Online safety links and advice

With children spending more time online doing schoolwork and other activities, there could be an additional risk.

It is important that you talk to your children about online safety, show an interest in what they are doing online, including knowing the sites they will be accessing and who your child is interacting with online. In talking to your children, you can discuss age-appropriate ‘ground rules’ such as how much time they spend online doing different things, what games and apps are appropriate to use and what your children like and dislike about being online.

You should also consider setting up and reviewing age-appropriate parental controls. Setting parental controls can be a quick and effective tool to help protect children online.

Here are some useful links to help you keep your children safe online:

• Government guidance on keeping children safe from online harms such as child sexual exploitation, cyberbullying and harmful content
• Government guidance on staying safe online including parental controls, fact-checking information, communicating with family and friends while social distancing is in place and taking regular breaks from the screen
• Thinkuknow is the education programme from the National Crime Agency (NCA) proving age-appropriate resources for children and support for parents
• Parent Info is a collaboration between Parentzone and the NCA providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations
• Childnet provides a tool kit to support parents and carers of children of any age to start discussions about their online life, to set boundaries around online behaviour and technology use, and to find out where to get more help and support
• Internet Matters provides age-specific online safety checklists, guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices and a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world
• LGfL provides support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online, including 6 top tips to keep primary aged children safe online
• Net Aware provides support for parents and carers from the NSPCC and O2, providing a guide to social networks, apps and games
• Let’s Talk About It provides support for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation

UK Safer Internet Centre provides tips, advice, guides and resources to help keep children safe online, including parental controls offered by home internet providers and safety tools on social networks and other online services

Privacy and security setting advice

Internet Matters Privacy Settings Advice - guidance on how to set parental controls on all devices, phones, wifi, broadband, search engines, social media and games consoles

Parent Hub

Follow the link for interactive guides and settings advice: Parent Hub