Support for Parents & Carers
There are an enormous variety of Online Safety resources available and as Parents and Carers, it is often challenging to know where to start or where to find information on a specific topic. The items below have therefore been highlighted as a selection of recommended resources specifically designed for Parents and Carers on different aspects. The resources below have been compiled from lancashiresafeguarding.org.uk.
Note: A common question from Parents & Carers is where to find information on setting up internet content filters at home. As these will vary according to local circumstance, the Internet Matters resource below covers implementing settings for Sky, Virgin Media, BT and TalkTalk broadband connections as well as other areas such as mobile phone settings.
CSAP/LSAB Twitter: Stay in touch through TwitterRisk Area: VariousWhilst we may be more used to tackling the challenges posed through Social Media, our Twitter feed provides useful advice, news, information and resources on a variety of issues, both Online Safety and wider Safeguarding topics.Find out the latest updates and follow us on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LancsSguarding |
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BBC News: Step-by-step guide to video calling family membersRisk Area: Health & WellbeingAs our children and young people repeatedly emphasised during the MyAdvice project, we must not forget the positives aspects of technology. In circumstances where it isn't possible to meet face-to-face, family can stay in touch through video chat platforms such as Skype, Facetime and WhatsApp. This really useful step-by-step guidance from BBC Tech walks through how to set up and stay in touch with family members on different platforms and devices.BBC News – Step-by-step Video: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51968122 |
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Childnet: Online Safety activities to do at homeRisk Area: VariousOur colleagues at Childnet have published a great collection of resources to explores online safety at home with children and young people ranging from 3 - 18. Activities include film clips, advice and quizzes plus support around managing screen time.Access the collection at: https://www.childnet.com/resources/online-safety-activities-you-can-do-from-home |
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BBC Teach - 5 Ways to keep children learning at homeRisk Area: Health & WellbeingWith children at home for extended periods, continuing their learning can be a challenge for parents and carers. BBC Teach has some useful tips to help keep them learning and engaged.Find out more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/five-ways-to-keep-your-kids-learning-at-home/z4966v4 |
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BBC OwnIT: 5 Tips to Own Your PhoneRisk Area: ScreentimeThe BBC OwnIT team provides some useful advice in the form of 5 tips to help your child stay in control of their phone rather than the other way around. The tips (useful for adults too) include rules, boundaries and encouraging positivity as well as links to the highly-regarded BBC OwnIT app.Find out more at: https://www.bbc.com/ownit/about-us/getting-their-first-phone |
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Childnet: Creating a Family AgreementRisk Area: VariousA point regularly discussed on parental sessions and courses, this is particularly useful to help manage expectations, screentime and encourage positive behaviour online. This updated resource from our colleagues at Childnet can prove useful to discuss and set agreed boundaries for family members (don't forget, family agreements apply to adults too!).Access the Childnet Family Agreement: https://www.childnet.com/resources/family-agreement |
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CSAP Focus On...Staying Safe Online over the Festive Season (updated)Risk Area: VariousAs many children and young people may receive gifts such as Smartphones, Tablets and Gaming Consoles over the festive period, the latest Focus On... article looks at some considerations, supporting information and useful tips to consider to help our children stay safe online.A downloadable version of the Focus On... article is available here or by clicking the icon on the left. |
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Childline: Its My ChildlineRisk Area: Various Childline have developed a useful website aimed at under-12s which provides support and information on a variety of topics including staying safe, bullying, your body & feelings. The site includes a number of fun activities and creative tools children can use.Take a look at the resource at: https://www.childline.org.uk/kids |
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Digital Parenting 2019Risk Area: Various The latest release (Issue 7) of the Vodafone Digital Parenting resource is now available. The highly-recommended magazine resource is free to access online and includes articles on improving digital-life balance, tips for children starting to use social media, parental controls & filtering and better smartphone security.Access both the current and previous editions of Digital Parenting at: www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/digital-parenting/archive |
