Online Safety Blog

Online Challenges are fundamentally viral online trends that involve people taking part in or mimicking games, activities or dares. They often originate on apps such as TikTok but can then spread to a variety of other platforms. Sometimes these challenges are harmless and can even be used to promote positive causes or raise money for charity however far […]

OmeTV is yet another app that allows users to connect with others from all around the world. As a user, you are able to search for other users based on age and gender and then connect with them through sending messages or photos. Although, the app is mostly used to connect users at random through […]

If you are ever feeling unsure about whether an app is suitable for your child, there are a number of strategies you can use to find out. If your child already uses the app, you could ask them to show you it and how it works. Alternatively, to check for yourself before giving your child […]

Telegram is frequently promoted as an alternative to Whatsapp that offers a more secure platform for messaging. This is due to features such as ‘secret chats’ and ‘self-deleting messages’. Whilst these features are useful from a security perspective, they can pose a number of risks in terms of the sharing of harmful content. Secret chats […]

The Virgin Media Online Safety Blog offers a range of tips and tools to support your children in staying safe online. They also provide an online safety quiz that you can complete to check your own knowledge of online safety matters of four main topics: cyberbullying, parental controls, social media and inappropriate content.  You can also […]

Thinkuknow is an education programme from the National Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) Command. Thinkuknow.co.uk is an extremely useful website for parents to gain more information on how to keep their children safe online as well as on what to do should problems arise. Thinkuknow also offers child friendly videos and activities targeted […]

Whilst smartwatches are not allowed in school, in recent years they have become a popular gift for children and many wear them in their free time. As with all technology, there are a number of pros and cons for smartwatches. One of the biggest cons is that smart watches can be very expensive and sometimes […]

On Tuesday 23rd May 2023 at 6pm, Barclays Digital Eagles will be running an online parent session focused on online gaming and reputation. The session will cover some general online safety, how to play online games safely, responsible social media use and the importance of a positive digital footprint on social media. The session is targeted at […]

The Ofcom media and attitudes report gives an overview of the positive and negative aspects of the online world experienced by children and young people. The most notable positive aspects mentioned in the report were that going online helps with homework, supports children socially and develops children’s creative skills. The most notable negative aspects mentioned […]

YouTube offers two main ways for children to explore safely. The first is a supervised Google Account for YouTube and the second a YouTube Kids account. But what is the difference between the two? According to their website: “YouTube Kids is our dedicated app built from the ground up with kids in mind, while a […]