Furze Down School E-safety
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E-Safety

Working together to ensure the well-being of all

Momo challenges

27/2/2019

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Unpleasant web-based 'challenges' have been around for a while.  One such challenge is called 'Momo' and it has recently resurfaced via YouTube and other social networks.

National Online Safety (NOS) has produced a useful guide that we would strongly encourage parents to read.    NOS has also provided the image below.

Link to National Online Safety Momo guide for parents
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Fortnite and other games

21/5/2018

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Many children enjoy playing computer games.  However, it's important that we make the right choices in providing games that are appropriate and safe.   The NSPCC has produced a very useful article on the safe use of computer games:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-games-helping-children-play-safe/

​One game in particular has been very popular recently - Fortnite.   Again, the NSPCC have written a very useful article linked to the game, and we strongly recommend that parents read the article if they've chosen to allow their children to play Fortnite:

​https://www.net-aware.org.uk/news/fortnite-all-you-need-know/
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E-safety update - February 2018

6/2/2018

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Safer Internet Day 2018 took place on February  6th 2018.  Pupils around the school took part in a range of activities, with many receiving a certificate in acknowledgement of their efforts.
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2018

PC Briggenshaw visited the school on February 8th, meeting with parents from across the school.  The sessions were very informative, with plenty of very useful tips shared:
  • https://getsafeonline.org  - very useful website with free online expert advice to help stay safe.
  • E-safety helplines are available, with facilities to report concerns, including:
    • CEOP - https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/ 
    • Childline - https://childline.org.uk
    • Internet Watch Foundation - https://www.iwf.org.uk
  • Parent Info website has a range of useful information: http://parentinfo.org.   A digital parenting magazine is also produced and we will be sending home a copy of this shortly.
  • Snapchat; Snapchat is a popular tool for communicating, but it comes with a range of risks.  PC Briggenshaw described the importance of ensuring location tracking is disabled and that we need to ensure only safe photographs are sent.
  • Public Wifi; PC Briggenshaw described the dangers of public wifi, outlining how such public wifi hotspots are very popular with young adults but they can be dangerous.  The following video clip link describes some of the dangers: https://vimeo.com/142180832
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Roblox reminder

30/1/2018

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We have written previously about the dangers of Roblox - click for link - but we would like to remind parents that Roblox is not recommended.

Whilst Roblox may initially appear child-friendly with its blocks, potentially users can chat with strangers online.   Also, as characters and landscapes can be designed by any users, there is also potential for children to view unsuitable images.

PC Briggenshaw, our E-safety link from the Police, strongly discourages the use of Roblox.

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Live streaming

8/12/2017

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The dangers of live streaming have been in the national news recently; you may have seen the article on the BBC news, where live streaming is described as an 'urgent threat':
  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42224148

We though it would be useful to direct you to information about what live streaming is and how you can keep your family safe from the risks.  CEOP have produced detailed guidance on the Think U Know website that we would strongly encourage you to read:
  • https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/live-streaming-responding-to-the-risks/

Please do contact us in school if we can support or help with this, or any e-safety concerns you may have.

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Screenshot of Think U Know website
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Social media age limits

13/10/2017

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To keep our children safe, social networks have age limits.  According to a recent survey by the NSPCC, more than half of the parents surveyed were unaware of such age restrictions.  As such, we thought it would be useful to share the age limits with yourselves.

Facebook
Facebook requires its users to be 13 before they create an account, including registering an account on behalf of someone.

WhatsApp
The minimum age of use for WhatsApp was prevoiusly 16 but it has recently been changed to 13. 

YouTube
To have a YouTube account users must be 18, or 13 with parental permission.

Twitter
To have a Twitter account users must be 13.

Instagram
To have an Instagram account users must be 13.



At school, our pupils can be subjected to peer pressure to have access to some or all of the above listed networks.  We encourage our pupils to be resilient to such pressure, remembering that there are so many more valuable and enjoyable ways to spend time.  In discussion with parents, quite often the line used by pupils is, 'everyone else has it'; this, of course, isn't always the case.

We'd also like make parents aware of the dangers of pupils sharing mobile phone numbers to group chats.  When shared to a group chat, all members of the group can access the mobile phone number.   

We encourage our pupils to:
Zip, Block, Flag

Zip - don't give away personal information online.
Block - block people/strangers who send inappropriate messages.
Flag - tell a trusted adult if anything online makes you feel unhappy.



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In-app purchasing

14/9/2017

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Many apps available for Apple, Windows or Android devices have an option called 'in-app purchasing'.  In-app purchasing could take the form of extra features, characters, lives or content in a gaming app - all very tempting to a child using the app!  With in-app purchasing, users could potentially end up paying a lot of money for using an app, which may well have originally been priced very cheaply or free when first downloaded.
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Tips to ensure you don't receive any unexpected bills:
1.  Apple users - setup restrictions on your devices to disable in-app purchases (General > Restrictions > In-app purchases),   ITunes on a Mac or PC can also be configured with restrictions.
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2.  Android users - ensure authentication is turned on - guide from Google on preventing unwanted purchases
3.  Windows 10 users - make sure you take advantage of 'family settings' - guide from Microsoft
4. Keep your App store/Windows Store/Google Play password safe, and ensure your children can't change or guess it.

Ofcom have produced a series of video guides demonstrating how to prevent shocks from bills:
​Link to Ofcom website

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Snapchat Map warning

7/7/2017

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We would like to warn parents about the dangers of location sharing online.  One app that has featured in the news is 'Snapchat'; Snapchat  has recently been upgraded to include a 'SnapMap' feature, potentially allowing a user's location to be viewed by other users. 

We highly recommended that you spend time with your child and any devices that they have, ensuring that any location sharing options are set appropriately.  SnapMap has a feature called 'Ghost Mode' that prevents users viewing locations.

Whilst location tracking can be useful for parents to check the location of a child's phone, such information in the hands of a stranger could be dangerous.

More information can be found at the BBC site below, including details about how to disable location sharing:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40509281

ThinkUKnow also publish a very useful guide to Snapchat:
Link to ThinkUKnow guide to Snapchat
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YouTube advice for parents

21/6/2017

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Many of our students have expressed an interest in YouTube, either for watching or publishing videos.   As such, we thought it would be useful to direct you to a very useful guide created by Think U Know.   Think U Know have also published other guides for parents relating to popular technology that children use.

Link to YouTube guide

Link to Think U Know How To Guides - https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Support-tools/How-to-guides/
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4 E-safety tips for parents

16/5/2017

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