#WakeUpWednesday!

Online Safety: Gaming, Online Bullying and Online Platforms

What Parents Need to Know about Discord!

Discord is a free app which allows users to communicate in real time via text, video or voice chat. Available on desktop and mobile devices, it was originally designed to help gamers cooperate – but has evolved into a more general networking platform for a range of online communities, discussing topics like TV series, music, Web3 and more.

Discord is organised around closed groups, referred to as ‘servers’. To join a server, users must be invited or provided with a unique link. It’s a space for users to interact with friends, meet others with shared interests and collaborate in private online — but it’s also a place where young people can be exposed to risks if the right precautions aren’t taken.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as cyberbullying, predators and inappropriate content.

SEND Green Paper

The government has published a green paper (discussion document) on the future of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision system.

You can read the proposals here (Over 100 pages long)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-ap-green-paper-responding-to-the-consultation/summary-of-the-send-review-right-support-right-place-right-time 

Here you can read shorter summaries:  

IPSEA

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/news/government-publishes-send-review-and-invites-peoples-views

National PCF

https://nnpcf.org.uk/2022/03/29/send-green-paper-response-from-the-nnpcf/

DPCV are collating parent/carers views via a short survey which includes 10 questions, focusing on themes relevant to parent/carers.

You can complete the survey HERE

Closing date: Thursday 26th May 2022

#WakeUpWednesday

Online Safety:Online Platforms.

Online Safety for Under 5s: 10 Top Tips for Parents and Carers

According to Ofcom’s most recent research, a significant proportion of children are already online by the time they start school, with 17% of 5-year-olds owning their own mobile phone and 50% using messaging platforms. As becoming familiar with technology is generally encouraged in younger children – and has been essential for education during the pandemic – it is essential that trusted adults recognise both the benefits and the risks of infants and toddlers going online. Here are some compiled top tips to help the under-5s start their online safety journey.

In the guide, you'll find tips such as managing screen time, block in-app purchases and using devices together.

#WakeUpWednesday

Online Safety: Mental Health

Loneliness Online: What Causes It and Ways to Feel Better

Does a child you know ever feel lonely when they’re online?

In a study by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, 14% of 10–12-year-olds said that they DID often feel lonely – so any child experiencing those feelings is, sadly, far from unusual.

To support Mental Health Awareness Week – which this year has the theme of ‘loneliness’ – The National Online Safety Group spoke to some children and teenagers, who told them some of the things that make them feel isolated when they’re online. They also suggested some ways they use technology to make themselves feel better when that happens, and this has been compiled into a loneliness-busting guide.

In the guide, you'll find tips such as taking breaks, playing single-player games and listening to your favourite audiobooks.

#WakeUpWednesday

Online Safety: Social Media, Online Bullying, Online Information and Online Relationships.

What parents need to know about: Group Chats

Occurring through messaging apps, on social media and in online games, group chats are among the most popular ways that young people engage with their peers online. Involving, by definition, three or more individuals, these groups allow users to send messages, images and videos to everyone in one place. While they are useful for helping friends, people with shared interests or members of a club to communicate and coordinate activities, they can also leave young people feeling excluded and bullied – as well as providing opportunities for inappropriate content to be shared and viewed.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as bullying, inappropriate content and unknown members.

#WakeUpWednesday

Online Safety: Social Media

What parents need to know about: Spotting Ads on Social Media

Can young people always recognise when what they’re seeing on their social media feed is an advert?

The evidence suggests there’s a good chance they might not.

What often complicates matters is that many ads are virtually indistinguishable from a regular social media post. They’re frequently designed to be funny, exciting or cool, which distracts younger users away from the reality that they’re being sold something.

Our #WakeUpWednesday guides has some top ideas for helping youngsters to spot ads like a pro!

In the guide, you'll find tips such as paying attention to the account name, studying the hashtags for clues and being savvy with high numbers of likes and shares.

#WakeUpWednesday

Online Safety: 

What parents need to know about Facebook Messenger
 
Facebook Messenger is the all-time second most downloaded software from the App Store (behind only its parent platform, Facebook itself). Discounting China – where the app remains banned – almost one in every five people on the planet who is old enough (and a good few who aren’t) use Messenger. 
 
Among the estimated 260 million new conversations that start on Messenger every day, however, are occasionally the sort of exchanges that would give parents and carers cause for concern. Contact from strangers. Hurtful taunts from online bullies. Encrypted chats only visible on certain devices. 
 

Check out the #WakeUpWednesday guide to the potential risks of Facebook Messenger.

#WakeUpWednesday 

Online Safety: Social Media, Online Bullying and Streaming.

What Parents Need to Know about The Ofcom Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report 2022. 

Ofcom’s annual ‘Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes’ report offers a detailed rundown of how young people used and experienced the internet during the previous year. Like its immediate predecessor, the 2022 edition will be particularly revealing because its findings again reflect the continuing impact of the pandemic on young people’s online activities. 

This special #WakeUpWednesday guide presents some of the report’s most relevant points in an accessible infographic format.

In the guide, you'll find stats including the percentage of young people who own a mobile phone (and at which ages), the most-used platforms by children in 2021, and the main online safety concerns of parents and carers.

Holiday Food and Activity Programme Easter 2022

This Easter, Derbyshire County Council is providing 26,000 free holiday activity places at 95 venues across the county.

The sessions, available throughout the Easter holidays, are all free for families who claim benefit related free school meals. Places may also be available to children in other vulnerable groups, including children with SEND, who are not currently in receipt of benefit related free school meals.

Please see the attached letter for more details.

Place2Be: Parenting Smart - Parenting advice from child mental health experts