Online Safety
Tips, advice, guides and resources to help keep your child safe online
As a parent or carer you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online. There are a range of organisations to support you as you support your child to use the internet safely, responsibly and positively.
To find out how you can improve the security and privacy of electronic devices such as games consoles, mobile phones and tables visit or website at:
Games, consoles, smart devices and how to keep your child safe
If you become aware that your child has shared nude images of themselves online it is important to know how to approach the situation and what you can do to get the image removed. For more information, visit our website at:
Reporting online images of my child
What are the issues?
The internet – on the whole is a positive place. It is a resource which enables children to connect, communicate and be creative in a number of different ways, on a range of devices
However, the internet is always changing, and being able to keep up to date with your children’s use of technology can be a challenge.
You may sometimes feel that your children have better technical skills than you do, however children and young people still need advice and protection when it comes to managing their lives online.
Online Safety Advice for Parents
As parents and carers there are things we do well and also some things we don’t. Even if you do not know about technology and maybe the idea overwhelms you, there are things you can do to keep your child(ren) safe. You don’t need to be an expert in IT to understand the risks and support your child(ren). For more information watch our Online Safety Session for Parents and Carers.
Online safety for parents and carers of primary school aged children
Online safety for parents and carers of secondary school aged children
Who can help?
Listed below are some (not all) of the organisations who have developed practical advice and resources for parents and carers when it comes to supporting your child to use the internet safely.
The Marie Collins Foundation in partnership with the National Working Group have developed a resource to support parents/carers with regards to how to respond when it is discovered that a child has been harmed online.
The Marie Collins Foundation in partnership with the Ann Craft Trust have developed a resource to support parents/carers of autistic children keep safe online.
The leaflet explains the sorts of risks children and young people might face online. But the leaflet also lists the various ways being online can benefit autistic children.
UKSIC have a range of information for parents and carers on highlighting the issues of internet, how to have a conversation with your child about staying safe online, safety tools on social networks, parental controls offered by internet providers, guides to technology and resources.
NSPCC in partnership with O2, provides useful information for parents about the most popular and current sites, apps and games used by children. The free tool, called Net Aware is updated regularly. In addition, each site/app/game has free advice from O2 on how the privacy settings work for that particular platform.
Childnet has a range of information to support parents & carers in helping to keep their child safe online. This includes advice on parental controls, hot topics, toolkits, family agreements, guides on how to have a conversation about online safety, how to report harmful content.
Thinkuknow has helpful advice and tools that parents and carers can use to help keep their child safe online. They have downloadable guides for parents/ carers on various social media sites like. They also have some useful films for parents to watch about the risks online and four specific films about sexting / ‘self nudies’ and how to talk to their children about this issue and what to do if this happens.
“Let’s Talk About It”: Prevent online radicalisation during Covid-19 lockdown. While we are self-isolating and socially distancing due to Coronavirus, we will all become more reliant on communicating online, read through our advice for parents, guardians and carers to make sure you and your family stay safe online. There is also a short guide which can be found on our resource page here
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