupils very seriously and this includes their safety while they access the internet. E-safety is an integral part of children’s education in today’s digital world and is embedded in their learning at school. We also want to help our parents and children improve their own understanding of e-safety issues so they can learn to use the internet and all digital media in a safe way.

At Home:

Here are some resources to help you to support your children to remain safe in the digital world.

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Support-tools/home-activity-worksheets/ will take you to the Think U Know website where you can find a range of different home activity packs that you can complete with your child.

The NSPCC has a host of resources that can support you to create an open, honest and safe digital environment. Here are 2 good examples:

• Talking to your child about online safety https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/talking-child-online-safety/

• Parental controls https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/parental-controls/

Net Aware also provide excellent support for parents regarding online safety. https://www.net-aware.org.uk/online-safety-lockdown/

Ultimately, it is important to establish an environment where you can talk to your child openly about the benefits and the risks attached to using electronic devices and the Internet. Sharing the benefits with them will allow you to model good practice in terms of keeping safe. It is recommended that you put in place relevant parental controls and that you monitor what your child is accessing, ensuring it is age appropriate, when they are accessing and for how long.

It's important to remember that the legal age to have an account on most social media - Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, WhatsApp - is 13 years old.