Be Safe Online

At The British School of Brasilia (BSB), we know how important it is to prepare our students to use the online environment safely and responsibly - on Friday October 26th, 2018, we welcomed parents and carers to a presentation of online risks and strategies that can help keep children safe when using the internet.

Following guidance from The London School of Economics, we considered four areas of online risk, 'The 4Cs':

• Conduct
• Content
• Contact
• Commerce

Young people may have a poor online presence as a result of their conduct; may be exposed to disturbing digital content; may be at risk of being contacting by strangers when online and may be tempted to spend money on apps and websites (commerce). Key strategies, recommended by The American Academy of Pediatrics, for supporting children in developing safe and responsible online behaviours were shared:

Use technology together: using technology alongside your child improves your awareness of ‘where they go’ and ‘who they talk to’ while online, and makes using the internet a shared experience.
Create tech-free zones: to promote balance online habits, create tech-free zones - times and places when technology is not used.
Set limits: set reasonable limits for online use, too much time spent online does not promote a healthy lifestyle.
Content matters: encourage your child to use technology to support their learning; what children do online can be as important as how much time they spend using technology.

We also shared rules that can ensure that children stay safe when online:

• Do not communicate with strangers online.
• Do not share personal information about yourself or your family online - including photos.
• Treat others with respect and consideration when online.
• If you see something you don’t like, or that makes you unhappy online, tell your parent or teacher.
• Ask a parent before using any website or app and before downloading anything onto your computer or device.