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• 10 days of Safer Internet Day: Day 2 Parental controls on your home internet

  Fri 05 Feb 2016 D. Taylor

  Did you know that many internet service providers in the UK offer free parental controls? If you’re a BT, Sky, TalkTalk or Virgin Media customer, you can decide which kind of online content your family can access. As you have to choose to switch on these controls, here’s a quick overview of each one and links to more information.

   

  BT

   

  BT Parental Controls come free with any BT broadband package. There are three pre-set filters, plus the option to create your own and even set filters for certain times. As well as safeguarding any device connected to your BT Hub at home, BT Parental Controls work at BT wifi hotspots (eg in cafes).

  Find out more on the BT website.

   

  SKY

   

  Sky Broadband Shield works on all devices connected to your Sky home broadband and comes at no extra cost. You can choose between three age categories (PG, 13 and 18) or customise the protection according to your needs. The Watershed feature lets you set tighter controls at specific times of the day, when your child might be online.

  Find out more on the Sky website.

   

  VIRGIN

   

  Virgin Media’s Web Safe works on any device that is connected to its home network. Provided free in broadband packages, it includes Child Safe, which helps to block websites unsuitable for younger users, and Virus Safe, which blocks websites that may have viruses and other security issues.

  Find out more on the Virgin Media website.

   

  VODAFONE

   

  Parental controls are available to anyone with a Vodafone Broadband service and protect all devices connected to your home network. Once you’ve opted in, the controls prevent access to inappropriate online content, such as violence and gambling, as well as to websites that could pose security threats.

  Find out more on the Vodafone website.

   

  TALKTALK

   

  HomeSafe is free to all TalkTalk customers and lets you customise filtering preferences from nine different categories and block individual websites. The Homework Time tool restricts access to content that might distract children during core homework hours.

  Find out more on the TalkTalk website.

   

   

  

• 10 days of Safer Internet Day: Day 3 - Parental controls on your child's devices

  Thu 04 Feb 2016 D. Taylor

  Todays Safer Internet Day countdown looks at how you can set up the parental controls on some of the devices that your child may own. On a smartphone, tablet or games console, you can use parental controls to manage a range of functions, including access to websites, app stores and apps, as well as location services and in-app purchases.

   

  SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS

   

  Android

   

  1. To set up a restricted user account on an Android smartphone or tablet, go to Settings and select Users in the Device section.
  
  2. Tap Add User or Profile, then select Restricted Profile and enter the passcode.
  
  3. Tap the round icon next to New Profile to change the name of the profile, then tap OK.
  
  4. Go through the list of features your child can access and, using the togglebuttons, choose whether you’d like them on or off.

  Find out more on the Android website.

   

  iOS (Apple)

   

  1. To enable restrictions on your child’s iPhone or iPad, tap Settings, General, Enable Restrictions and enter a passcode.
  
  2. Decide which features you’re happy for your child to access and, using the toggle buttons, turn the rest off.

  Find out more on the Apple website.

   

  Windows Phone

   

  1. Go to the Windows Phone website and select My Family.
  
  2. Sign in using your own Microsoft account (if you don’t have an account, you can create one).
  
  3. Click Get Started on the My Family set-up page, and then click Go to add your child’s name.
  
  4. Enter the Microsoft account your child uses to sign in on their phone.
  
  5. To change the app download settings, click your child’s name on the My Family homepage, click Change Settings and choose from the options provided.

  Find out more on the Windows Phone website.

   

  GAMES CONSOLES

   

  Many children and teenagers enjoy playing on games consoles. As well as being fun, some experts say gaming helps to improve their reflexes and keep their brains active.
  
  But it also has its risks. Young people sometimes spend too long in front of the screen or access inappropriate content. And if they take part in multiplayer gaming they might be contacted by strangers.
  
  If your child is a keen gamer, you’ll be pleased to know that the main games consoles include parental controls to help you manage which games they play, how long they can play for and whether they can play against other people. The Safer Internet Centre has produced some great guides for parents that can be downloaded by clicking the link, to the console that you or your child owns, below.

  PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii and WiiU

   

   

  
   

  

• New Age Kurling Team success

  Wed 03 Feb 2016 D Keefe
  Congratulations to our Year 9 New Age Kurling team of Amy, Mary, Abigail, Troy and Liam who participated in the Wirral Level 2 School Games competition at South Wirral High School on Wednesday 3rd February. The team won 1 and drew 4 of the 8 games they played meaning that they qualify to compete at the Level 3 Merseyside School Games event at The Oval in March. Well done.

• 10 days of Safer Internet Day: Day 4 - Blocking unsuitable TV, film and radio content

  Wed 03 Feb 2016 D. Taylor

  How can you avoid your child watching an episode of Breaking Bad while you’re out of the room? The main providers offer parental controls to block inappropriate programmes and films. Todays edition of Clare Mount's Safer Internet Day countdown will show you how to set the parental controls of BBC iPlayer and of popular streaming service Netflix.

