Online safety – police advice to parents

This police warning was contained in the St James' school newsletter this week

Important Online Safety Message from Cheshire Police

Police in Cheshire are advising parents to be vigilant following a suspicious incident.
A family received a phone call from a man purporting to be giving tutoring sessions on behalf of the local primary school and that he would be doing extra maths tuition with the girl, which he named. On enquiry with the school they had not made any arrangements for out of school tutoring and the matter was reported to police.

PC Liz Stanton from the Safer Schools & Young Persons Partnership said: "The man named the girl which leads us to speculate that she may have revealed personal information on social media. I would advise parents to be vigilant and ask you remind children that it is important not to put personal details on social media."

Advice for parents

• Try to put the computer in an easy to see place in the home so that you can monitor what sites your child is visiting
• Check out the websites your child is using, just like you'd check out a school or a youth group they might visit. Have a look and make a judgement whether you think it is a safe environment for them to be involved in.
• Set up reasonable guidelines and limits for internet usage. Understand that it may be a big part of their life but that it needs to be regulated
• Explain to your children why it is important for them never to give out personal details or post pictures of themselves publicly, just like you would when you explain to them not to talk to strangers

To find out more about keeping safe online go to https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ or visit : http://kidsmart.org.uk for resources and
ideas for activities for parents and professionals aimed at EYFS and KS1 or www.net-aware.org.uk for NSPCC guide for parents to
the social networks used by children and young people

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