E-Safety
We have worked closely with East Coast Health Care and the Norfolk Healthy Schools Team to bring together some useful information for parents and children.
The following links will take you to websites full of information for parents/carers on how to help keep your children safe on the internet, whether that be on a laptop, i-pad, tablet or on a mobile device.
With the growing popularity of gaming, across the country, there has been a marked increase in the number of children playing or having access to games that are not age appropriate. Games, like films are given an age classification.
Game age ratings:
Most platforms will feature an age rating on the game. Due to the way certain platforms categorise games according to their content, at times the age rating for one game may not be the same across all platforms. So, it can be confusing. However, you can set parental controls on your games console to limit what content your child accesses.
What is PEGI?
The PEGI system is designed to inform the public of what’s suitable and what’s not for different ages. It can be a helpful tool in helping you to decide what games are appropriate for your child.
PEGI’s professional analysts look at hundreds of video games every year and determine what is suitable for different age groups using a set of criteria.
This criteria has been established by experts in the field of child protection, psychology, the law and media. It helps analysts to decide what game content is appropriate in each of the five rating groups.
How are games rated under PEGI?
All games released in the UK will have one of the following PEGI age ratings on the packaging: 3, 7, 12, 16 or 18. The rating means that the game shouldn't be played by a young person under that age.
Why? Because there may be content within the game which could potentially be harmful, frightening or worrying to children. As well as an age rating, PEGI also uses icons showing content descriptors, letting you know if a game contains: violence, drugs, bad language, discrimination, fear, gambling, sex, or in-app purchases.
Remember - PEGI ratings are based on safety and not game difficulty. Lots of children want to be challenged by games and believe an older rated game will be harder. However, playing games that are above the child's age classification means your child will be potentially exposed to content that is not suitable for their age or stage of development.
You can find lots more valuable information including guides to using parental controls and what parents needs to know about gaming on this page of the Think-you-know website:
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/gaming-whats-appropriate-for-your-child
or click on the Thinkuknow - Gaming button below:
Welcome to CEOP's (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) 'Thinkuknow'
The “Thinkuknow” website is brought to you by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) centre. You may have seen some of their video clips on National TV recently.
Come and find the latest information on the sites you like to visit, mobiles and new technology. Find out what’s good, what’s not and what you can do about it. If you look after young people there’s an area for you too – with resources you can use in the classroom or at home. Most importantly, there’s also a place which anyone can use to report if they feel uncomfortable or worried about someone they are chatting to online. All the information here is brought to you by the team at the NCA's CEOP Command. We hope you like it!
Click here: ThinkuKnow
http://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers
Childnet International is a non-profit organisation working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children.
The Digizen website provides information for educators, parents, carers, and young people. It is used to strengthen their awareness and understanding of what digital citizenship is and encourages users of technology to be and become responsible DIGItal citiZENS. It shares specific advice and resources on issues such as social networking and cyberbullying and how these relate to and affect their own and other people's online experiences and behaviours.
What is Own It?
Welcome to Own It! We are here to help kids 'boss' their online lives. Whatever you need – help and advice, skills or inspiration – we have it covered.
https://www.netsmartzkids.org/
NetSmartz Workshop is an interactive, educational program that provides age-appropriate resources to help teach children how to be safer on- and offline. The program is designed for children ages 5-17, parents/carers and teachers. With resources such as videos, games, activity cards, and presentations, NetSmartz entertains while it educates.
A site that looks at ways to identify, prevent and stop cyber bullying.
The following links are to advice that will help parents and carers to keep their children safe online:
Internet matters - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
London Grid for Learning - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
Parent info - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
UK Safer Internet Centre - advice for parents and carers