Digital Citizenship @ ENPS

Dear ENPS Families,

Here at ENPS, we are constantly working to help students develop responsible digital citizenship skills - understanding how to use technology thoughtfully, safely, and effectively. This week in Australia is Digital Citizen Week and it’s the perfect time to (re)engage with your child(ren) about their digital lives!

To support you in having meaningful conversations at home, we’re excited to share some fantastic resources from the team who leads Media Mentor Month (which usually occurs in March). These “Media Mentor” cards are designed to guide you in connecting with your child over their use of technology, whether it’s managing screen time, staying safe online, or using digital tools for learning.

Using these cards is a great opportunity to:

• Start conversations about the ways your child uses technology at school and at home.
• Share family values around appropriate and responsible technology use.
• Encourage balance between screen time and offline activities.

By exploring these topics together, you can help your child navigate the digital world with confidence and care.

We’ve attached English, Chinese, Hindi and Vietnamese version of the cards to help support you in whatever language you use at home. If your home language hasn’t been included, please reach out and we can arrange a translation. Let’s continue building strong digital citizenship skills together!

Warm regards,

Adrian Jones

Technologies Coordinator

A Closer Look: Social Media Safety

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online and on social media. You can help your children safely navigate their digital world and educate them to avoid harmful online experiences. You can explore websites, games, apps and social media together and set some rules and boundaries.

Your support and guidance can give your children the knowledge to make sound decisions online and confidence to ask for help when they need it. It is also important to stay informed about online safety.

The Department of Education recognises this important issue and has developed fact sheets about supports to help keep students safe online and what to do if they are involved in an online incident. 

The fact sheets contain links to evidence-based information on supporting positive and safe online experiences, signs a child or young person might need support, what to do if something unsafe happens online, and where to reach out to for more support.

To access the fact sheets, refer to the Safe Socials webpage. The fact sheets are available in 19community languages.

The government is also launching public consultation on age limits for social media. You and your children can share your experiences to inform proposed changes via an online survey, before 5 pm on Friday 1 November 2024. For more information on the survey and to take part, refer to Proposed changes to social media age limits on the Engage Victoria website.

If you have any queries about this information, you can contact the department by email: bullystoppers@education.vic.gov.au.