We have put together a list of suggested websites, apps and online resources that may be of use to schools and families during this difficult time.
Strengthening privacy and safety for youth on TikTok
At TikTok, we know that creativity and expression are personal. And so is privacy. That’s why we empower our community with a range of controls to manage their online presence. As young people start their digital journey, we believe it’s important to provide them with age-appropriate privacy settings and controls. Today we’re announcing changes for users under age 18 aimed at driving higher default standards for user privacy and safety.
Enhanced default privacy settings
Starting today, we’re changing the default TikTok privacy setting for all registered accounts under the age of 16 to private. With a private TikTok account, only someone who the user approves as a follower can view their videos. We want our younger users to be able to make informed choices about what and with whom they choose to share, which includes whether they want to open their account to public views. By engaging them early in their privacy journey, we can enable them to make more deliberate decisions about their online privacy.
For the full story and details on the privacy settings click the link below:
https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/strengthening-privacy-and-safety-for-youth-on-tiktok
Some of you may have experienced a glitch with Google Meet where children can rejoin the session. Our advice would be to make the meet link in the banner invisible until you want the students to use it, then reset after every session. Steve has made a fab little video to explain how to do this, please share with staff.
This is the information about Fleets posted on Twitter
Click here to read on the Twitter website.
Fleets give you the power to use and interact with Twitter in a whole new way, right in the moment. Fleets allow you to share fleeting or transitory thoughts, and after 24 hours, they’ll disappear from view. Share personal in-the-moment thoughts with your followers free of public reactions. Fleet authors can see who views their Fleets, including accounts with protected Tweets, by clicking into their Fleets and tapping on the Seen By text at the bottom.
- They don’t get Retweets, likes, and are not open to public replies.
- A Fleet can include text, videos, GIFs, or photos. People can reply to your Fleet by tapping on Send a Message or the emoji icon at the bottom of your Fleet.
- If you have open DMs, anyone can react to your Fleets. If you have closed DMs, only people you follow can react to your Fleets.
- People with access to Fleets can see your Fleets in two ways:
- If they follow you, your Fleets will appear in the new bar across the top of their Home timeline.
- Anyone who can see your Tweets can view your Fleets from your profile by tapping on your profile photo.
- If you protect your Tweets, your Fleets will also be protected.
- To delete a Fleet select Delete Fleet and it will remove the post.
Note: When you view someone’s Fleet, the Fleet author will be able to see that you viewed it using the Seen By feature, even if your account has protected Tweets.
Additionally, please note that we maintain a copy of all sent Fleets and live broadcasts in Fleets for a limited time after they expire or are deleted to be able to enforce against Fleets that are found to violate our rules. If a Fleet or a live broadcast was found in violation, we may extend the time we maintain a copy of it to allow people an opportunity to appeal the violation if they believe it was a mistake.
These are fabulous handouts for parents, made by the amazing team at SWGFL
https://swgfl.org.uk/resources/
The government’s Contingency Framework, updated 1st January 2021 says, ‘Schools and FE providers (ideally led by the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) or a deputy) should review their child protection policy so that it reflects the local restrictions and remains effective. In some cases, a coronavirus (COVID-19) annex or addendum that summarises any key local restriction related changes might be more effective than re-writing and re-issuing the whole policy. It will be important that all staff working in the school or FE provider are aware of the revised policy.’ https://www.gov.uk/government/
Safeguarding.Pro member Louis Donald, Trust Safeguarding Manager at the Stowe Valley MAT, has produced a draft addendum that he is happy to share: Temporary policy statement addendum for school safeguarding policies that capture the 4th-18th Jan remote learning period
https://safeguarding.pro/wp-
Home activity packs
Our home activity packs contain simple 15 minute activities you can do with your family to support their online safety at home.
Family activities
Each of these family activity sheets have a selection of short conversation starters, practical tips and fun tasks to do as a family.
Family activity sheet – viewing videos online
This activity sheet focuses on watching videos online. With a choice of 3 conversation starters, 3 online safety actions and 2 fun family tasks, you can learn together about watching videos safely online.
Family activity sheet – cyber security
This activity sheet focuses on cyber security, and we have worked with the National Cyber Security Centre to help you be more Cyber Aware.
Family Activity sheet – social media
This activity sheet focuses on social media. With a choice of 2 conversation starters, depending on if your child is on social media, 3 online safety actions and a fun family tasks, you can learn together about safer social media use.
Family Activity sheet – sharing images
This activity sheet focuses on sharing images online. With a choice of 3 conversation starters, 3 online safety actions and a fun family tasks, you can learn together about safer image sharing.
Family Activity sheet – live streaming
This activity sheet focuses on live streaming. With a choice of 3 conversation starters, 3 online safety actions and a fun family tasks, you can learn together about how to be safer when live streaming.
Family Activity sheet – online gaming
This activity sheet focuses on online gaming. With a choice of 3 conversation starters, 3 online safety actions and a fun family tasks, you can learn together about safer online gaming.
Parents and Carers Resources
If you haven’t already, read our Parents and Carers Helpsheets – there is one for primary and one for secondary. These contain key online safety advice and links to our resources, as well as support services.
We have also created short videos to help you with online safety at home on the following topics:
- Watching videos
- Online gaming
- Social media
- Sharing images
- Livestreaming
- Cyber security
Click here for short videos for parents and carers
Home activity packs
These home activity packs a have been created to cover different areas of online safety for each age range, using our Thinkuknow resources.
For Early Years and Primary:
Click here for home activity packs for children aged 4-5
Click here for home activity packs for children aged 5-7
Click here for home activity packs for children aged 8-10
For Secondary:
PEGI Ratings For the most Popular Games this Christmas:
FIFA 21 – PEGI 3
Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War – PEGI 18
Spiderman; Miss Morales – PEGI 12
Fortnite: Battle Royale – PEGI 12
Watch Dogs Legion – PEGI 18
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit- PEGI 3
Call of Duty: Warzone – PEGI 18
Minecraft – PEGI 7
If you are purchasing a game that is not on this list, you can check the PEGI rating here
