Message from Early Years

The internet is an amazing tool that is part of everyday life. Educating children on how to stay safe online will keep them safe now and in the future.

Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 8^th February is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to online safety, even for our youngest children. All children have access to phones and iPads, and it is important that we enable the safe usage of these devices. In the Early Years we do this through the use of stories and circle times. This allows the children to share their thoughts and talk about when we need to ask for help if playing a game or watching a cartoon. With online activity increasing here are some ideas to help at home:

• Set parental controls on your home broadband. This allows you to manage what your child sees and who they can communicate with.
• Set passwords on all of your internet-enabled devices. This allows you to be in control of when and where children can use the internet.
• Only allow children access to the internet in family areas.
• Set the home screen of the web browser to a child friendly site that your child enjoys.
• Allow your child to use only child-safe search engines. This will ensure that your child will not come across anything inappropriate or scary.

Children are never too young for learning the first steps for staying safe on the internet and it is crucial that we frequently enhance their knowledge as there is daily access to devices in today’s world. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Sheree Hay

Assistant Head Early Years and Primary (Creativity)

Reception Class Teacher