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Safer Internet Day 2025

Dear Parents and Guardians,

PROTECTING YOURSELF AND OTHERS FROM SCAMS ONLINE – SAFER INTERNET DAY 2025

On Tuesday 11th February we will be joining schools and youth organisations across the UK in celebrating Safer Internet Day 2025. Safer Internet Day is a global campaign to promote the safe and responsible use of technology, which calls on young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers and more, to help to create a better internet.

This year’s theme, ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online,’ focuses on teaching children and young people how to identify and avoid scams, and highlights available support.

Scams can take many forms and target anyone, including young people. You may think that your child would be able to spot an online scammer, but the truth is that they are incredibly convincing and hard to spot. They often involve fake profiles and identities to target people. You may have heard this referred to as ‘catfishing.’ If your child has been targeted by a scam online and they have been made to do something that they didn’t want to, then they are not to blame, they are not in trouble, and support is available.

We would be delighted if you could join us in celebrating the day by continuing the conversation at home. To help you with this, the UK Safer Internet Centre have created some free activities and information for parents and carers:

  • You can complete the UK Safer Internet Centre’s interactive quizzes with your child about this theme.
  • The UK Safer Internet Centre have created resources for use with children and young people about this year’s theme. These were designed for learning settings but can be adapted to use with your child. You can find these here.
  • Read the UK Safer Internet Centre’s tops tips for parents and carers here.
  • You can share the UK Safer Internet Centre’s top tips for children and young people with your child.

 

You may also like to use one of these prompts to start a conversation with your child:

  • What’s your favourite thing to do online?
  • Have you ever seen a scam online? How did it make you feel?
  • What signs would you look out for to spot a scam?
  • What advice would you give to your friends about scams?
  • Who would you talk to if you saw a scam online?
  • What more can I do to help you feel safe online?

 

A key part of protecting children and young people from online harms is through preventative education. By talking about this in school and at home, we can all work towards keeping children safe when they are online. Celebrating Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for you to re-emphasise the online safety messages we deliver throughout the year.

If you have any concerns or questions about keeping your child safe online, please email [email protected] and a member of staff will contact you.

Kind regards,

Mrs McDonagh
Head of IT and Computer Science

Mr Bellmon
Deputy Head Teacher and Head of Safeguarding

 

Online safety newsletter – January 2025 edition

This is the January 2025 edition of our online safety newsletter. If you need any support with any aspect of online safety, or if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the school.

Online Safety Newsletter January 2025

To view as a PDF and access the links, please click here.

 

Online safety newsletter – November 2024 edition

This is the November 2024 edition of our online safety newsletter. If you need any support with any aspect of online safety, or if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the school.

Online Safety Newsletter November 2024

To view as a PDF and access the links, please click here.

 

Online safety newsletter – October 2024 edition

This is the October 2024 edition of our online safety newsletter. If you need any support with any aspect of online safety, or if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the school.

Online Safety Newsletter October 2024

To view as a PDF and access the links, please click here.

 

Online safety newsletter – September 2024 edition

This is the September 2024 edition of our online safety newsletter. If you need any support with any aspect of online safety, or if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the school.

Online Safety Newsletter September 2024 (1)

To view as a PDF and access the links, please click here.

 

Online safety newsletter – July 2024 edition

This is the July 2024 edition of our online safety newsletter. If you need any support with any aspect of online safety, or if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the school

Online Safety Newsletter July 2024

To view as a PDF and access the links, please click here.

 

Online safety newsletter – May 2024 edition

This is the May 2024 edition of our online safety newsletter. If you need any support with any aspect of online safety, or if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the school.

To view as a PDF and access the links, please click here.

 

 

St Hilda’s School is committed in assisting parents and carers to cope with e-safety, in line with guidance from School Improvement Liverpool.

Please click here for attached a guide to some of the many apps that are massively used by young people and children that you may find useful if you are a parent. It details the age restrictions for the app and a brief description of what it can be used for. Obviously it is only the tip of the iceberg but it may well start the ball rolling.

