Online Safety Blog

There are many benefits to screen time amongst young children. Screen use provides a range of opportunities for creativity and learning as well for maintaining friendships. Many parents agree that using devices is essential for their child’s development. However, there are many challenges too such as children finding inappropriate content or device use affecting their sleep. In […]

Discord is a popular voice and text chat tool that allows players to talk to each other in real time while they play games. Whilst it is extremely popular and an excellent tool if in the right hands, the app is aimed primarily at adults and does pose some potential risks for children. Using Discord, […]

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 […]

BeReal is a social media app that has recently grown in popularity amongst teens and children. Every day at a different time, the app alerts users that it’s time to take a photo of what they are doing in the moment. The user then loads the photo and can decide whether they share it with […]

Age ratings are useful to help you decide what is appropriate for your child.  It is important to remember that apps and games are rated differently to films and there is lots more to consider. Apps stores have classification systems but there are also developer’s recommendations and PEGI ratings and often, not all of these match […]

Children currently enjoy a range of games online that are safe and age appropriate. There are however, some things to be aware of that children could encounter when simply seeking information or guidance on these games. Modding- People can create mods which are their own versions of existing, popular games. Sometimes these are harmless but […]

Roblox is a ppoluar platform used by many children. On this, they can create, access and play games. It is important to remember, that whilst the content is aimed at children, there is a public forum on Roblox, meaning children and young people could potentially be exposed to strangers and inappropriate content. Children can stay […]

Whilst digital platforms have been extremely useful for us to gather information and learn more about what is happening in the world, there are also many things that could cause worry and upset for children. Children who may simply be seeking facts could come across content that is harmful and sometimes not even true. Often […]

It has come to our attention during online safety lessons, that some children are watching videos on YouTube that pose as offering hacks and guides to games such as Minecraft. Occasionally these videos actually contain harmful and threatening content as well as or instead of the hacks. Bear in mind that, as with everything on […]

Wink is an app that launched in 2020 that provides a platform for children to make new snap (Snapchat) friends by swiping left and right on strangers’ images. It functions in a similar way to Hoop. Whilst the app requires a minimum age of 13, it has no stringent age verification checks meaning younger children […]