Priestlands School

With Christmas just around the corner, the holiday period is a great time to take stock of the devices they have (plus any new Christmas devices) and ensure they are set up correctly with any parental features you feel are appropriate for your child.
One frustrating issue is that the available features and how you set devices up differ, so to help parents Internet Matters have really good, non-techie guides which you can follow as part of their ABC Checklist. ABC stands for:

A - Activate parental controls

B - Balance screen time.

C - Check and chat.

You can find a full explanation, set up guides and excellent advice  HERE.

Cyber Security

Cyber security is fundamental to all of our lives -  from financial scams, identity theft, using public WiFi and much more. The excellent organisation, Internet Matters, have put together a number of articles and resources for parents and their children which go into these topics including:
 

• Creating secure accounts.
• Phishing and ransomware.
• Digital piracy,
• and much more.

You can find all the resources HERE.

When considering a private tutor for your child, safeguarding is crucial. Here are some key points for parents to keep in mind to keep your child safe, whether this is online or face to face.  

Remember, anyone can call themselves a tutor, so please click HERE and read this excellent advice from London Grid for Learning who always provide excellent safeguarding advice.

Hayley Yates

Designated Safeguarding Lead & Assistant Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

Please find attached a letter from the National Crime Agency which schools have been asked to share with parents across the country. The letter is about a recent rise nationally in cases of a crime called ‘sextortion’

where young people are targeted and groomed to share images of themselves. These images are then used to blackmail young people for financial gain.

The letter contains clear advice of how to support your children. The best support you can give is to have a curious and open relationship with your child and their habits online. If you require further support, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Hayley Yates
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Assistant Headteacher

As we navigate the digital landscape, it's essential to stay informed about the platforms our children use. Recently, there has been increased usage of Discord among young people.

What is Discord?

Discord is a platform that adults and children (over 13 years old) can engage with either public or private spaces. As the name suggests, the public servers (communities organised around a specific topic or group, often related to Roblox, Fortnight and Pokemon Go) are accessible to anyone, meaning whatever your child posts can be seen and engaged with by anyone else using the platform. These are likely to be people not known to them.

You can read more about it in the attached guide.

Internet Matters also publish these helpful resources.