E-Safety Week

This week we have been raising the children's awareness of online safety whilst taking part in Safer Internet Centre's national campaign. This year's focus is entitled 'Create, Connect and Share Respect - A better internet starts with you' and looks at the issues of safety and personal responsibility regarding commenting and posting online, social media, messaging and email.

If you would like to find out more about the centre's work, and learn how you can help your family stay safe online, please visit

where you can find advice for parents and carers.

The Children's Commissioner recently produced a report entitled 'Life in Likes'. It determined that while 8-10 year olds use social media in a playful, creative way - often to play games, children become increasingly anxious about their online image as they get older. Children worry about 'sharenting'- parents posting pictures of them online without their permission. Across all ages, the report identified that the most popular social media sites were Snapchat, Instagram, Musical.ly and WhatsApp. Many of these sites have a minimum age requirement which is often ignored. Last year we blogged about the terms and conditions of Instagram, who, when you post a picture, own the right to replicate it without your permission, and use it in any way they see fit, even after you have deleted it from your account. It is worth bearing this in mind, if your child has an account, and talking to them about how they portray themselves online, where once posted, an image or comment is there for the world to see, even after you have removed it.

To read more from the report, please visit: