At St Mary's we feel it is very important to keep your child educated about staying safe online and how to communicate on social media. We do not tolerate cyber bullying and will deal with these incidents. However it is the parents responsibility to check and monitor their child's use of social media on their phone or other devices. Please also be aware of the age restrictions on these social media apps such as Instagram and Facebook, in which legally you have to be 13 years old to use. This is mainly because pupils are not old enough to know how to communicate properly online, which can lead to cyber-bullying.

A parental guide to being Share Aware (helping you to keep your child safe online)

• Talk to you child - Help your child think about who sees what they share, and compare it to what they would be happy to share offline. Think about about what you share online with your friends, once it's online it's out of your control. Explain how everything they share online - like usernames, images and comments - builds up a picture of who they are. 
• Get the family involved - Agree on some ground rules together. These rules don't have to be set in stone. Regularly review what you've agreed, and take your child's wishes, development and maturity into account. When is it okay to use the internet? What parental controls will you use, and when and how will you use them?
• Safety starts with you - You can help your child by setting a good example online. If you have a Facebook or Instagram account show them what you share and to whom. Also the language you use and privacy settings. Show them that You tube can have some great educational videos but also explain that anyone can put videos on there so content may not be suitable. 
• If things go wrong - Reassure your child as they might be upset and need to make sense of what has happened. Discuss who has seen it and what exactly happened. Let the School know if there is something we should be aware of that might have upset other pupils. As a School we can contact School Safe wise team who can come into School to support us. 
   
• NSPCC Online Safety
• My Safety Net
• Childline
• Childnet

Childnet Cyberbullying Guidance Please follow this link to access the latest guidance on protecting children from cyberbullying.