Information from Alison Watts - CEOP
Internet Safety Parents Summary
The Internet is an exciting and positive place. It holds many opportunities for children and young people including careers, support, creativity, and engagement.
CEOP Education is part of the National Crime Agency’s response to online child sexual abuse
It aims to:
- increase professionals knowledge of online child sexual abuse and how to respond to it – through education and safeguarding.
- increase children’s knowledge, skills and resilience, making them safer online and ensuring they know how to seek help when they need it.
- give parents and carers the knowledge and skills to help their children be safer online and know how to seek help when they need it.
What helps and hinders?
Strategies used by Parents and Carers
- asking their child what they had been doing online (60%)
- checking their browser or device history (34%)
- talking to them and setting rules about device use (59%)
- using parental controls built into the device (31%)
- using content filters provided by the broadband supplier (27%)
Challenges
- Feeling overwhelmed by online risks and pace of changes in technology and social media.
- Fear of the topic area or belief it won’t happen to their child.
- Believing their child is too young to learn about it.
- Their own experiences of child sexual abuse or harm online.
- Believing that their child knows enough or more than them already.
What do Children want?
‘Children want to feel safe online. They want to be able to have the same protections in a virtual world…children were also asking for more support in this space’.
‘Children acknowledged the benefits of parents enforcing rules for keeping them safe, such as online controls, but they also felt that parents should trust their children and not be overly restrictive or punish too harshly, as this can affect a child’s willingness to engage and be open with them’.
What do Children Need?
- Children need to get online safety messages from a young age
- A building block approach supports children to build on their knowledge and skills
- Messages should be age appropriate to support their development
The Social Web Framework
The reality is that, whilst it is ever evolving, there are only a limited number of functions an app, game or site can have:
- Viewing
- Sharing
- Chatting
- Friending
We call this the social web framework. Looking at the benefits and risks in these four key areas can stop you getting overwhelmed with where to start with checking suitability or understanding all the apps, games or sites out there.
Viewing - What content can they see?
- The internet provides lots of opportunities for young people to learn and gain information and support
- Anyone can post and share content
- There may be inappropriate, sexual or violent content online
- Most apps and games include privacy and security settings
- Parental controls and filters can also help manage online activities
Talk to children and young people about the things they might see online and that they can talk to you or another adult they trust if they see something that makes them feel uncomfortable.
Age requirements on apps, sites and games can make you aware of the type of content your children may come across. Remember that most apps and games have a minimum age restriction of 13 years old
Sharing What can they share and who can they share it with?
- It’s easy to share online
- Younger children should seek permission before they share
- Children should never feel pressurised, uncomfortable or blackmailed
A child or young person may change their mind about something they have shared, or they may feel pressured to do so. Children and young people may also share content that upsets others, even if that’s not what they intended.
Talk to your child about what they are sharing and who can see the content. Help them to set privacy settings to limit who and what people can see on their accounts.
Chatting
- Chatting and meeting new people can be fun and appealing
- Most people just want to chat or be friends, but some seek to harm
- Advise them not to share too much personal information
- Talk to a trusted adult if anything worries them
Children and young people may be exposed to inappropriate chat, which includes sexual or violent conversations, or mean comments and insults. If a child is asked to move to private chat or to another app or site to talk, this chat will not be monitored, which means they may share information or feel pressured to do something they don’t want to.
Support your child to build a social network of those that they know in-person and talk to them about other trusted adults or services such as Childline that they can talk to about any problem, if they don’t want to speak with you for any reason.
Bullying
When you are relying 100% on words it’s easy that conversations can go out of control. But there is also the view that you can say anything online and its ok.
Friending
Children, and some adults, frequently refer to their online contacts as ‘friends’ even though they may have never met them face to face. The person may not be who they say they are, and some adults will use apps, sites and games which are popular in order to meet and abuse children and young people.
At primary age, it is recommended that children only socialise online with those they also know in person – they will need your help to support them to do this
Which apps should I be concerned about?
There are no apps, sites or games that are more or less dangerous or risky. People who want to harm children will use any sites or services which children use. Children should know to be wary of people they friend and talk to online, especially if they are asking to talk privately with them, and children should always be advised not share personal information online or any photos or videos that make them feel uncomfortable.
Top Tips
- Talk to your child - Talk about the videos they like to watch and watch some together, as this will help you to identify if they are suitable for them. Talk about what might make a video inappropriate and make sure they know what to do if they see anything they shouldn’t. Encourage your child to talk to you or another adult they trust if they see anything whilst watching videos that makes them feel worried, scared or sad.
- Look up the age ratings - Younger children are more likely to come across inappropriate content if they are using apps, websites or services before reaching the minimum age requirements. Check the age ratings or requirements before your child uses them for a guide as to whether it’s appropriate.
- Set up parental controls and filters - Most apps, sites, games and services have parental controls and filters to help you manage or limit the content your child may see. Some services also let you set up child accounts, so content can be automatically filtered, or you can choose what content your child can view and block any obvious adult content.
- Play with them. Play, or watch your children play, online games to understand how they talk online, who they talk to online and what you’re comfortable with.
- Encourage reporting. Encourage your children to report and tell you if anything they see makes them feel worried or uncomfortable
- Use devices in public spaces. Younger children should be closely supervised by an adult and live streaming should not take place in a private space, like the bedroom or bathroom.
- Privacy and safety settings. Go through the privacy and safety settings together with your child. Make sure only trusted friends and family they know offline can view their online profiles and videos.
- Be wary of requests to chat in private. Remind your child to be wary of people they meet online who want to chat to them in private, away from other people.
- Support. It’s really important that your child knows how to get support. Remind them that they can always speak to you or another adult they trust if they have any worries.
- Make sure they are ready. Remember, most of the popular social media services require users to be at least 13 years of age before they can register. It’s also a good idea to check out the social media site or app they want to use with them, look at the privacy settings, age requirements and talk with them about how they can use it safely.
- Be a great role model. What you do on social media will influence their online behaviour. Make sure your social media accounts are a good example to your child, by taking some time to check your friendships, privacy settings and the things you that you have posted.
- Get involved and support them. The best way you can protect your child is to establish a positive relationship with them around their life online. Let them know you want to support them as they begin to explore, and that they can come to you if they have any worries or problems. Talk about any worries you might have, and why you have them.
- Talk about safe social media use. Talk about what it means to be a good friend online, how would they deal with disagreements and how the treat their friends online. Talk about how to share with care.
Reporting
CEOP reporting is designed specifically for children, so that they always have somewhere to go if they are worried. The reporting form is designed to be as accessible as possible by children, but it is highly recommended that young children of primary school age seek the support of an adult they trust to help them make a report.
It is not possible to report to NCA-CEOP anonymously. NCA-CEOP advise any urgent reports where a child is in immediate danger should be reported to the local police force where the child is located.
Use this link to make a report to CEOP