On Tuesday 6th February we will be joining schools and youth organisations across the UK in celebrating Safer Internet Day 2024. Safer Internet Day is a global campaign to promote the safe and responsible use of technology, which calls on children and young people,parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers and more, to help to create a better internet. Using the internet safely and positively is a key message that we promote in school/our group/our club, and celebrating Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for us to re-emphasise the online safety messages we deliver throughout the year. 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 which are available at:

https://saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2024/parents-and-carers

 

Whether you have 5 minutes to start a conversation or hours to spare, there are top tips, quizzes and films which you can use at home with your child.

Safer Internet Day 2024 - film for parents and carers

Safer Internet Day 2024 will take place on the 6th of February 2023, with celebrations and learning based around the theme 'Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online’.

Tips for Encouraging Open Discussions about Digital Lives

Most parents frequently chat with their child about how things are going at school or what’s happening in their friendship groups – but those discussions often doesn’t extend to youngsters’ online activities. In fact, National Online Safety conducted a recent survey which found that only slightly more than half (54%) of parents regularly talk to their children about staying safe online. 

 

In the guide you'll find a number of useful tips such as being as honest as possible, discussing how misleading the online world can be and creating a ‘family agreement’.

http://www.childnet.com/ufiles/KidSMART-poster.pdf – The 5 Smart Rules

https://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers – Advice on conversation starters and advice on reporting issues on online.

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ – Useful resources and advice from CEOP, a UK organisation which protects children on and offline

 https://www.commonsensemedia.org – Reviews from parents and children about current apps and games. Guides on what you need to know and how to disable chat features.

https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls – Guides to how to set up controls on all your devices.

GEM education – Handout from our Digital Literacy session

Childnet_Supporting-young-people-online – Childnet leaflet