Bullying is a serious issue that involves the repeated taunting, teasing, and mistreatment of the same person or groups of people. It's crucial for all of us to understand what constitutes bullying and to distinguish it from acts of unkindness and disrespect.
While instances of unkind behaviour may occur, not all of them qualify as bullying. However, we do observe cases of troubling online conduct among some students. This behaviour includes threats, denigration, and statements directing others to engage in self-harm.
The school shares the serious concern parents and carers have when poor online conduct is identified. It's important to note that this behaviour is occurring at home, on home networks, and personal devices. While the school can monitor student interactions in the school environment and provide information to students about respectful and safe online behaviour, it is critical that parents and carers utilise tools and develop strategies to not only keep their child safe but also to prevent them from behaving unsafely.
In addressing these concerns, it's essential for parents and carers to maintain a balanced view and recognise the importance of their child's online activity being supervised. Blaming individuals is not a productive response. Children left unsupervised in online exchanges lack the maturity to manage and filter communications effectively.
Please keep in mind the significance of supervising your child's online interactions and guiding them in navigating these digital spaces responsibly.
Internet safety risks for school-age children
Content risks For school-age children these risks include things that they might find upsetting, disgusting or otherwise uncomfortable. This might include sexual content in games or movies, pornography, images of cruelty to animals, and real or simulated violence.
Contact risks These risks include children coming into contact with people they don’t know or with adults posing as children online. For example, a child might be persuaded to share personal information with strangers, provide contact details after clicking on pop-up messages, or meet in person with someone they’ve met online.
Conduct risks These risks include children acting in ways that might hurt others or being the victim of this kind of behaviour. For example, a child might destroy a game that a friend or sibling has created. Another conduct risk is accidentally making in-app purchases.
Contract risks These risks include children signing up to contracts, membership agreements, or terms and conditions that they aren’t aware of or don’t understand. For example, children might click a button that allows a business to send them inappropriate marketing messages or collect their personal or family data. Or children might use a toy, app or device with weak internet security, which leaves them open to identity theft or fraud.
What can you do?
· Talk with children about internet use and safety helps to protect them from risks.
· Practical ways to keep children safe include a family media plan, child-friendly search engines, reviews, privacy settings and parental controls.
· You can also go online with children, be a role model for safe internet use, and talk with children about online behaviour.
· When children feel you trust them, they’re more likely to come to you with online concerns.
More information is available at: https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/media-technology/online-safety/internet-safety-6-8-years
