Many children actively choose to disregard their learning about online safety when they leave the school site. They do this because it is simply more fun, more interesting, more exciting and more interactive to take the risks; risks which the children cannot fully appreciate at their young age.
At home
The main problem with managing online safety is that children have remarkably high confidence with technology but remarkably low maturity of experience to deal with it in a socially safe way.
As a minimum, it is vital that parents regularly check their children's texts, IMs, internet history and social media accounts. This is not being invasive, this is being responsible. Children have to know that their parents care as much about who they interact with online as in the street. You should be upfront and honest about doing this.
Backing up what's taught in school
Adults in school talk about e-safety as part of daily life, whether this be establishing an open relationship to talk positively about ICT at age 4 or agreeing what to do with an offensive text message at age 11. The "level of chat" used is as follows:
| Year 6 | Recognise inappropriate contact and conduct, and know how to report and address concerns |
| Year 5 | Know a range of ways to report inappropriate behaviour |
| Year 4 | Use technology responsibly – both socially and academically |
| Year 3 | Know a range of ways to report concerns |
| Year 2 | Know to keep personal information private Know where to go for help and support when they have concerns about material on the internet |
| Year 1 | Use technology safely and respectfully |
| Foundation | Show understanding of the need for safety when using new programmes, and consider and manage some risks |