Online Safety & Digital Literacy
The Parent Engagement Project has been set up by the Manchester Safeguarding Partnership to give families the tools to ensure they are staying safe online through digital literacy. Using this resource you can:
- Get advice on the latest apps & games
- Learn more about online safety topics
- Get help with social media incidents
- Check if your family is set up for online safety
The Reporting Harmful Content button is an asset of SWGfL, a charity working internationally to ensure all benefit from technology, free from harm.
Children under 13 years of age are encouraged to tell an adult that they trust about what has happened and to ask for their help in reporting this going through the how we can help resource together.
Metaverse and VR headsets:
To help you understand this new, fast changing issue the NSPCC has published a guide to both the Metaverse and VR headsets. To find out more please follow the link:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/news-opinion/2022/christmas-vr-safety-advice-for-parents-metaverse/
Fortnite
We are aware that some children are accessing this game since Christmas and we would urge Parents to read the guidance below:
https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/guidance/fortnite-battle-royal-parents-guide-keep-kids-safe-gaming
A Guide to Online Safety and Gaming
As a new generation of young people arrive onto using multiplayer games and the internet in general this new year, it is more important than ever to make your children aware of how to stay safe online. The SWGfL has published a pamphlet on how to best keep safe whilst using online software and games. With advice on reporting and blocking, online socialization and the considerations on online gaming, the pamphlet can be a useful resource for any Parent. You can find a link to that resource below:
https://swgfl.org.uk/assets/documents/online-safety-and-gaming.pdf
Open Forums:
We are also aware that some of our children are also accessing open forums even though they are much younger than the account set up age such as Twitch, Discord and Reddit. We ask that you check your devices and ensure the children have not set up their own accounts and do not have access to Parent/Carer accounts please find further guidance on these below:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/twitch/user-reviews/adult
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/discord/user-reviews/adult
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/reddit/user-reviews/adult
Digital Wellbeing:
As the internet becomes more important to us and our children as a social space. It is important to develop a sense of how we can all use it to support our lives, but at the same time to guard against negative influences that exist there. Digital Wellbeing relates to how we can turn the internet into a positive force within our lives, and can aid our mental health. The SWGfL has developed a page designed to raise awareness of Digital Wellbeing and good practice while engaging online. On the page they have an interesting video on the subject, a discussion on the importance of Digital Wellbeing at school and more. To take a look at this fascinating page please follow the link below:
https://swgfl.org.uk/topics/digital-wellbeing/
Supporting Foster Carers and Adoptive Parents Online – UK Safer Internet Centre
In England there are just over four thousand foster carers and two and a half thousand adoptive parents. Their needs are specific and often differ from that of parents with biological children. Their backgrounds can be traumatic, and the older they are the more they likely remember from their often difficult pasts and each memory and experience that’s unconsciously present within the child involved will contribute to their inner trauma. This can sometimes make caring for such children and young people immensely challenging. With this in mind the UK Safer Internet Centre has published guides and resources to help those bringing up children and young people with these needs, in the online space. To find out more please click here.
