Advice for parents and carers

At Waycroft Academy we take many steps to ensure that children are kept safe whilst using the internet on our devices.

We use a filtering system provided by Bristol City Council to prevent access to websites that are not suitable for learning.

Computer use is supervised and monitored by the class teacher so that to see what websites our students are using for their classwork.

Steps are taken to protect the children from unsuitable emails and cyber bullying. Our Email system is disabled for our students and only re-enabled when there is a class topic which requires this feature. 

Children are also taught how to use computers and the internet safely and we also partake in Safer Internet Day.

You can read more about digital safety using the links below.

https://www.childnet.com/

https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/

Social Media

The minimum age to open a Social Media account on services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp is between 13 and 16. Parents may choose to allow their children to use these services but we cannot recommend this. To keep your children safe on social media parents should ensure that the correct privacy settings are enabled, and that appropriate adult supervision is provided whilst using online services.

A great website to check for age ratings can be found below:

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews

 

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a free mobile messaging app which allows users to send and receive messages, images and videos to their existing phone contacts, using an internet connection. WhatsApp users can create groups and send messages to lots of their friends at the same time. 

  • Privacy settings: Normally if you know someone’s phone number, it can be easy to find out if they are on WhatsApp or not. To control who can find your profile picture and your status, or when you were last online, there are privacy settings that can be adjusted so either ‘everyone’ on WhatsApp can see your profile picture, just ‘your contacts’ which are the contacts in your phone book, or nobody. 
  • Blocking: You can block specific contacts from interacting with you on WhatsApp. If you block someone, they can no longer send you a message, however you will need to delete someone as a contact in your phone book if you want them not to see your profile on WhatsApp. As each phone is different, you can learn how you can block people on WhatsApp on different phone networks.
  • Reporting: You can report content to WhatsApp, although they state it is better to go to law enforcement if you believe your safety, or someone else's safety is at risk. It is important to screenshot the offending text/picture/video and to provide as much information as possible to WhatsApp as they won’t be able to see the message otherwise.
  • Spam: Should you receive a message from an unknown number, you will be immediately asked if you know this contact or if you would like to report it as spam.  

 

Instagram

Instagram is a photo and video sharing app that is popular with teens. People on Instagram can connect with one another through comments, captions and hashtags on photos and videos. 

  • Blocking: When people use the blocking feature, the person they block can't view their posts or search for their Instagram account.
  • Reporting a Post: You can report inappropriate posts, comments or people by using the built-in reporting features in the app. 
  • Deleting or Reporting Comments: You can flag or delete a comment as abuse or spam by swiping left on it. 
  • Privacy Settings: You can adjust your privacy settings to make your account private. This means that anyone who wants to see your photos or videos, followers, or following lists will have to send you a follow request for you to approve or ignore.
  • Location settings: Users choose when they share location on each post, this can also be edited at a later date

https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/social-media-guides/instagram

 

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website that is owned by Google. There are a range of safety features such as reporting tools and restricting access to inappropriate content in Safety Mode.

  • Flag content: report content that breaks the community guidelines (watch video)
  • Restricted mode: restrict access to age-inappropriate content 
  • Video privacy settings: you can make videos public, unlisted or private
  • Blocking: prevent someone from commenting on your videos or sending you messages
  • Comment moderation: stay in control of who can post comments on your videos
  • File a privacy complaint: you can request the removal of videos that include your image, full name or personal information
 

Fortnite

Fortnite has a PEGI rating of 12, PEGI have said this is due to the: ‘frequent scenes of mild violence. It is not suitable for persons under 12 years of age’.

This PEGI rating only takes into account the content in the game and not the contact element, where players may be exposed to swearing and offensive language from strangers, either through audio or on-screen text chat.

  • Have an open and honest conversation with your child
  • Play with them
  • Know how to make a report
  • See what other people think of Fortnite