Online Safety
As many of you will be aware there has been much publicity and concern on Social Media about the 'MOMO Challenge' over the last few days. Please be assured that we are in contact with our partners and will keep you updated on any developments. At the moment the advice is to talk to your pupils and parents about the need to stay safe online and how to do that. It is also important that any specific issues or concerns are reported online for the relevant bodies to investigate further. Please follow this link for a guide on how to report online https://youtu.be/WK8qRNSmhEU
The following link gives further information from Parentzone, this site is supported by both Education Scotland and Scottish Government, https://parentzone.org.uk/article/three-minute-briefing-momo-challenge
- Highlight the importance of children and young people having a good support network and talking with a trusted adult, especially family members, about apps, anything they have seen, heard or know about which they are worried about.
- Encourage parents to look at the following partner sites which all have guides and advice about digital trends and privacy settings:
- Parent Zone https://parentzone.org.uk/
- Net Aware https://www.net-aware.org.uk/
- Childnet https://www.childnet.com/young-people/primary/get-answers
- If any individual should come across any kind of difficulties whilst using social media, online gaming or internet based resources they should stop using the platform until they have let an adult know that there is an issue. The issue should also be reported online.
- Highlight the report a concern button via https://www.ceop.police.uk/CEOP-Reporting/ This can be used by any adult or child to report any concerns.
- Highlight that sites such as You Tube also have this feature built in https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802057?hl=en
- Use the assembly packs and material provided by the Internet Safety Matters to discuss staying safe online with young people. There are packs available for nursery/ early years, primary and secondary age groups and these are supported by Education Scotland too. These can be found via https://www.childnet.com/resources and https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2019/education-packs.
We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the message from Police Scotland :
"Online challenges like Momo may cause concern for parents however these 'challenges' appear every few months & we've seen other examples over time. Parents should not to panic but speak with their children about all aspects of their online world & explain potential dangers. There are lots of online safety tips, advice & resources to help parents and children and young people stay safe online are available on the CEOP ThinkuKnow website https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ or at the ParentZone https://parentzone.org.uk/"
The NSPCC have issued the following statement which can be shared too:
"The constantly evolving digital world means a steady influx of new apps and games and can be hard for parents to keep track of. That’s why it’s important for parents to talk regularly with children about these apps and games and the potential risks they can be exposed to. The NSPCC publishes advice and guidance for parents on discussing online safety with their children, as well as Net Aware – the UK’s only parental guide to social media and gaming apps. Our usual message applies that parents should be monitoring children’s use of technology and having regular conversations with them about what they are doing online and also speaking about what children should do if something ever frightens, worries or scares them. Unfortunately, Momo is just one of many examples of the risks children and young people may face when using technology. If adults are concerned or have any questions on how to approach the subject with their children you can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or visit the NSPCC website."
Parents can receive further support from NSPCC and Children and Families staff at our cluster parental online safety events. The events are cluster based but open to parents from any school across the city.
Braeview Academy 6th March, 6:30pm
St Paul's Academy 21st March, 6pm
Grove Academy 17th April, 6pm
Harris Academy 22nd April, 6pm