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Childnet - Answering Parents Commonly Asked QuestionsRisk Area: Various Questions raised during Parental Awareness sessions typically highlight that it is common for parents and carers to sometimes feel unconfident or lacking knowledge in order to have a conversation about the online world with their children. Our colleagues at Childnet have produced some useful guidance to help answer frequently asked questions parents may have on topics including how to talk about spending too much time online, increasing your online knowledge, underage social network use and online game ratings.Access the guidance at: www.saferinternet.org.uk/blog/answering-parents-commonly-asked-online-safety-questions |
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Social Media - Reporting Harmful Content OnlineRisk Area: Social Media Provided by the UK Safer Internet Centre and operated by our colleagues at SWGfL, this new reporting facility allows users to find useful advice and guidance about making online reports as well as providing users with the ability to make a report for further investigation. The portal requires users (aged 13 and over) to have already reported material to the Social Media platform involved before making a report and covers a variety of platforms.The facility is currently in beta version and can be accessed via the link below. It is a highly recommended resource for those who may have already attempted to have content removed but been unsuccessful when initially reporting with providers.Access the portal at: https://reportharmfulcontent.online/ |
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LSCB Focus On...What is PEGI?Risk Area: Online Gaming One area that can sometimes be overlooked when it comes to Online Safety is Online Gaming. Designed to support Parents and Carers, the LSCB has developed a dedicated Focus On... article which looks at the ratings system used in the UK, explaining what PEGI is used for, what 'Content Descriptors' are and includes some useful examples of popular games often raised when delivering school and parental awareness sessions.Find out more about PEGI in the Focus On... section or download the standalone resource here: Focus On...What is PEGI? |
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CEOP ThinkUKnow - Band Runner (8-10 year olds)Risk Area: Various Featuring characters and safety messages from the highly-regarded Thinkuknow (TUK) Play Like Share films, Band Runner is a fun game that puts children’s knowledge about online safety to the test by asking them to help characters make safe choices. The game provides clear and practical safety advice for 8-10 year olds under the Play, Like, Share, Chat, Lock and Explore headings.Access Band Runner on the TUK site at: www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/band-runner |
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BBC 'Own It' WebsiteRisk Area: Various The highly-regarded BBC ‘Own It’ website was launched in February 2018 and contains a variety of entertaining, useful, fun and empowering tips, insights, stories and advice aimed at supporting 9-12 year olds in getting the most out of their time online. Own It brings a child’s perspective of online life and the issues it throws up, covering a variety of areas from online privacy and avoiding malware, through to dealing with everyday dilemmas children face online.Access the BBC ‘Own It’ site at: https://www.bbc.com/ownit |
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Childnet – A Parent’s guide to Fortnite: Battle RoyaleRisk Area: Online Gaming Fortnite - Battle Royale is a hugely popular game with Children and Young People of all ages and revolves around a PVP (Player Versus Player) survival combat theme which is free to download (although in-game purchases are available). Our colleagues at Childnet have produced a very useful guide for parents explaining its features including a game overview, age requirements and tips/advice for discussion with your child.Access the guide to Fortnite: Battle Royale at: http://www.childnet.com/blog/a-parents-guide-to-fortnite-battle-royale |
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The Royal Foundation - Bullying Taskforce ProjectRisk Area: Online Bullying As referred to in the News & Events section, The Duke of Cambridge has launched The Royal Foundation’s Taskforce on the Prevention of Cyberbullying. The Taskforce has created an Action Plan designed to kick-start a new approach to support young people when they use Social Media and Gaming Platforms.To find out more about the project including the Action Plan and a short, animated video clip, use the link below. www.royalfoundation.com/duke-cambridge-launches-national-action-plan-tackle-cyberbullying |
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Digging into MinecraftRisk Area: Online Gaming Despite having been around for a number of years, a regular topic of questions from Parents and Carers continues to be around the immensely popular game Minecraft. As referred to in the Focus On... section, this resource has been developed to help inform Parents & Carers about what Minecraft is, why it remains so popular and what things we can do that will help our children to stay safe whilst having fun.You can find the article in the Focus On... section of the site or download the standalone resource here: Focus On...Digging into Minecraft |