Online safety is an incredibly important part of keeping children safe.  We recognise that children live their lives seamlessly online and offline which presents many positive and exciting opportunities but also many challenges and risks.
 
The online world rapidly develops and changes which can make it difficult for parents and children to stay up to date with the latest devices, platforms, apps, trends and the related threats. Therefore, we believe it is important to focus on teaching the children knowledge needed and safe behaviours to navigate the online world confidently regardless of the app, device or platform.

These behaviours include:

1. How to evaluate what they see online.
2. How to recognise techniques used to persuade.
3. Acceptable and unacceptable online behaviour.
4. How to identify online risks.
5. How and when to seek help and support.

 
At St Patrick’s,  we recognise that the majority of children's online use will happen at home and the following key points are to help parents keep their child safe:

• Set boundaries in the online world just as you would agree boundaries in the real world.
• Talk to your child about what they are up to online.
• Keep devices and equipment in a family space.
• Set parental controls on devices that link to the internet.
• Lock down sites so that the information is not public.
• Take notices of age restrictions.
• Come up with a common agreement amongst parents which sets the ground rules for the children.
• Show your child how you are a responsible user of devices and apps.

 
There are many fantastic resources to support parents in keeping their children safe on line. Many are free and will help parents set parental controls and provide advice on the risks of new apps and games.