Keeping our Kids Safe Using Digital Devices and Online

Given that there may be an increase in the amount of time that our children spend online, it is important that as parents, you are aware of where your child is going online and who they are interacting with. Below is a handy checklist put together by the Ministry of Education for parents to consider:

• reviewing and approving games and apps before they are downloaded

• reviewing privacy settings of sites and applications

• checking children’s profiles and what they are posting online

• check the sites your child is accessing

• reminding children that anything that is posted online will be permanently on the internet

• taking the time to understand what sites they are visiting and who they are talking with and check in regularly

• some social media sites have age restrictions to join, check these before letting your child use them or join them

• monitoring a child’s use of the internet and consider having them use it in an open, common area of the house

• making sure your children know to report any activity they don’t feel comfortable with to parents and caregivers straight away.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullyingis high on our priority list to address quickly and effectively. Again, please talk to your children about what they are doing online and who they are interacting with. You might like to consider the following:

• Take the devices off your children between the hours of 7 at night and 7 in the morning.

• Take the device off them as a consequence for bad choices in behaviour or use.

• Not engaging in similar behaviour with other parents, e.g. interactions with parents of other students via text or social media. This just makes the situation worse. Model responsible citizenship for your child. Report ongoing bullying to the police or Netsafe.

In addition you might like to consider:

• Netsafe continues to be available to provide you and your parent and caregiver community with support for online safety. They have information for parents and caregivers and have pulled together their top tips for online safety during the lockdown. To report an incident To Netsafe - https://www.netsafe.org.nz/reportanincident/

• If you think a child in your care is the victim of online exploitation or abuse, report it to Police - if you or a child are in danger or a crime is being committed, call 111 or visit your nearest Police Station immediately.

If we all work together to make sure children are safe online, we can make the internet a great tool for people of all ages.

Digital Access

It is great to see that most telecommunication companies have lifted their data caps, so families won’t need to worry about extra costs or running out of data. The Ministry of Education (MOE) is also working with suppliers and providers to ensure that there is equitable access to digital learning for all.

If you are a family that has no or limited internet access or no access to a device at home, please contact Louise Buckley (lbuckley@katikaticollege.school.nz) or prinicipal@katikaticollege.school.nz . Louise will be collating this information for the MOE.

The MOE is also looking to provide hard copy resources for learning to those households that do not currently have technology at home.

Please take the time to complete this short survey to help us best prepare for Remote learning: Community Feedback about Remote Learning