Deputy Principal News
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Victoria's Child Safe Standards
Your organisation makes sure children are safe when they use your services, settings, and activities. This includes when children are online.
I have included some important information below regarding Online Safety for children, taken from the Raising Children website.
Please take the time to read and if appropriate discuss with your child.
Online safety risks for school-age children
There are 4 main kinds of online safety risks for school-age children.
Content risks These risks include illegal, inappropriate or harmful content and things that children might find upsetting, disgusting or otherwise uncomfortable. This might be sexual content in games or movies, adult content, racism, images of cruelty to animals, and real or simulated violence.
Contact risks These risks include people that children don’t know or adults posing as children online. For example, children might be persuaded to share personal information or images with strangers or meet in person with someone they’ve met online. Or they might provide contact details after clicking on pop-up messages.
Conduct risks These risks include acting in ways that might hurt others or being the victim of this kind of behaviour. For example, children might destroy a game that a friend or sibling has created. Another conduct risk is accidentally making in-app purchases.
Contract risks These risks include signing up to contracts, membership agreements, or terms and conditions that children aren’t aware of or don’t understand. For example, children might click a button that allows a business to send them inappropriate marketing messages or collect their personal or family data. Or children might use a toy, app or device that isn’t password protected, which leaves them open to identity theft or fraud.
Why online safety matters for children
School-age children like going online to look at videos, create videos, play games and connect with friends and family. They might also be using the internet for schoolwork, homework or hobbies. School-age children can go online using computers, mobile phones, tablets, watches, TVs and other internet-connected devices, including toys.
Because school-age children are starting to be independent online and might go online unsupervised, there are more online safety risks for them than there are for younger children. There are particular risks if your child goes online to communicate with others – for example, on messaging apps or in games.
You can help your child learn to be safe online. You can also take practical online safety precautions. This will protect your child from online safety risks. And it will also help your child make the most of learning, exploring, creating and connecting with others online.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Kind regards,
James