Internet Safety Letter

19^th January 2009

Dear Parent/Carer

Following my previous communication on 18^th December about the dangers of the Internet, I would like to further reinforce the issues that may arise through use of the Internet.

Internet safety is always high on the agenda at Whitgift school with lots of security measures put into place to prevent the students from coming into any potential danger.

Lessons are taught from Year 7 upwards explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and what not to do on the Internet.

Chat rooms and instant messaging programs are not available for students to use in school because they are one of the biggest dangers on the Internet.

The number of children in danger of being targeted by paedophiles through internet chat rooms is on the increase. The police, non-government intelligence agencies and internet watchdogs are receiving more and more reports about adults attempting to groom children. It is a major growing concern for parents with young children. Sexual predators, cyber bullies, online scams and obscene websites all lurk in internet chat rooms.

In chat rooms a child does not always know who he or she is chatting with. Children may think they know, but unless it is a school friend or a relative, they really can not be sure.

Students often forget the need to stay safe when away from school and use ‘chatting' software. To help keep your child safe please read and follow the tips overleaf to help you spot any warnings:

 

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Watch for Warning Signs Concerning Your Child's Online Activity

• Is your child online late at night?
• Is the online activity excessive (over two hours on average per day)? Not including homework time.
• Is your child alone for most of the time during his or her online sessions?
• Is your child spending the majority of his or her time online in chat rooms?
• Is your child reluctant to talk about or evasive in describing his or her online experiences?
• Does your child minimize the screen on the computer when you walk by? Or do you notice several programs showing in the task bar at the bottom of the screen, but no programs active on the monitor? This is a sure sign that something your child does not want you to see is hiding in the task bar.

We know children will always use chat rooms outside of school but it is important that they are aware and thinking of their own safety. Below are some basic rules for students to follow when using chat rooms to ensure their safety.

Rules for when using a chat room

• Never use your real name, instead make up a screen name.
• Never give out your home phone number, mobile number, school or where you live.
• Tell an adult if you receive some communication that is frightening or upsetting.
• When filling in forms to become members don't fill in every field, give as little information as possible.
• Never exchange photo's over the Internet.
• Never agree to meet anyone in person that you have met in a chat room.
• Stay clear of private chat rooms.
• Never accept everything a person says online as being the truth.

We thank you for your support in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Mr M. Rushby

Headteacher