Swalwell Primary School
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Wake Up Wednesday
The online world evolves at a relentless pace. At Swalwell Primary School, we are always looking for ways to stay up to date with the latest online safety. Spring 2023 sees us re-launch our 'Wake Up Wednesday campaign. This is where we sign post parents to different online platforms. This gives our staff and parents the most up to date knowledge in the ever-changing digital world in which we live.
What Parents Need to Know about Fortnite Battle Royale
There’s a very good chance you’ve heard of Fortnite, but what exactly is it? And why is it so popular amongst young people? Fortnite is an online multi-player “battle royale” game developed by Epic Games and is playable on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC and mobiles. It gained popularity in late 2017 and has since become the biggest game in the world, thanks to its rapid and engaging gameplay.
In this guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as gaming addiction, gaming with strangers and overspending.
What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Setting up Apps, Games and Software
Millions of new phones, tablets, laptops and games consoles will be nestling under Christmas trees this year. However, even if parents and carers have gone to the trouble of setting up these new devices and enabling the safety features, there are still potential hazards in the apps, games and software that children will want to install and use. Knowing what to look for and discussing those risks with your child may help avoid any nasty surprises. Here are our top tips for ensuring that unwrapping this year’s presents doesn’t unleash any unexpected dangers.
In the guide, you'll find tips such as disabling in-app purchasing, taking note of age ratings and watching out for imitators.
What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Social Media and Mental Health
An estimated one-third of children have a social media account, so it’s important that trusted adults know what content young people are consuming; what they’re posting; and what interactions they’re having. On social media, it can be easy to go down a rabbit hole that isn’t beneficial to our wellbeing. As platforms grapple with managing ‘legal but harmful’ content, lives are being impacted – sometimes to tragic effect. We might be daunted by the scale of the tech giants and their content which enthrals young people, but we can still help children to be mindful of their mental wellness: recognising when something isn’t OK … and knowing what to do about content that upsets them.
In the guide, you'll find tips such as how to hide content, setting daily limits and discussing what children have seen online.
What Parents and Carers Need to Know about TikTok
TikTok is a free social media platform that lets users create, share and watch short videos ranging anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes in duration. The app gained notoriety for its viral dances, trends and celebrity cameos and can be a creative, fun platform for teens to enjoy. Now available in 75 languages, it has more than a billion active users worldwide (as of spring 2022) and is most popular with the under-16 age bracket. In fact, a 2022 Ofcom report found TikTok to be the most-used social media platform for posting content, particularly among young people aged 12 to 17.
In the guide, you'll find tips on avoiding potential risks such as age-inappropriate content, dangerous challenges and contact with strangers.