Safety by <a href=”http://www.nyphotographic.com/”>Nick Youngson</a> <a rel=”license” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/”>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> <a href=”http://pix4free.org/”>Pix4free</a>
Internet Matters have put together some great guides on all things tech. Useful for parents and kids alike, it also covers second hand equipment and there are links to setting up devices to help protect the family.
<a href=”https://pix4free.org/”>Pix4free</a>
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As you may know we love Lego.  The education team at Lego have created some wonderful activities for children aged 6-9 years which I think would be very useful for parents and the classroom. There are six different topics which are designed to help children navigate the online world safely, including conversation starters. The topics include cyber bullying, screen time, false information and others. All the activities and resources are free. See HERE for further information.
A great update from Andrew Hall. Go to his website to sign up to a FREE fantastic weekly briefing on safeguarding.
End-to-End Encryption, previously the domain of spies and those seeking to exist below the observation of the authorities is now becoming a must-have feature in the e-communication world. The inexorable rise of e-communication fueled by the increased sophistication of mobile phones, and communication apps such as WhatsApp and the direct message feature of Instagram has made image sharing an essential of telephonic dialogue. The commencement of End-to-End Encryption as a feature of all messaging apps, owes much to the screen capturing of private images and texts in the adult world. However, the question remains is the enhancement of security via this level of encryption an advantage or disadvantage to child protection? The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), has recently published an article on this topic. Please follow the link below to find out more:
https://www.iwf.org.uk/
I hope you are well and looking forward to a well-deserved break, let’s hope some of the glorious weather comes our way! This will be the final weekly update, returning the first week in September, so I would like to take this opportunity to wish you well and I hope you have a lovely break.
Keeping it short and sweet this week
1.  For Parents – Online Gaming
Come rain or shine, over the summer holidays many children and young people will be spending longer on gaming consoles. It is imperative that parents take an active role and understand gaming (it isn’t just playing games), the games their children are playing, potential risks and how to mitigate those risks.
Internet Matters have a whole gaming hub, a library of information just for parents covering the areas above and more. You can get to the gaming hub HERE.
- Recently published subject reports.
Some Summer reading! Here are some documents you might want to have a look at.
Mathematics subject report
This subject report evaluates the common strengths and weaknesses of mathematics in the schools inspected. The report shares what has been learned and builds on the Ofsted mathematics research review which identified factors that can contribute to high-quality school maths curriculums, assessment, pedagogy and systems. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE REPORT
The History Subject report was also released this month.  Click here to access it.
And you can access the recently updated Reading Framework here.
Until September, have a lovely break. Enjoy any adventures you have, travel safely and we’ll be back to do it all again next year!
Amanda
Click here to see all of the events and book your summer of fun.
The programme offers a range of fun activities for children and young people to enjoy independently or with their families, including dancing, games, crafts, sports, and outdoor challenges, along with nutritious meals at each event.
Funded by the Department for Education, the Holiday Activities and Food programme is available to children and young people aged 5-16 and up to the age of 18 for those identified with SEND.
Places for the clubs must be booked in advance. Any families who need additional help with food are reminded that they can access local food banks.
To find out more visit:Â www.southtyneside.gov.uk/holidayclub
Bookings open at 4pm today (Monday 10th July).
Say more with Threads — Instagram’s text-based conversation app
“Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.”
I have an account, and it is a very familiar environment, very twitterlike, and does link seamlessly with Instagram. In one respect, it’s too easy to make an account. So far, all seems ok, but until I start building up my profile then I can’t really give an opinion about whether it’s going to challenge Twitter. But an app to watch out for!
Age Rating12+
Part of Facebook Metaverse.
Threads can only be accessed by integrating an existing Instagram username to sign up – meaning if you don’t have an account, you have get one to enter the new Threads platform.
There are privacy issues. Threads is able to collect a wide range of personal information, including health, financial, contacts, browsing and search history, location data, purchases and “sensitive info”, according to its data privacy disclosure on the App Store.
Read an article about Threads by the BBC here
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66122246
 Wizz – Make new friends, is a social media app focused on connecting strangers with common interests. It’s primarily a friend-finding chat app, allowing a pair of individuals or groups to talk and exchange gifs, pictures, and videos. The use of foul language is frequent and, while the app’s guidelines prohibit sexual or violent content, some questionable topics can slip into the chats. Some users’ bio images are also sexually suggestive. Wizz uses an age verification system to put users of a similar age in the same feed, but it doesn’t work reliably. Minors and adults frequently appear in the same space and can be connected if they accept each others’ friend requests. While Wizz is a perfectly acceptable, albeit no frills, social networking platform for adults looking to connect with each other, it definitely doesn’t feel like a safe virtual space for anyone under 18 years of age.
