The Internet is an invaluable resource for students who use it in a responsible and mature way. It aids learning and communication and should be used to enrich and extend learning activities. However there are dangers to using the Internet and students need to be aware of these in order to protect themselves.

What is E-Safety

We interact with new technologies such as mobile phones and the Internet on a daily basis and experience a wide range of opportunities, attitudes and situations. The exchange of ideas, social interaction and learning opportunities involved are greatly beneficial but can occasionally be dangerous.

Top Tips on How to Stay Safe On Line

Chat Rooms

  • Be careful who you trust online and remember that online friends are really strangers. People online, no matter how long you have been talking to them or how friendly they are, may not be who they say they are.
  • Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. If you feel that you ‘have to’ meet, then for your own safety you must tell your parent or carer and take them with you – at least on the first visit – and meet in a public place in daytime.
  • Stay in charge in chat. Keep your personal information secret when chatting online (name, address, telephone number, mobile number, private email address, picture), even if people ask for this. Although It can be tempting to reveal more than you normally would in online friendships, giving out personal information can make you vulnerable.
  • Check your profile and make sure it doesn’t include any personal information (name, address, telephone number, mobile number, private email address, picture).
  • Get away from an unpleasant situation in a chatroom by logging out (this just takes one click) or by changing your screen name.
  • Think before you answer private messages. It can be harder to end a conversation in a private chat than in a public chat. A private chat may end up being more personal than you like.
  • Use a nickname, not your real name, and a nickname that is not going to attract the wrong type of attention.
  • Look out for your friends and do something if you think that they are at risk.
  • Tell your parent or carer if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.
  • Learn how to keep/save a copy of the conversation in chat – this may be useful if you want to report something.
  • Learn how to block/ignore people.
  • Check you know how to report something you feel uncomfortable about to the chatroom provider or moderator.

E-mail

  • Only give your email address out to people you already know and trust – not to people you have only met online. Be careful that your email address is not in your profile or on other websites where people you don’t know can find it.
  • Respect your friends. Don’t give out their email addresses without their permission – and never use emails to bully or manipulate others.
  • Keep a record. If somebody is bullying or harassing you via email, then keep the email and don’t delete it. You don’t need to read it, just save it in a folder, even your junk folder. It may help you to find out who is sending the messages if you don’t already know, and it will definitely make the situation easier to explain to someone when you tell them. Keep the email until you have discussed how to stop it with somebody you trust. And do tell someone about it.
  • Tell someone if you receive a message or messages that are bullying, or make you feel uncomfortable or at danger. Tell your parents, or a teacher or counsellor at school. Even telling your friends can help. There are organisations where you can receive advice anonymously, such as Childline in the UK which you can reach on 0800 1111. If the message or messages you have received are threatening or harassing then you should tell your local police.
  • Learn how to block/ignore people
  • Change your email address if blocking doesn’t work and you are still receiving messages from someone you do not want to get messages from.
  • Have more than one account. Use a personal one for friends and family for example. If you have to give an email address for entering a competition or registering for a service, it is a good idea to use a different address to your personal one, as this may lead to you receiving a lot of unwanted spam mail for example.
  • Never open attachments from people you don’t know. Sometimes viruses might be sent unknowingly in attachments from your friends and family – check with the person who sent it if you are unsure about an attachment they sent.
  • Don’t click on any links in spam. You do not know where you will end up, and it will make you vunerable to receive viruses.
  • Don’t forward spam on to your friends, no matter how threatening it is or what you have been promised.
  • Choose an email address that is difficult to guess, i.e. a series of numbers and letters. It is best not to have any identifying information in your email address, such as full name, age, or location.
  • Don’t put your email address anywhere on the Internet, in a profile or on a personal website for example. It is worth using a separate account to your personal one when entering competitions or other things online that require an email address.
  • Only give out your personal email address to family and friends.
  • Never reply to spam. Even if it says ‘unsubscribe’ or ‘Be removed from the list’ do not reply, as it may just confirm your email address to the sender and may mean you get even more spam!
  • Spam filters or junk mail filters can offer some protection by diverting suspected spam into a junk mail folder – ask your provider about this.

