Dear Parents
February 2016
As I am sure your children have told you, our Online Safety Day with Sharon Girling was a great success
Children, staff and many of you learnt a lot more about how to keep safe online. Sharon has created
a leaflet of information to help you as a family. Here is some other helpful information which Sharon
sent to us:
In the UK,
 only 39% of parents have installed parental controls at home
 68% of children under the age of 13 years believe everything they see online
 25% of children will meet someone offline that they have they met online.
It was staggering to ascertain the number of students who have their own mobile phone, tablet, Xbox,
Playstation or laptop. Approximately 50% of them stated that their parents did not check these devices nor did
they have any parental controls on them. We are putting children in danger by giving them devices and not
teaching them how to use them properly and efficiently.
Some of the children were clearly spending far too long on the devices and it was shocking to hear some of them
say that they were not going to bed until after 10pm, with some staying up in their beds on their tablets and
phones beyond that time.
Passwords
We would always like to see students and their parents using passwords which are ten digits, with each
containing a number, a capital letter, a lower case letter and a character in them.
Facebook
There are a number of pupils that say they have a Facebook account. Clearly they, or those that have set the
account up for them, have stated that they are 13 years of age. Facebook make changes to their services and it
is essential that users check the account settings on a regular basis. Profile pictures are freely available for
anyone to use and I would recommend using an object as opposed to a personal photograph.
Snapchat
Many pupils in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 have Snapchat which is also for people over the age of 13 years. The company
developed Snapkidz for the younger group.
Instagram
Many pupils in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 have Instagram which is also for people over the age of 13 years. This really is
not appropriate for children of such a young age.
Talking Angela
This is an app for mobile devices and tablets. It is a little cat that purrs and speaks to young children but can be
risqué.
Xbox and Playstation
Some pupils in year 3 through to 6 are playing Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and Assassin Creed as well as
some age appropriate games.
Call of Duty
This is a first-person shooter in which players control a U.S. soldier who works for the C.I.A. and participates in
skirmishes, stealth espionage, assassinations, and interrogations involving torture. Players use a wide variety of
weapons such as pistols, rifles, machine guns, and explosives to injure/kill enemies. Combat can generate pools
of blood and dismembered limbs. Foul language can be heard throughout the game.
Grant Theft Auto
This is an 'open-world' action game in which players choose a mission to complete. The missions are set in the
world of Grand Theft Auto IV, the game depicts a vast urban landscape which includes a criminal underworld
that the protagonist must navigate through in order to progress. Players complete various missions that either
advance the main storyline or award the player with in-game currency and connections. Many of the missions
require players to engage in criminal activity: stealing cars, robbing banks, taking out drug addicts (beating
them with a baseball bat or shooting them), running drugs and guns, and killing rival gang members. Players
use pistols, machine guns, baseball bats, Molotov cocktails, and grenades to kill enemies and occasionally
civilians. During the course of the game, players can encounter some sexually suggestive material. Players are
able to pick up prostitutes for certain 'services'. Alcohol and drug use are also depicted in the game. Strong
profanity and racial epithets can be heard.
Assassin Creed
This is an action-adventure game in which players assume the role of a pirate looking to amass a fortune in the
17th century. As players explore open-world environments, they interact with pirates, travel between ports, and
engage in combat against the Royal Navy and Spanish Colonies. Players can also engage in swordfights with
armed soldiers. Some sequences depict pistol shots to the head and characters getting impaled. Large blood
splashes appear when enemies are injured, and blood is sometimes depicted around corpses. During the course
of the game, the dialogue references sexual material. Players ' character can purchase and consume alcohol at
taverns. Again, strong profanity can be heard in the dialogue.
Some tips from the school, for online safety:
 Download an adblocker to stop the ads that come up on the web browser - adblockplus.org/
 Download Metacert to help block adult pornographic websites - familysafety.metacert.com
 The CEOP You Tube channel has some useful films for you to watch with your child.
youtube.com/user/ceop.
 Bookmark favourite websites so that your children can safely view appropriate content
 Give children a count down when you want them to get off a device or finish a game, e.g. 30 minutes, 20
minutes, etc. This puts children in the position to finish a game/document at specific point and can
alleviate frustration.
 If your child is playing Minecraft, particularly online, please play with them to understand what they are
doing and how it works. Please check the ‘worlds’ your children use as some can be unsafe.
 Cover over the lenses on cameras and devices when they are not in use, with stickers, blu-tack, etc. Some
Apps have the ability to turn on cameras without your knowledge and take pictures.
 Sharon also recommended the use of Apps such as Kidbox (for Apple devices) and Childsafe (for Android
devices) in order to help to keep your children safe.
 Charge all devices together overnight, and to do this as a family.
Here are some websites which you may find helpful for more information on online safety:
www.thinkuknow.co.uk
www.internetmatters.org
www.parentinfo.org
http://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-council-for-child-internet-safety-ukccis
http://www.educateagainsthate.com/parents
If a child informs you of a problem online it is vitally important that you do not react negatively or show
disappointment towards them. This is likely to discourage them from confiding in you again. Children are also
concerned that if they ‘tell’ their devices will be taken away, this will not solve the problem.
As part of Safer Internet Day (February 9th), we launched a competition for a Frimley online safety mascot. We look
forward to unveiling the mascot to you all very soon.
If you have any concerns or questions about any of the information, please get in contact.
Thank you
Mrs Farage
Computing Leader