Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to our new ‘online safety’ advice, guidance and support page, ‘Wake Up Wednesday - what parents / carers need to know’. Each week we will post articles of interest to this page that should help you and your child. 

Children regularly use different websites and apps from their parents, and it can be hard to keep up in this ever-changing digital world. But the things that help keep children safe online are often similar to the things that keep them safe offline.

Encourage your child to think critically and question what they see online. Talk to them about where they go to get information they trust, talk about fake news, fake followers and scams. Help them develop a healthy suspicion of whether people are who they say they are.  

Share your knowledge and experience of good and unhealthy relationships.

Show them how to report any worrying behaviour they see online – for example through Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command or the Internet Watch Foundation.

We can help prepare children for their futures if we help them go online safely and responsibly.