   

  BBC iPLAYER

   

  The Parental Guidance Lock lets you control which BBC content your child can access. If a programme has been flagged with parental guidance (for violence, sex or strong language), it will feature a clear label and a G symbol. On a computer, mobile and tablet device you’ll see a red bar containing the G symbol on the programme page. When you press play on a G rated programme on your mobile, tablet or computer, you will have the option to set up parental guidance.
  
  On a computer
  
  1. To set your PIN, hit the Play button and if you’re over 16 select Confirm, then Continue.
  
  2. When prompted, turn on Lock and enter a four digit PIN and press Play.
  
  On a mobile or tablet
  
  1. To set your PIN, hit the Play button and select the option Set Up Parental Guidance.
  
  2. When prompted, confirm you are over 16, enter a four digit PIN, set a secret answer to aid password recovery and press Activate.
  
  3. Each time you watch something that isn’t suitable for kids, you’ll be asked to enter your PIN again. If your family uses more than one device or web browser to watch BBC iPlayer, you’ll need to set a PIN for each.

   

  For more information, go to the BBC website.

   

  NETFLIX

   

  There are four maturity levels in Netflix parental controls: Little Kids, Older Kids, Teens and Adults. In each case parents can set up a dedicated profile in which only TV series and films that are suitable for the specified age range will appear.
  
  1. To activate parental controls, log in to your Netflix account on a computer, go to Your Account then select Manage Profiles.
  
  2. Set up a separate profile for your child, click Edit, then change the parental control setting in the drop-down menu.
  
  3. It can take up to eight hours for changes to parental controls to take effect – if you sign out of your account and back in again, this may speed up the process.
  
  4. Be aware that you can’t lock these settings – your child can switch to another profile and use that.

   

  For more information, go to the Netflix website.

  
   

  

• 10 days of Safer Internet Day: Day 5 - Safe mode on YouTube

  Tue 02 Feb 2016 D. Taylor

  Todays Safer Internet Day countdown tip is how to set up Safe Mode on Youtube. This helps to stop inappropriate videos from being found on YouTube. It is important to note that although this helps, like any internet filter, it is not 100% effective and some videos may still slip through its net.

   

  ON A COMPUTER

   

  To set up YouTube’s Restricted Mode on a computer, scroll to the bottom of any page, click the dropdown menu in the Safety section and select On. If you’d like Restricted Mode to be enabled for anyone using your browser, don’t forget to lock it.

   

  ON A SMARTPHONE

   

  To set up Restricted Mode on a smartphone, expand the menu in the top left and tap the gear icon (iOS) or Menu, then Settings and General (Android). Next, select Restricted Mode Filtering and choose between Strict or Don’t Filter (iOS) or under Restricted Mode, tick the box to enable it (Android).

   

  Find out more on the Google (YouTube) website.

  
   

  

• 10 Days of Safer Internet Day: Day 6 - Safety and privacy controls on social networks

  Mon 01 Feb 2016 D. Taylor

  The main social network providers offer lots of tools and resources to help younger users have a safer and more private online experience. Be aware that each of them stipulates that users should be at least 13 years old.

   

  FACEBOOK

   

  Facebook’s privacy settings let users control who sees their posts and timeline.

  1. Click or tap Account at the top of any page and select Privacy Settings in the drop-down menu for further instructions.

  2. To block another user, select the gear icon to the right of their timeline, then select Report/Block.

  3. To report abusive or offensive content, click or tap Report near the post, timeline or page.

  Find out more on the Facebook website.

   

  INSTAGRAM

   

  Instagram users can set their posts to private.

  1. Go to the user’s profile by selecting the person icon.

  2. Then choose the gear icon (iOS) or the three dots icon (Android) and turn on the Private Account setting.

  3. You can also block and remove followers by tapping their user name, then the three dots icon and selecting Block User.

  Find out more on the Instagram website.

   

  SNAPCHAT

   

  Snapchat has two privacy settings: one for who can send your child Snaps and another for who can view their Stories.

  1. To change these privacy settings, tap the gear icon in the top right of the Profile screen to access Settings.

  2. To change Who Can Send Me Snaps within Settings, tap Send Me Snaps and choose either Everyone or My Friends.

  3. To change Who Can View My Stories within Settings, tap View My Story and select either Everyone, My Friends or Custom.

  4. Any changes will be saved when you press the back button.

  Find out more on the Snapchat website.

   

  TWITTER

   

  Users can protect their tweets so they are only visible to the Twitter followers they have approved. How you do it depends on the device that you’re using.

  1. On a computer, go to Security and Privacy Settings and scroll down to the Tweet Privacy section. Tick the box next to Protect My Tweets and click the blue Save button.

  2. On a smartphone, go to Me and select the gear icon (iOS) or the overfl ow icon (Android). Select Settings and choose the account you’d like to edit. For iOS devices, go to Protect My Tweets and tap On. For Android devices, go to Other and tick the Tweet privacy box.

  Find out more on the Twitter website.