Cyber Bullying
Internet Use and Social Media
More and more people are making far more use of the Internet and Social Networking sites. Please be aware that you must be very careful of anything that you write as it could offend others even when you think that it is private, it often has a way of getting out. Once it is posted, it is there forever even when you have pressed delete.
The UK has an age restriction set on all usage of social media. This is there to help protect children's mental health. For many of these sites and apps the age limit is 13 but some sites and apps are 16 or above. Therefore, no child in our school is of the age to be accessing social media.
More information about social media usage and age restrictions can be found on the websites below:
The image above is from Open View Education, click the image to see more information on this site about Apps and their age rating.
You can also go to Common Sense Media to search for Apps & Games to see if they are suitable for children to be using.
Do you know what your child is accessing online?
The development of Computing has brought with it a change in the way that children and young people are bullied. However, just as with more direct forms of bullying, many children and young people keep silent about abuse they are suffering via mobile phone, e-mail or Internet.
Parents and carers are advised not to wait until cyber bullying happens to know what to do.
Talk to your children about their safe use of technological equipment and about what they should do if they have contact with anyone or receive messages that make them feel uncomfortable or worried. When talking to your child about cyber bullying, include the following advice:
- Respect other people online and off
- Do not spread rumours about other people or give out other peoples’ personal information.
- They are responsible for their own behaviour and, therefore, they need to think about what they are doing
- Consider what it would feel like to be bullied in your own home via things you value, such as a mobile phone or computer, and how distressing this would be
- Do not give out other people’s school name or passwords online
- Make a note of the date and time when a message is received that scares or worries the child or young person and keep the message as evidence
- Encourage your child to tell an adult they trust and who can help them.
If a problem occurs for your child:
- Contact the mobile phone network or the Internet service provider. By working together, you should be able to do something about incidents of cyber bullying
- If messages are threatening, malicious or persistent, inform the police.
- The law is on your side through:
- The Protection from Harassment Act
- The Malicious Communications Act 1998
- Section 43 of the Telecommunications Act
- All of the above Acts may be used to combat cyber bullying.
For more information, help and guidance, children can access the Childline website.
Parents and children can also go to the following websites for more information:
