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Broadband, mobile and WiFi providers offer filters to limit the inappropriate content a child might see. As these typically have to be set manually, you'll find a comprehensive list of parental control guides that we've created to make this process easier to follow with our step by step videos and visual instructions.

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We've pulled together some guides to help you with setting up and managing broadband and mobile network parental controls.

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Key contact numbers of different organisations

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Key contact numbers of different organisations

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The Spotting the Signs Tool is designed to enable professionals who work with young people to better recognise CSE and CCE and safeguard young people.

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Whether you're looking for an age-specific online safety guide or apps and tools to help children get the best out technology, use our filter to sort through our recommended resources and guides to find what you need. Use the 'like button' to give us your feedback on the resources.

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We've created a one-stop shop resource centre featuring our parent guides, recommended resources for parents and teachers and more.

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Are you worried your child has too much screen time? Find out the potential effects it could have on your child with tips and advice to manage limit screen time.

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What you post online can come back to haunt you.

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Do you spend too much time on your phone?

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Let’s face it, we love our phones and we use them for just about everything. Whether it’s doing schoolwork or connecting with friends, we can find ourselves endlessly scrolling and swiping. You know that you need a break but it can be hard to put down that phone! Well, you’re not alone, here are s…

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Questions, answers and tools to help you make the most of your time online.

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What are the risks of using a VR headset?

VR headsets can have similar risks to devices like smart phones and tablets. Because you can use them in different ways, the risks will depend on how your child uses the device.

Many children like to use VR headsets to play games and explore different virtual places on their own. But with VR headsets you can also chat and play games online with others. You can even use a VR headset to access the metaverse. See our page on this for more information: What is the Metaverse?

Some of the risks of using a virtual reality headset are:
Experiencing physical injury
Using VR is an intense experience and using it for long periods of time could cause problems like eye strain. There is also a risk of injury while wearing a headset as your child cannot see their surroundings. If the game requires them to move around, they could trip or fall on other items in the room. Because of the way scenes move in VR, some people can feel motion sick when using it.
Negative impact on mental wellbeing
Virtual reality is designed to be very realistic. This means that young children might find it more difficult to tell the difference between what happens in the game and in reality. One side effect of using VR can be feeling disconnected from your body. Because VR is designed to be so realistic, it can feel strange when you come out of the experience. People who spend a long time in the headset might feel disconnected from their body, making them feel anxious or worried.

If your child is playing or chatting with others in VR, there are some other risks to be aware of:
Experiencing unwanted contact
Some VR apps and games allow children to easily chat and play with people they don't know. Just like in other online games, this puts young people at risk of grooming or online forms of abuse, along with the risk of moving the conversation to other platforms or meeting up offline.

In many VR games, players use avatars to represent themselves. Your child could be approached by another player's avatar whose behaviour makes them uncomfortable.
Encountering harmful content
Because many VR experiences are happening live, it can be difficult to monitor what your child is seeing and hearing. This means that children might see or hear things that are inappropriate, such as bad language, violence or sexual content.
Oversharing private information
Young people talking to others in VR might feel pressure to share information about themselves. They might share things like their name, where they go to school or photos of themselves. Some devices, games and apps might also have location settings which give the option of sharing their location with others.
Spending real money
As in other online games and apps, you can make purchases in virtual reality. Lots of apps and games partner with brands, influencers and celebrities to encourage users to buy virtual items. Young people might use virtual coins or real money to buy expensive items, such as clothes for their avatars. They could also be targeted by scammers who try to trick people into sharing personal information or steal money from them.

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Understand the risks and get advice to help children use headsets safely.

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Designed and Developed by Will Earp, South West Grid for Learning Trust Ltd

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Downloadable booklets to guide you through your profile settings in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. It helps you control how your profile appears, what your friends and other people can see, and how to report problems.

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Fortnite Battle Royale, commonly simply called Fortnite, is a popular video game from Epic Games. It offers a knife-edge gun battle that requires practice, skill, teamwork and fast reactions. The challenge for parents is to limit risks and maximise benefits from Fortnite.

Screen time, stranger chat, rage at losing and escalating costs can seem overwhelming. However, with the right advice, this is a game that parents can make healthy and valuable for their children.

What is the age rating?

In the UK, the Video Standards council rate Fortnite as PEGI 12 for frequent scenes of mild violence. In the US, the ESRB rate Fortnite as Teen, only suitable for those 13 years and older. iTunes rates the game only suitable for children 12+ for Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence and Infrequent/Mild Medical/Treatment Information.

You know your child best and can use this information to make an informed decision about whether Fortnite is appropriate or your child. However, children under the age of 13 automatically receive a cabined account through the Epic Games Store. You must give parental permission for them to access all in-game features.

See this visual guide for more.

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Fortnite Battle Royale - What parents need to know | Internet Matters

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Fortnite Battle Royale, commonly simply called Fortnite, is a popular video game from Epic Games. It offers a knife-edge gun battle that requires practice, skill, teamwork and fast reactions. The challenge for parents is to limit risks and maximise benefits from Fortnite. Screen time, stranger chat, rage at losing and escalating costs can seem overwhelming.

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Two levels of information as a guide : The PEGI age labels

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A family agreement is a great way to start a conversation with your whole family about how you all use the internet, and to start discussions together around how to behave in a positive way when online, whether this is at home, at school or at a friend's.

Our family agreement provides a list of things to consider when creating a family agreement, and some examples to get you started. An agreement template is also provided to help families set clear expectations for positive and safe internet use.
For more information about how to put the family agreement into practice visit our blog.
Online Safety Agreement

Alternatively you may need an online safety agreement which doesn't cater to a family audience. The internet is a very important part of our lives today and setting up an agreement can help ensure that everyone within your organisation/ group are safe when navigating the online world.

This online safety agreement is designed to be used in a variety of settings, including:

youth groups and clubs

residential settings (eg boarding houses)

educational settings (eg libraries)

for professionals supporting vulnerable young people (eg foster carers)

You can find a template for this below.

For

Type

Donate

Even a small donation can support the development of our online safety resources and help our Education Team to connect with more children and young people.
Donate

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A resource to support families in staying safe online.

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To enjoy the Own It website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. For more help please visit the Own It FAQ To enjoy this content you need to update your browser to the latest version. Find out how to update your browser

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Online blackmail is an education resource which aims to help young people identify key characteristics of how blackmail manifests online, understand the impact it can have, and how they access help if they experience it.

The term 'online blackmail' is used to refer to the act of threatening to share information about an individual (including sexual images or videos) to the public, or their friends and family, unless a demand is met.

Anyone can be targeted by online blackmailers, but as young people begin to become more financially independent, this can be a point of vulnerability which offenders seek to exploit.

Our Online blackmail resource has been informed by the latest research, intelligence from the NCA, and engagement with young people and professionals.

Online blackmail has been awarded the PSHE Association Quality Mark, demonstrating that it supports safe and effective teaching practice and meets the PSHE Association's 'ten principles of effective PSHE education'.

The one-hour Online blackmail session can be delivered in schools, colleges, youth groups and other educational settings.
What young people will learn
Online blackmail, like all forms of online child sexual abuse, can manifest in different ways. As such, the session helps learners recognise the early signs of manipulative, pressurising and threatening behaviour, and identify different people and organisations that can provide help if they need it.

By the end of the session, learners will be able to:

Explain what online blackmail is

Describe the impact blackmail may have

Identify some controlling and manipulative behaviours online

Explain how to get help, and the different people and organisations who can provide support with problems young people face online.

Our approach
Like all CEOP Education resources, Online blackmail has been developed on the basis of our six values for safe, effective online safety education.

1. Safeguarding first.

2. Approach from the perspective of the child.

3. Promote dialogue and understanding.

4. Empower and enable children.

5. Never frighten or scare-monger.

6. Challenge victim-blaming attitudes.

If you are interested in learning more about the evidence base for this and similar approaches, we recommend you read the research report 'Key Principles of Effective Preventative Education', downloadable from www.thinkuknow.co.uk/professionals.
Asset list
1 x Online blackmail resource pack, including session plan and worksheets

1 x Online blackmail session slides

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Online blackmail education resource for 15-18 year olds

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A one-hour learning session focussing on online blackmail (including for financial gain or 'sextortion'), helping 15 to 18 year olds in identifying risk and getting support when they need it.

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How easy is it to change yourself in photos with the click of a button? How many people do it? And is it good for us?

Sometimes, seeing everyone else's #flawless posts can make us feel like we're not quite good enough.

But we shouldn't be letting filters and editing apps make us feel down. You're perfect just the way you are and online you're often comparing yourself to a person who isn't real.

As long as you learn to be body kind, that's the most important thing.

And remember, posting photos without filters can also still be loads of fun! Here are some top tips on how to take great #nofilter pictures.

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How easy is it to change yourself in photos with the click of a button? How many people do it? And is it good for us? Sometimes, seeing everyone else's #flawless posts can make us feel like we're not quite good enough. But we shouldn't be letting filters and editing apps make us feel down.

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This page is for parents - if you are a teacher, click here

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IWF talking to strangers and sharing nudes. Aimed at young people with SEND

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The following material has been published by Farrer & Co's Safeguarding Unit, to coincide with KCSIE 2022 going live on 1 September 2022. Our new resource for addressing child-on-child abuse replaces our previous Peer-on-Peer Abuse Toolkit.
Download here
The new resource includes the below.

Key updates - which have predominantly been made:

to reflect relevant changes in KCSIE

on contextual safeguarding

on intersectionality

on digital behaviour

to provide a greater focus on race, and on child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation

New material/revised content from that previously included within the Peer-on-Peer Abuse Toolkit - such as:

a definition of child-on-child abuse

a diagram providing an overview of child-on-child abuse

an Appendix containing key areas of the law applicable to child-on-child abuse

an Appendix containing a glossary and key facts

an Appendix containing an expansive range of statistics, resources, educational material, support services and interventions, and Government guidance

case studies

It should be emphasised that this new resource is not necessarily intended to be read cover to cover in one sitting but is primarily intended to be used as a resource and reference document for practitioners - to consult as and when required and to the extent needed, and to help them navigate whichever area(s) of child-on-child abuse they are dealing with.

If you require further information about anything covered in this briefing, please contact Adele Eastman, David Smellie or your usual contact at the firm on +44 (0)20 3375 7000.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

© Farrer & Co LLP, September 2022

Want to know more?
Contact us

About the authors

Adele Eastman

Senior Counsel

Adele is a senior counsel in Farrer & Co's Safeguarding Unit, which advises organisations in this country and around the world working with children and/or adults with care and support needs. Within the Unit, Adele is responsible for the charity sector, and co-leads on the sports sector.

Adele is a senior counsel in Farrer & Co's Safeguarding Unit, which advises organisations in this country and around the world working with children and/or adults with care and support needs. Within the Unit, Adele is responsible for the charity sector, and co-leads on the sports sector.

David Smellie

Partner

David is consistently rated one of the top employment and safeguarding lawyers in the UK. Whether advising on senior executive moves within PLCs or private equity, or the handling of serious or high-profile safeguarding cases, either past or present, David is acknowledged for the clarity and astuteness of his advice - always looking several steps ahead in an attempt to futureproof whatever action is contemplated now.

David is consistently rated one of the top employment and safeguarding lawyers in the UK. Whether advising on senior executive moves within PLCs or private equity, or the handling of serious or high-profile safeguarding cases, either past or present, David is acknowledged for the clarity and astuteness of his advice - always looking several steps ahead in an attempt to futureproof whatever action is contemplated now.

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Addressing child-on-child abuse: a resource for schools and colleges

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The following material has been published by Farrer & Co's Safeguarding Unit, to coincide with KCSIE 2022 going live on 1 September 2022. Our new resource for addressing child-on-child abuse replaces our previous Peer-on-Peer Abuse Toolkit. Download here The new resource includes the below.

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Selection of activities and scenarios for KS2 around seeing upsetting content.

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SWGfL questions for governors and trustees

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The importance of meeting the standard

Schools and colleges should provide a safe environment to learn and work, including when online. Filtering and monitoring are both important parts of safeguarding pupils and staff from potentially harmful and inappropriate online material.

Clear roles, responsibilities and strategies are vital for delivering and maintaining effective filtering and monitoring systems. It's important that the right people are working together and using their professional expertise to make informed decisions.

How to meet the standard

Governing bodies and proprietors have overall strategic responsibility for filtering and monitoring and need assurance that the standards are being met.

To do this, they should identify and assign:

a member of the senior leadership team and a governor, to be responsible for ensuring these standards are met

the roles and responsibilities of staff and third parties, for example, external service providers

We are aware that there may not be full-time staff for each of these roles and responsibility may lie as part of a wider role within the school, college, or trust. However, it must be clear who is responsible and it must be possible to make prompt changes to your provision.

Technical requirements to meet the standard

The senior leadership team are responsible for:

procuring filtering and monitoring systems

documenting decisions on what is blocked or allowed and why

reviewing the effectiveness of your provision

overseeing reports

They are also responsible for making sure that all staff:

understand their role

are appropriately trained

follow policies, processes and procedures

act on reports and concerns

Senior leaders should work closely with governors or proprietors, the designated safeguarding lead ( DSL) and IT service providers in all aspects of filtering and monitoring. Your IT service provider may be a staff technician or an external service provider.

Day to day management of filtering and monitoring systems requires the specialist knowledge of both safeguarding and IT staff to be effective. The DSL should work closely together with IT service providers to meet the needs of your setting. You may need to ask filtering or monitoring providers for system specific training and support.

The DSL should take lead responsibility for safeguarding and online safety, which could include overseeing and acting on:

The IT service provider should have technical responsibility for:

The IT service provider should work with the senior leadership team and DSL to:

procure systems

identify risk

carry out reviews

carry out checks

When to meet the standard

You should already be meeting this standard.

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Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges

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Find out what standards your school or college should meet on filtering and monitoring.

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From KCSIE 2023, the DSL is asked to take lead responsibility for web filtering and consider the DfE standards. This page is to support your journey towards this - whether you are a beginner or have worked for years with your technical teams to better understand and effectively manage filtering - which is all about keeping children safe.

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The Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020. The GDPR has been retained in UK law as the UK GDPR, and will continue to be read alongside the Data Protection Act 2018, with technical amendments to ensure it can function in UK law. If you transfer or receive data from overseas please visit our End of Transition and International Transfers pages. You should make sure you can identify any data you collected before the end of 2020 about people outside the UK, for further information, see our Q&A on Legacy Data.

On 01 January, there will not be any significant change to the UK data protection regime, or to the criteria that compel DPIAs. This guidance draws on European resources which we still consider to be relevant, and so these resources remain part of our DPIA guidance.

We will keep this guidance under review and update it as and when any aspect of your obligations or our approach changes. Please continue to monitor our website for updates.

This guidance discusses Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) in detail. Read it if you have detailed questions not answered in the Guide, or if you need a deeper understanding to help you understand or complete a DPIA in practice. DPOs and those with specific data protection responsibilities in larger organisations are likely to find it useful.

The guidance has been revised to adopt the European Data Protection Board's 22/2018 opinion on the ICO's list of processing operations subject to the requirement of conducting a DPIA.

If you haven't yet read DPIAs in brief in the Guide to GDPR, you should read that first. It sets out the key points you need to know, along with practical checklists to help you comply.

Contents

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Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs)

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DPIAs are a tool to help you identify and minimise the data protection risks of new projects. They are part of your accountability obligations under the GDPR, and an integral part of the 'data protection by default and by design' approach.

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These resources provide topics and suggestions for starting and having discussions with neurodiverse young people about their online experiences. The films explore the challenges that neurodiverse young people may face online with regards to rigid thinking, discerning who or what is truthful online and situations that can lead to strong emotions.

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These resources provide topics and suggestions for starting and having discussions with neurodiverse young people about their online experiences. The films explore the challenges that neurodiverse young people may face online with regards to rigid thinking, discerning who or what is truthful online and situations that can lead to strong emotions.

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Life in Likes | Children's Commissioner for England

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This Children's Commissioner's report on the effects of social media on 8-to-12-year-olds examines the way children use social media and its effects on their wellbeing. 'Life in Likes' fills a gap in...

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www.ofcom.org.uk needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.

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TALK and Gurls Out Loud 'self-generated' child sexual abuse prevention campaign

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The IWF campaign aims to empower girls, and warn their parents and carers about the risks posed by online predators targeting children.

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Online Safety for Redbridge SCP Nov 2023 - for sharing