Instant Messenger

  • Do you know everyone on your buddy or contacts list? Think carefully about who is on your list. People on IM, like in chat, may not be who they say they are, so a friend of a friend is not necessarily a friend.
  • Keep your personal information secret when talking to someone you don’t know in the real world. Also think about what visible information you have, for example in your Profile or Member directory.
  • Learn how to keep an archive/save a copy of your conversation, and don’t be afraid to tell someone you are saving their conversation…
  • Learn how to block/ignore people…
  • Check you know how to report something you feel uncomfortable about to the Messenger provider…
  • Use a nickname, not your real name, and a nickname that is not going to attract the wrong type of attention.
  • Keep your username and password private, and change your password on a regular basis
  • Don’t reply to abusive messages. Don’t send abusive messages either. It’s best not to say anything on IM that you wouldn’t say to someone’s face.
  • Don’t accept messages from people you don’t know.
  • Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. If you feel that you ‘have to’ meet, then for your own safety you must tell your parent or carer and take them with you – at least on the first visit – and meet in a public place in daytime.
  • Don’t pass the buck – if someone you have accepted on your buddy or contacts list is acting weird, don’t pass them on to a friend. You could be putting your friend at risk. Just block them and report them to an adult.

On-line Gamers

  • There is no difference between chatting on a gaming site and on a chat site – so check the info about safe chat!
  • Be careful who you trust online and remember that online friends are really strangers. People you are playing with online, no matter how long you have been chatting to them or how friendly they are, may not be who they say they are.
  • Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. If you feel that you ‘have to’ meet, then for your own safety you must tell your parent or carer and take them with you – at least on the first visit – and meet in a public place in daytime.
  • Stay in charge in chat. Keep your personal information secret in the online game, in the profile and in chat (name, address, telephone number, mobile number, private email address, picture), even if people ask for this. Although it can be tempting to reveal more than you normally would in online friendships, giving out personal information can make you vulnerable.
  • Look after each other. Don’t give out your friend’s personal information online as it could put them at risk. Look after and respect your friends while you are online.
  • Think about your username or ‘handle’. Use a nickname, not your real name, and a nickname that is not going to attract the wrong type of attention.
  • Learn how to block another player. If another player is behaving badly and annoying you then you should block them so you don’t hear from them again.
  • You can always kick someone out of the game if they are making you feel uncomfortable.
  • If there is voice chat on the game, sometimes you can disguise your voice by using a voice mask – these will make you sound different, like a robot for example. If you don’t want people to know your age or gender, this may be useful.
  • But be careful using voice chat. It may feel like you are talking over the phone, but remember that you are chatting to a stranger. It is still important to keep safe and not give people your personal information while talking to them.
  • Learn how to report another user. If another player is making you feel uncomfortable, by harassing you for personal information for example, then you should report them to the games provider.
  • Learn how to keep a record, and keep any key information. It’s easier to explain a problem if you can show it.

Mobiles 

  • Only give your mobile number out to people you already know and trust.
  • Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. If you feel that you ‘have to’ meet, then for your own safety you must tell your parent or carer and take them with you – at least on the first visit – and meet in a public place in daytime.
  • Respect your friends’ privacy and don’t give out their numbers without their permission.
  • Learn how to block other users.
  • Get your friends’ permission before taking pictures of them, and especially before sending pictures to someone else or to the Internet. Remember that as soon as you have sent them, you can’t control where they end up.
  • Look after each other and think about what you send to people. Remember when you text you can’t see the impact your words or images will have, or be able to explain them, so it is definitely better to show respect to people.
  • Never reply to text messages from people you don’t know. This includes spam.

Cyber Bullying

Good Internet Practise stops Cyber Bullying.  Before you send an e-mail or post a comment think about the following:

  • If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all.
  • Don’t attack others online, say anything that could be considered insulting or that is controversial.
  • Are you angry when you are writing this message?
  • Is it worth sending? Don’t waste peoples’ time or bandwidth with junk, chain e-mails and false rumors.
  • Start by making sure you are sending things to the right place, that it arrives and that the right person gets it.
  • How private is the message you are sending? Are you willing to have others read this message or forward it to others without your permission?
  • Proofread and spell-check your e-mails and make sure they know who you are.
  • Don’t forward other people’s e-mails without their permission or share their personal information.
  • Don’t reply to spam, even to ask to be removed from their mailing list.

Do you ever feel that your child knows more about online technology than you do?

You’re not alone. The internet and online technologies are an important part of children’s lives at home and school, providing great opportunities for learning, communicating, playing and creating. As we know, these technologies create huge opportunities for us all, however, they can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, and present challenges to keeping your family safe online.

Here at Archbishop Holgate’s School we go to great lengths to keep your child safe whilst using the internet in school. However, it is recognised by all leading agencies, including the Department for Education and Skills that using the internet can never be 100% safe. We have an Acceptable Use Policy which outlines to you and your children safe working practices and procedures and we are routinely conducting e-safety assemblies and tutor group workshops as well as dedicated e-safety IT classes.

Technology has many benefits, but as you hear in the news, it also has many dangers, below are some useful resources to ensure your child is safe on the internet at home: