Stay safe online this Christmas

On 16 December there will be a Facebook Live event with Roblox on keeping children safe online.

Many children will be spending time online this Christmas, and some will be fortunate enough to receive gifts of new devices or games. We encourage the positive use of technology and understand its role in fun and learning – at school and at home. But there are risks to all online activity, so we would like to tell you about an opportunity to find out more.

On 16 December at 7.30pm there will be a free Facebook Live session which will cover what to watch out for, top tips for staying safe, parental controls you can set and forget, and the opportunity to ask questions.

The event will be run by experts in the DigiSafe team at LGfL and will also feature a special guest from the game Roblox which many of our pupils play.

We encourage you to attend this event from the comfort of your home before you wrap up those shiny new devices or games – it’s a lot less stressful to change settings before Christmas morning – or before your children start the holidays and want to spend time online.

Please also remember before buying Christmas presents that games have age ratings linked to their content, not their difficulty (games are rated 18 for the same reasons as films - inappropriate language, sex and violence).

There are plenty of great reasons to make technology part of your Christmas, so remember to talk about positives with your child – one great way to find out what they do online and also have fun together is to ask them to show you what they do and to teach you to play their games.

Finally, if you need general help and support over the holidays:

  • Call the NSPCC / O2 parent online-safety helpline on 0808 800 5002 for general advice or help with parental control settings for your home internet or devices
  • There is an excellent tablet app from Internet Matters built to help parents have a conversation about online safety with their children. Just search Internet Matters on the app store
  • Search NSPCC NetAware for an excellent guide to apps your children may ask for.