Computing

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 […]

YouTube Go Live Together is a new feature from YouTube where users can host a livestream with another ‘guest’. YouTube have previously offered livestreaming services, the difference now is that users can livestream with each other virtually. As with the original livestreaming feature, Go Live Together is not available on YouTube kids and according to […]

Twitch is an extremely popular livestreaming platform used by gamers to watch others play games such as Among Us. There are paid and free versions and Twitch Prime is included with Amazon Prime subscriptions. Twitch is extremely popular and has around 31 million daily active users. Livestreaming is transmitting or receiving live video and audio coverage […]

Spotify is widely used by both adults and children to enjoy playlists and music. However, according to Spotify’s terms and conditions, users should be at least 13 years old. This is due to potential issues including explicit lyrics. In January, concerns were raised following reports of a child who was contacted and coerced on the […]

Amigo is an online platform that links people from around the world based on shared interests. It focuses heavily on one-to-one chat, video calls and live streams and even has built in translation software to remove language barriers. This app should not be used by children and there are many risks associated. First of all, […]

One of the main features of Apple’s latest iOS update is an improvement in parental controls. All iPhones from iPhone 8 can install this update. With the ‘Family Shaing’ feature, parents can set up preferences on their child’s device such as allotted screentime period, location sharing, and access to age-appropriate media. Children can also send […]

Using Downtime or Bedtime Mode on yours or your child’s devices is a useful way to ensure that devices are not used for too long and that they are not impacting on your child’s sleep. To schedule Downtime on your iOS device: open settings, scroll down and tap on Screen Time, select Downtime, tap the […]