Online Safety
Guidance for Parents and Carers re Use of TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp
Please be aware that nearly all social media services require users to be at least 13 years of age to access and use their services. Some sites, like Whatsapp require users to be 16 years old.
Support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online includes:
Thinkuknow provides advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) on staying safe online
Parent info is a collaboration between Parentzone and the NCA providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations
Childnet offers a toolkit to support parents and carers of children of any age to start discussions about their online life, to set boundaries around online behaviour and technology use, and to find out where to get more help and support
Internet Matters provides age-specific online safety checklists, guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, and a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world
London Grid for Learning has support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online, including tips to keep primary aged children safe online
Net-aware has support for parents and carers from the NSPCC and O2, including a guide to social networks, apps and games
Let’s Talk About It has advice for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation
UK Safer Internet Centre has tips, advice, guides and other resources to help keep children safe online, including parental controls offered by home internet providers and safety tools on social networks and other online services
Government has also provided:
support for parents and carers to keep children safe from online harms, includes advice about specific harms such as online child sexual abuse, sexting, and cyberbullying
support to stay safe online includes security and privacy settings, blocking unsuitable content, and parental controls