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Dear parents, guardians and carers,
Safer Internet Day is a global event dedicated to creating a safer online world for everyone. 2023 marks the 20th Safer Internet Day with the slogan: Connect. Reflect. Protect.
Our world is more connected than ever, making online safety awareness even more important. I am seeking your assistance with communicating this message to the children and young people in your care by encouraging them to:
- Connect safely and with purpose through keeping apps and devices secure and using social media in positive ways.
- Reflect before they act and take a moment to consider how what they do and say online may affect others.
- Protect themselves and others by taking action through telling family and friends about eSafety and visiting the eSafety Commissioner website for advice, support and to report online abuse.
Families can approach online safety by:
- creating a family technology agreement together
- supervising children and young people, which can be a significant factor for preventing unwanted contact and online grooming
- having open and regular conversations about your child or young person’s online activities and interactions
- knowing which platforms, apps and games your child or young person is using and knowing who they are interacting with
- remaining open and approachable so that children and young people know they will not be blamed and feel comfortable to discuss any problems that arise in order to receive help
- ensuring your child or young person is alert to signs of inappropriate contact and they know that it is important to leave online conversations if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe
- establishing safety guidelines for meeting online ‘friends’ face-to-face. It is safest to keep online ‘friends’ online, but if your child or young person does want to meet face-to-face, they should let you know first and should be accompanied by you or another a trusted adult to meet in a safe and public environment
- supporting your child or young person to know how to respond if they are targeted. Call the Police on 000 if physical safety is at risk and report the abuse or online grooming to the eSafety Commissioner or the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation
To begin a discussion with your child or young person about staying safe online, you may like you use the following points:
How to approach unwanted contact and grooming:
- set accounts to private, including but not limited to, social media and gaming accounts
- delete contacts that you do not talk to
- report and block if you receive unwanted contact from someone you know or a stranger
- delete requests from strangers.
How to create a safer gaming environment:
- agree to an online gaming area in an open area of the home where there is supervision and use available parental controls and safety features for devices, browsers and apps
- build good habits by protecting your personal information and not clicking on links provided by strangers
- set age appropriate rules for devices and online access. Agree on strategies to help switch off, such as a timer
- stay involved by talking regularly about gaming interests and make time to play alongside one another to better understand how safe the game really is and whether parental controls need to be set/adjusted
- be aware of the content of games and ensure they have age appropriate themes, language and images and ones that reflect your family’s values
- empower children and young people to make wise decisions and provide strategies for dealing with negative online experiences that will build confidence and resilience.
Resources for further information:
- Safer Internet Day
- eSafety Guide
- eSafety Parent resources
- Online blackmail and sexual extortion response kit
- thinkuknow.org.au
Families who hold concerns for their child or young person’s safety and wellbeing as a result of unsafe online activity or who are being targeted by unsafe online activity such as bullying and other forms of abuse are also encouraged to contact us for supported.
I look forward to continuing to work together to promote safe physical and online environments for all children and young people.
Yours sincerely,
David Cooper
Principal
St.Vincent's 2023 Cyber Safety Initiative
It is with great pleasure that we can announce this week that we have been successful in our application to partner with 'Inform & Empower' across the 2023 school year.
'Inform & Empower' will provide a range of materials and resources for staff, students and families across the year, highlighted through live online workshops across the year. This week we have the Middle and Senior school presentations that actually will take place on Tuesday which is Safer Internet Day. Our Junior classes have their Term 1 session schedule for next week.
We encourage parents to take advantage of the resources we share and we look forward to hearing any feedback from families. It is probably only after you have an issue that you will actively look for information and support on this topic. Please take some time to skim around the links so you are prepared to deal with a scenario in your family, or even better - help out a friend or relative dealing with a situation.