There are a few apps that aren’t on there that are also a worry if you are the parent of a primary school aged pupil such as MovieStarPlanet and Music.aly that are extremely popular as they children can make their own videos/sing along with songs and be recorded but they are well known for being used by predators.

 

Useful checklists for keeping young people safe online

online-safety-guide-for-parents

facebook-checklist
instagram-checklist
netflix-checklist
roblox-checklist-new
snapchat-checklist
tiktok-checklist
twitter-checklist-2020

 

Supporting young people to take down nudes shared online

Dear parents/carers,

The CEOP website has some useful information on how to help your daughter/son removed any images they may have sent out.

To follow the link, please click here.

 

Roy Bellmon
Deputy Headteacher – Safeguarding and Curriculum

 

NUDE IMAGE SHARING – INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

To view the related letter, please click here.

Mr R Bellmon – Deputy Headteacher

 

SAFEGUARDING ADVICE FOR USING VR HEADSETS

Kate Edwards, Acting Associate Head for Child Safety Online at the NSPCC, said: “Parents who may be thinking about purchasing a VR headset for their child this Christmas need to be aware of the risks young users currently face when given access to what, at this stage, is an unregulated world.

www.nspcc.org.uk

 

ONLINE SAFETY

Dear parent/carer,

Here are 4 new guides that may help to keep your child safe online:

Cross Platform Sharing Parent and Carers Guide

Discord Parent and Carers Guide

Metaverse Parent and Carers Guide

Virtual Reality Parent and Carers Guide

 

R Bellmon
Deputy Headteacher Curriculum and Safeguarding

 

HELPFUL WEBSITES

To view the above as a PDF with active links, please click here.


ONLINE SAFETY

Dear parent/carer,

We have been offered free workshops for parents/carers and access to a parent hub that will help safeguard families from gaming and gambling related harms.

Please visit the link below for further information and to sign up.

https://parents.ygam.org/workshops/

 

Roy Bellmon
Deputy Headteacher Curriculum and Safeguarding

 

 

What you need to know about…

To view these posters as a PDF, simply click on the image.

 

 

Important notice regarding phishing

We have seen a rise in phishing both in school and in external email accounts.

What is phishing?
Phishing is simply trying to trick people into doing something – that could be opening a malicious email attachment, clicking a link, or transferring funds or confidential data.

The following PDF information may help you to recognise when an email may not be as it seems.

10 tell tale signs of phishing

To open this information as a PDF, please click here.

If you have any doubts, please do not open any links or click on attachments. If you suspect an email is fake, please delete it.

 

Kind regards,
Roy Bellmon – Deputy Headteacher

 

 

Talking to your child about online sexual harassment

 

Dear parents/carers,

You may find this report and guide for parents/carers useful when talking to your daughter/son.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you or if you have any concerns.

Mr Roy Bellmon – Deputy Headteacher Curriculum and Safeguarding

 

 

The things I wish my parents had known…about online sexual harassment (Children’s Commissioner)

The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza DBE, has recently published a guidance document for parents helping to support them to understand online sexual harassment. It is a sensitive topic, and not one all parents feel comfortable discussing with their children.

The commissioner’s team brought together a group of 16 – 21 year olds and asked them talk about what they think parents should know, and what they should say to their children when talking about sexualised bullying and the pressures of growing up online.

Key advice from the young adults in the focus groups included:

  • Start conversations early, before your child gets a phone or social media account. Keep the conversation going over time, adapting to your child.
  • Young people want their parents to learn about new technology and trends, including risky behaviours and dangerous spaces online.
  • Create a safe and trusting home environment. Young people told us the home environment is key, they want to share things with their parents but don’t always feel able.

