Online Safety

The internet is a brilliant place to connect with others,  be creative and to discover new things. However, sometimes things can happen online that can make children feel worried or unsafe. Do you and your children  know what to do if this happens? Here are some options that will help your child:

• Speak to the House Manager in the House Office
• Speak to a Designated Safeguarding Lead in school – follow the link to see who our Designated Safeguarding Leads are http://www.stanselmscanterbury.org.uk/Safeguarding-and-Online-Safety/Online-Safety-Students/
• Use Tootoot to log a concern https://tootoot.co.uk/login
• Visit our Online Safety page on our school website which records links to reporting sites such as CEOP  http://www.stanselmscanterbury.org.uk/Online-Safety/

All of our pupils are taught how to stay safe and behave appropriately online, but this approach is only successful if we work together and reinforce safe behaviour at home too. You can keep up to date by visiting our Safeguarding news and updates page on our website http://www.stanselmscanterbury.org.uk/Safeguarding-news-and-updates/

 Sports and other clubs

While these activities are invaluable to children you will want to be sure that those working with your children are suitably qualified and vetted. To that end, the sorts of questions that you might want to consider include:

•  Are staff and volunteers appropriately qualified & suitable to work with children?
• Does the organisation have a child protection policy?
•  Does the organisation have a written code of behaviour/conduct?
• What arrangements are there for away fixtures and other events?
• What training has been provided for staff and volunteers?
• Does the club have a clear health and safety policy?
• Would they be able to contact you in an emergency?
  
  

Staying safe when out and about 

All children can be vulnerable sometimes, and as a parent it is only natural to worry about their safety. Whilst we can’t wrap them up in cotton wool all of the time, you can help equip your children with some of the following tips.

Statistics show that crime against children by strangers is rare. Even so, these tips can help equip your child to enable them to be safer when outside of the home environment: 

• Make sure someone always knows where they are going and when they will be back, even if they only have a general idea it is better than nothing
• When going out at night it is always a good idea to go out in a group or at least with one other person 
• If they have a mobile phone, it is a good idea to take it with them to enable them to make contact with you should the need arise
• If they are taking the bus, sitting near the driver so you are not isolated at the back of the bus can be a good idea
• If they are concerned about someone on the bus then tell them to speak to the bus driver if it is safe to do so
• Stay alert, and keep personal stereos/MP3 players turned off, so they can hear what's going on around them
• Tell them to stick to busy, well-lit roads, and avoid short cuts through alleyways
• If they think someone is following them, they should cross the road or go to a place with lots of people around, like a bus stop or a shop
• When travelling by bus, your child should try to use bus stops on busy roads
• If someone tries to take something from them, they should not try to fight back 
• Tell them to keep valuables out of sight
• Tell them to speak up if they feel they might be in danger – go into the nearest shop etc. and explain their concerns

If you have any additional concerns regarding the safeguarding of your child, then please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s house office

 Snapchat Snap Map 

As you are probably aware, many of our students communicate using the Snapchat app. We would like to make everyone aware of a recent development to this app. It is called Snap Map and it will automatically download if you update the Snapchat app. Snap Map tracks your current location and places your Snapchat icon (avatar) on a map, like a pin. Others can zoom in and find exactly where you are, down to the street address. Obviously, Snapchat sees Snap Map as a fun and convenient way to connect with friends, however, all users should consider that there are many implications of a technology that constantly broadcasts your location. We advise all Snapchat users to carefully consider their use of Snap Map. It is possible to turn the location feature off in the app settings. Snapchat have a guide on how to do this on their website -  https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/article/location-snap-map

For further information with regards to safeguarding your child online, please refer to our Safeguarding and Online Safety section on our school website http://www.stanselmscanterbury.org.uk/Safeguarding-and-Online-Safety/

Blue Whale Game

 Kent Safeguarding Children Board (KSCB) have issued advice regarding the ‘Blue Whale Game’ - a phenomenon which has been claimed to be responsible for a number of teenager’s deaths in Russia. Following thorough research and consultation by various organisations it has been identified that the ‘Blue Whale Game’ is an example of a sensationalised fake news story and no reported cases have been found to have a conclusive tie to the game. Whilst the content originated as a fake news story, the recent publicity around it is believed to have led to copycat behaviour amongst young people.

With this in mind, Rebecca Avery and Ashley Assiter from KSCB have written a blog post with helpful advice in responding to such issues. https://kentesafety.wordpress.com/2017/04/28/online-safety-alerts-think-before-you-scare/

 Yellow app

It has come to our attention that several pupils across the year groups have downloaded and become users of the 'Yellow' app on their mobile devices.

You may or may not be aware that this app has been likened to the adult dating app Tinder, but is for young people and it has the facility to exchange photographs in an unregulated environment.  The link below gives you further information about the app and you may want to discuss it with your son(s)/daughter(s).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/21/rspcc-warning-over-tinder-like-app-for-teenagers/

We continue to encourage safe behaviour whilst online and steer our pupils to make appropriate choices, as I am sure you do too, in a constantly changing environment.  If you have any safety concerns please do not hesitate to contact us via your son/daughter's House office.

 MyLOL

Police have issued a warning to schools over the use of teen dating app MyLOL. While the site is officially open to people aged 13 to 19, there have been reported instances of older men signing up. A Met spokesman said: “Concerns around the safety of the app have been shared by forces across the UK, and our Safer Schools Officers passed this information on to schools in London to help make them aware and share with parents who may wish to take action as necessary.”

For further information with regards to safeguarding your child online, please refer to the Parent Online Safety page on our school website http://www.stanselmscanterbury.org.uk/Online-Safety/. There are resources located on this page for reporting concerns and further guidance.