Online Safety – Parent Event
Forest takes its responsibility to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of our pupils very seriously, and with issues such as cyberbullying, online grooming, identity theft, cyber theft, cyberstalking and sexting consistently in the news, we are working hard to help and inform our pupils.
In the same way we teach our children about safety when they leave the house, it is extremely important that they learn how to stay safe online. In many ways, they are already highly connected, living in an age of high-tech communication, leading technology driven lifestyles and will think nothing of using social media as their primary form of communication. We all know that the potential for the internet to be a valuable and fun resource for entertainment, making friends, keeping in touch and learning is huge, however, anyone who uses the internet is at risk of falling victim to illegal activity, including serious sexual, physical and emotional abuse and worse.
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England said recently: “Children spend half their leisure time online. The internet is an incredible force for good but it is wholly irresponsible to let them roam in a world for which they are ill-prepared, which is subject to limited regulation and which is controlled by a small number of powerful organisations. It is critical that children are educated so that they can enjoy the opportunities provided by the internet whilst minimising the well-known risks”.
The internet is a place where our children should be safe, therefore in order to support you in this as parents, we are inviting you to attend this event led by leading social media safety organisation Digital Awareness UK. The presentation will talk you through the most popular social networks, explain how they work, how your children are using them, what the associated dangers are, and offer advice on digital living, including screen time and netiquette (internet etiquette). You will also be offered guidance about the steps you can take to protect your children at home. Earlier on in the day, Digital Awareness will have delivered separate sessions with pupils, so we would urge you to talk to your son/daughter after the event.
If you would like to attend the Online Safety Information Evening on Monday 23rd January please visit the Parent Portal to book your place. This event is open only to Forest School parents.