The report and poster ‘The things I wish my parents had known…’ can be downloaded here: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/report/talking-to-your-child-about-online-sexual-harassment-a-guide-for-parents/

 

Follow the TALK checklist to help keep your child safe online (Internet Watch Foundation)

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) tells us that ‘since the start of the pandemic, the amount of ‘self-generated’ child abuse imagery has increased dramatically. In 2020, the IWF confirmed 68,000 cases of such imagery, a rise of 77% on the year before. It accounts for nearly half (44%) the imagery we took action on last year. In 80% of these cases, the victims were 11- to 13-year-old girls.’

The IWF has created a resource to help parents and carers understand the risks of ‘self-generated child sexual abuse imagery’ using the acronym ‘TALK’.

To find out more, go to: https://talk.iwf.org.uk/

Download the Parents’/Carers’ Guide here   https://talk.iwf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/A-guide-for-parents-and-carers-v7.pdf

 

 

 

TALK campaign – Advice regarding on-line grooming

Please find details of the new TALK campaign from the Internet Watch Foundation

A new IWF safety campaign aims to help parents have conversations with their children about keeping their ‘door’ closed to child sexual abusers. The campaign includes a booklet for parents, explaining the risks, explaining why children are vulnerable, and suggests practice steps that parents can take.

The mnemonic used in the campaign is TALK:

  • TALK to your child about online sexual abuse. Start the conversation – and listen to their concerns.
  • AGREE ground rules about the way you use technology as a family.
  • LEARN about the platforms and apps your child loves. Take an interest in their online life.
  • KNOW how to use tools, apps and settings that can help to keep your child safe online.

For further details go to: https://talk.iwf.org.uk/

 

LGfL – DigiSafe

A collection of information sources which are really useful in helping parents to keep their child safe online. To view, please click here.

 

The Marie Collins Foundation – Sexual Abuse on line – Parents leaflet ‘How Can I Help My Child?’

In this booklet you will find information about what online harm is and ways you can effectively help and support your children. To view, please click here.

 

Child Exploitation and Online Protection command (CEOP)

CEOP is a command of the National Crime Agency.

If you are you worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online?  Make a report to one of CEOP’s Child Protection Advisors.

If you have been a victim of sexual online abuse or you’re worried this is happening to someone you know, let us know safely and securely.

To visit the CEOP website, please click here.

 

UK Safer Internet Centre

At the UK Safer Internet Centre, you can find online safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe online.

The UK Safer Internet Centre is a partnership of three leading organisations: Childnet International, Internet Watch Foundation and SWGfL, with one mission – to promote the safe and responsible use of technology for young people.

To visit the UK Safer Internet Centre website, please click here.

 

internet matters.org  –  supporting families online

Helping parents keep their children safe online. Get expert support and practical tips to help children benefit from connected technology and the internet safely and smartly.

For more information, please click here.

 

London Grid for Learning (LGfL) – online safety and safeguarding

During school closures, LGfL DigiSafe continues to offer specialist support at coronavirus.lgfl.net/safeguarding including daily pupil worksheets, parent flyers and staff guidance (e.g. safeguarding for remote teaching, safe settings and policy updates).
For more information, please click here.

Net Aware

Your guide to social networks, apps and games.

Right now, kids will be spending more time online, so we’ve got advice to help you keep your kids safe during lockdown and beyond.

For more information, please click here.

 

parentINFO  –  help and advice for families in a digital world

Parent Info is a collaboration between Parent Zone and NCA-CEOP, providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations.

For more information, please click here.

 

THINK U KNOW.co.uk

Thinkuknow is the education programme from NCA-CEOP, a UK organisation which protects children both online and offline.

Explore one of the six Thinkuknow websites for advice about staying safe when you’re on a phone, tablet or computer.

For more information, please click here.

 

NSPCC  – Online Safety

It can be hard to know how to talk to your child about online safety. From setting up parental controls to advice on sexting, online games and video apps, we can help you to understand the risks and keep your child safe. For more information, please click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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