Children at Cathcart Street Primary School use the Internet on a regular basis as part of their learning. In school, we have regular 'e-safety' activities to remind children of the importance of keeping themselves safe online.
At home, sometimes children can be given unsupervised access to the Internet. This, potentially, allows them to access all kinds of society (both good and bad) and bring them virtually into their homes.
Here are some tips and useful links to help you to keep your children safe online:
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, YouTube (with parental consent), - All of these social media sites have a minimum age restriction of 13, so our pupils should NOT be using them. They do not offer the same levels of protection as the Cathcart VLE, allowing children to communicate with anyone and view inappropriate material.
Keep your computer in a shared area - Talk to your child about what they are doing online and, if possible, set up your computer in a shared area at home so that you can all share in the wonderful sites that are available online.
Explore e-safety sites - There are lots of links to useful e-safety sites for children on our Class Pages. They are great fun to explore, so why not browse through them with your children?
Download our eSafety Posters: We have e-safety posters on display in our classrooms. Why not download a copy (from below) and put one up next to the computer at home and talk about it with your children?
Through classroom activities, planned ICT sessions and assemblies, we make the children continualy aware of the SMART Internet rules:
S = SAFE - Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information – such as your full name, email address, phone number, home address, photos or school name – to people you are chatting with online.
M = MEETING - Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents’ or carers’ permission and even then only when they can be present.
A = ACCEPT - Accepting emails, IM messages, or opening files, pictures or texts from people you don’t know or trust can lead to problems – they may contain viruses or nasty messages!
R = RELIABLE - Information you find on the internet may not be true, or someone online may be lying about who they are.
T = TELL - Tell your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied online.
Here are some website links that might provide more guidance:
At the bottom of the page is a copy of our E-Safety Curriculum Overview, Mobile Phones Leaflet and E-Safety Posters.
PARENTS
Please speak to Miss Sheridan, Year 6 Teacher, if you have any ICT questions or concerns. We try to support the community as much as we can, holding parents' ICT events and training sessions. Please read newsletters, check the school bulletin board and school website for any upcoming events or training opportunities.