Collaborating with Parents/Guardians
Safeguarding is the responsibility of all adults and schools benefit from engaging with their parent body around safer internet use. Most schools have the experience of parents asking ‘how much screen time is ok?’ ‘How do we protect our children online? ’What is the school doing to teach about the internet to our students?’
Parents and/or carers have a role to play in supporting students to be internet-wise. In many of the international settings, our students may be supported for many hours by home helpers so they should be involved as well.
Children have access to handheld devices from a very young age. Parents should be encouraged to have frequent conversations with their son/daughter about both the benefits as well as drawbacks of the internet. Educators worldwide are conscious of how adept our students are at finding creative ways around obstacles placed to stop them from accessing the internet. The more accomplished can override firewalls or passwords. Many parents live in blissful ignorance that the measures they have put into place are insufficient to protect their children or stop them from using the internet late at night. However, class teachers are presented with students who are tired due to being up late on gaming sites!
Working in partnership with parents is the most efficient way to engage parents and elicit their support. Consideration should be given to holding parent workshops led by and your IT and Safeguarding Lead.
Below are some sites to share with your parent body and resources you can use within information evenings.
Free Online Safety App for Parents & Educators.
Other useful resources
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