February 2016
Dear Parents / Carers,
It has come to our attention that some children at St Columba’s Catholic Primary School have Facebook
profiles even though according to the sites terms and conditions, the permitted minimum age to use the
site is 13.
St Columba’s Catholic Primary School, is committed to promoting the safe and responsible use of the
Internet and as such we feel it is our responsibility to raise this particular issue as a concern.
Websites such as Facebook offer amazing communication and social connections, however they are
created with their audience in mind. This is specifically 13 years and over and meets with the requirements
defined by US law (Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act.)
There are special safeguards in place for those users who register as under-18s. However if a child registers
on Facebook implying they are 18 or over, there are no automatic safeguards applied to their profile.
Other possible risks for children under 13 using the site may include:
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Facebook use “age targeted” advertising and therefore your child could be exposed to adverts of an
inappropriate nature, depending on the age they stated they were when they registered
Children can accept friend requests from people they don’t know well which could increase the risk
of inappropriate contact or behaviour
Language, games, groups and content shared on Facebook is not moderated, and can therefore
appear to be offensive, illegal or unsuitable
Photographs shared by users are often neither moderated nor restricted and therefore children
could see inappropriate images. They can even post their own.
Underage users are less likely to manage their online privacy well.
Facebook could be exploited by bullies and for other inappropriate contact
It is important to remember that if your child can lie about who they are online, so can anyone else.
There are many social networks designed for a younger audience. These can act as useful and safe
environments for children to learn how social networks operate and to build up their online resilience and
skills.
Should you choose to allow your child to have a Facebook profile, we strongly advise you:
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Help your child to make their profile safer by having appropriate privacy settings in place. Details of
how to do this can be found at http://www.connectsafely.org/pdfs/fbparents.pdf
Talk to your child about safe and appropriate online behaviour such as sharing personal information
or posting offensive messages or photos
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Think about installing the CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) application from
www.facebook.com/clickceop on their profile. This places a CEOP “Report Abuse” button on their
Facebook page and has been known to deter potential offenders .
Get
yourself
up
to
speed
with
the
latest
guidance
and
advice.
Try
www.facebook.com/help/?safety=parents or Connect Safely/iKeepsafe “Facebook Guide for
Parents” http://www.connectsafely.org/pdfs/fbparents.pdf
If you need to play a more active role in your child’s online life, you may want to set up your own
profile to understand how Facebook works. You may even want to agree with your child to be
“friends”.
Make sure your child understands the following guidance:
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Keep your personal information under control; think, “Would I tell this to a stranger?”
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Be careful what you share with online “friends” as you may not know all of them well
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Use “friends lists” to help manage what information you share with whom
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Be careful what you post; it says a lot about you.
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Never agree to meet somebody you only know online without telling a trusted adult
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Always tell someone if you feel threatened or someone upsets you
We feel it is important to point out to parents the risks of underage use of such sites. Parents should make
an informed decision as to whether to allow their child to have a profile or not.
We will take appropriate action if a problem comes to our attention that involves the safety or wellbeing of
any of our children.
There is a wealth of free online resources for parents with information on keeping your child safe online,
including the following:
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www.childnet.com/kia/parents
www.thinkuknow.co.uk
parents.vodafone.com
It has also come to our attention that a number of children, some as young as year 3 are playing online violent
games, often for long periods of time. Many of these games such as ‘Call of Duty’, and Grand Theft Auto’ are rated
for adult use only due to the content that could not only be violent, but also racist, involve drugs abuse and sexual
content. The effect can be seen in some children in terms of the language they are using as well being overly tired
due to playing these games for extended periods of time.
There is a great debate over what affect playing these type of games have on a young person but it is generally
believed that they can distort what normality is which can and does lead to increased levels of anti-social behaviour
and computer addiction, evidence of which we see both in the playground and in the classroom.
Whilst we are not in a position to tell parents what games they should let their children play we do have a duty of
care to other children and staff in school, not least if children themselves are arriving at school tired and not ready
for the day ahead.
We would offer the following suggestions
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All games are rated using the PEGI ratings – look out for these symbols and to understand what the rating
criteria is, do visit http://www.pegi.info/ You can also download the PGI app for your mobile phone from the
iStore or Google Play for free
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To check out the content of games, Common Sense Media have reviewed every game for parental guidance
at http://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews
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In terms of time played, this is very much down to parents. Providers tend to recommend a break of 5
minutes every 45 minutes, however we might suggest that for younger children the amount of time they
play is limited to 30 minutes. Recent research also suggests it is important to limit gaming and media time
directly before bedtime (for younger children 60 minutes before)
Do visit the PEGI Good Gaming guide for more information at http://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/24
Not all online games have a detrimental effect on children, in fact some can be quite beneficial if played in
moderation. Therefore before allowing your child to play online games we would urge you to look at the following
advice:
1) If you are buying a gaming device, why not print the Shopper's
Checklist<http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-totechnology/gaming-devices/shoppers-checklist/> and ask these questions in the shop?
2) Agree with your child some “rules” about their safe and responsible use of gaming. The following is a good
starting point: http://www.digizen.org/digicentral/family-agreement.aspx remember most popular gaming
devices like the Xbox, Wii and PSP connect to the Internet so the same online safety advice applies.
3) Find out what parental controls are available on your device and use them if you have to:
http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology
If you would like any further information please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs C M O’Donnell
Head Teacher
Top Tips
Whereas the following tip has been given in good faith we recommend parents evaluate it themselves, especially
where a download suggestion has been made. School cannot be held responsible for any link that has become
corrupted or causes damage to a device.
1) Did you know Google Safe Search helps to block unwanted sites from being viewed and the good news is it
also works on YouTube.
To install simply type “Google safe search” and follow the instructions.
2) Did you know children as young as 3 are playing computer games but how do you know which ones are
suitable for the age of your child? The PEGI website has loads of good information on gaming sites. Take a
look:
http://www.pegi.info
3) Did you know putting parental controls on a device without having a discussion with your child about safe
and responsible use is only half the battle to keeping children safe online. Childnet International have some
great advice on:
http://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/have-a-conversation
4) Do you know where to go for help if your child is unfortunate enough to have been approached online by
somebody who is making them feel afraid? The Child Exploitation and Protection Centre (CEOP) has a report
button on their website, It also has some great advice as well: www.thinkuknow.co.uk
5) Did you know many children wouldn’t tell a parent if they were being bullied online because they are
worried their parents might stop them going on the Internet. The way to prevent this and encourage them
to tell a trusted adult is not to over react when they tell you. There are three golden rules children should
know what to do if they are unfortunate to be bullied online:
a) Tell a trusted adult
b) Keep the evidence
c) Don’t reply to abusive messages
6) Did you know there are some virus’s that can turn on webcams or GPS functions on devices? Keep your
computer virus protection up to date and remind children not to accept files from people they don’t know in
the offline world. For free products try:
http://free.avg.com/ww-en/homepage or https://www.avast.com/en-gb/index (there are others).
7) Did you know you can put software on your device that will help stop offensive material from being viewed?
What’s more you can do it for free. Have a look at:
http://www1.k9webprotection.com/
8) Did you know most responsible games providers have a report and or block feature. A good idea would be to
sit with your child and check they know how to do this. If your child is receiving sexual or threatening
messages etc don’t forget to report the user as well as blocking them. See
http://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/Parents/ for more advice.
9) Did you know the UK has two excellent centres for learning more about how you and your child can stay safe
on the Internet? Have a look at:
http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/ (there are others)