Children at St. Mary's Church of England Primary School, Dover use the Internet on a regular basis as part of their learning. In school, we have regular 'e-safety' activities to remind children of the importance of keeping themselves safe online.

At home, sometimes children can be given unsupervised access to the Internet. This, potentially, allows them to access all kinds of society (both good and bad) and bring them virtually into their homes.

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

• Facebook / Snapchat / Whatsapp, etc. - many of these sites have a minimum age limit (13 or 16 years), so our pupils should NOT be using them. They do not offer protection to your children, allowing them to communicate with anyone.
• Keep your computer/mobile devices in a shared area - talk to your child about what they are doing online and, if possible, set up your computer in a shared area at home so that you can all share in the sites that are available online.

Download our eSafety Posters below:

We have these online safety posters on display in our classrooms. Why not put one up next to the computer at home and talk about it with your children?

Some links to more information:

• Think U Know - https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/Teachers - containing internet safety advice for those aged from 5 to 16, along with parents and teachers, this site is produced by CEOP (the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre)
• CEOP - http://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/ - report internet abuse
• Vodafone Parents - Vodafone have lots of fantastic practical advice for parents. You can also read their 'Digital Parenting' magazine.
• Internet Safety Zone - Look in the 'Under 13s' section for useful safety advice and information.
• Kidsmart - An award-winning internet safety programme for children.
• Know IT All - lots of useful advice for keeping yourselves and your children safe on the Internet.
• Bullying UK - Information and advice about bullying for children, parents and schools.
• Kidscape - An organisation which helps to prevent bullying and child abuse.
• Childline - ChildLine is the free helpline for children and young people in the UK.