A headteacher said..
“Internet Safety is becoming an increasingly important part of the ‘Be Healthy, Stay Safe’ agenda. We have a duty to protect our often very naïve children and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation does a great job in achieving this.”
Internet Safety Seminars
Did you know..?
Around a third of children have received an unwanted or ‘nasty’ message via the internet and a quarter have received an unwanted or ‘nasty’ image of a sexual nature?
Around one in five 10-11 year olds and 12-17 year olds have been cyberbullied in the last year?*
Why is internet safety important?
Barely a day goes by when we don’t hear about a child being harmed through their use of the internet. Many parents may feel out of their depth or look to technical safeguards such as filters and blocking software to help protect their children. But these solutions can only ever deal with part of the problem and parents, whatever their technical ability, need to make time to understand the risks and get practical non-technical advice on steps they can take to keep their children safe. In addition, the online risks posed to children can be greatly reduced if they themselves are equipped with information and knowledge to help keep safe.
What do the seminars cover?
We provide tailored seminars for parents, carers, teachers and children. These are not technical events – instead we focus on practical advice.
We aim to:
- promote the benefits of using the internet
- raise awareness about inappropriate (sexual) content and contacts that children might come across online and ways it might happen
- provide advice and strategies about keeping children safe online, with details of where to go for further information, advice and support.
- raise awareness about cyberbullying:- how to prevent and respond to it
We do this through giving advice on:
- how to help children understand the importance of not giving out personal information
- how to respond to worrying or abusive contact
- the difference between real world friends and ‘online friends’ or ‘e-buddies’
- the importance of children knowing not to meet people they have only met online
- how to encourage children to talk to a trusted adult if anything or anyone causes them concerns
In the school year 2010-2011, we delivered 61 seminars to over 1000 parents and carers and 1800 children. 97% of parents found the seminar ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’. 95% said they felt more confident about helping to keep their children stay safe online as a result of attending.
Previous participants have said:
“I have become more knowledgeable about chat rooms and social networking sites and will educate my children before they start accessing these sites.”
“The cyberbullying DVD was extremely powerful and useful.”
“This has really opened my eyes.”
More information
For more information about holding a seminar for parents or students at your school please contact:
Sue Ball
Tel: 01372 847166
Email: sball@lucyfaithfull.org.uk
Visit: http://www.parentsprotect.co.uk/internet_safety.htm for information about internet safety and the resources available.