Dear Parents and Carers,
How safe is your child?
As you may be aware, we had an E-Safety day on the last Friday before the half term break. All of the children participated in a variety of activities to help raise their awareness of how to keep safe online, including acting out drama scripts, watching videos, reading stories and class discussion. The day proved to be very informative for both children and staff.
However, after receiving feedback from staff, some serious concerns regarding children’s behaviour online were flagged up during discussions on the day. It became clear that some children, whilst they know how they should behave online, do not always act accordingly. Below are some of the key issues that we feel need to be raised:
- Roblox
This is the most common game children play at our school. It is a massive multiplayer online game. This means children can play with and chat to other people that they do not know. Unless the settings are correct for their age, they could be exposed to content/conversations that are inappropriate for their age. A number of children claimed to have had unpleasant interactions with other players on this game.
-Online ‘friends’
In a conversation with one child, it came to light that a child had a very ‘close’ friend online who she had not met in real life. The child said they had been friends for months but the identity of this ‘friend’ was unknown to her. Other children also mentioned having online ‘friends’ that they do not know in real life. We recommend that this is monitored by parents regularly on any online gaming or social media platforms that your child has access to.
-YouTube
A couple of children were found to have posted a YouTube video which identified them by name and with their school logo visible on their uniform. Although we have discussions about the dangers of this at school, advice was on this occasion not followed. If your child has their own YouTube channel and posts public videos, we advise that their activity on the channel is monitored by an adult.
-Age Appropriate Gaming
Several children claimed they have played the game GTA (Grand Theft Auto V). This game has an age restriction of 18 and should not be played by children in primary school. The content is particularly graphic and very inappropriate for children of this age.
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It is extremely important that all parents are made aware and have read this information so please sign below to acknowledge you have read the above information and return it to your child’s class teacher by Friday 23rd March.
I have read the above information and enclose the slip below signed to confirm this.
Name of child: ______
Parents Signature: ______
Date: ______
Please check the settings on your child’s phone/tablet/I-pad to ensure they are age appropriate. If you would like more information regarding this issue please contact school and we will happily discuss it with you.