Please find a link below to an updated ‘Parent Online Safety’ booklet which includes an overview of key parental controls.

Parental-Controls-booklet-2025

It outlines where you can get further advice from as well as a list of useful websites.

If you need any more support with online safety, please contact the school.

Please find below the Online Safety Newsletter for July:

Online-Safety-Newsletter-Primary-July-2025_Newdale_30-06-2025

This month, it includes information on:  Nintendo Switch 2, Omegle and online challenges.

The Nintendo Switch 2 (released last month) introduces a new feature called ‘GameChat’ which allows up to 12 users to voice or video chat and share screens whilst gaming. This feature is part of the Nintendo Switch Online membership and includes parental controls. Parents can manage ‘GameChat’ access through the free Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app, which also tracks gameplay time and restricts messaging and game access based on PEGI age ratings. It’s important to note that PEGI ratings do not cover user-generated content or in-game chat.

Ofcom’s 2025 report shows 68% of children aged 3-17 watch funny videos, pranks, or challenges online. Although much of this content is harmless, some online challenges can be dangerous, and there have been tragic cases of children being harmed or killed while attempting them. Since children may not yet have the critical thinking skills to recognize unsafe content, it’s important for parents to have regular, open conversations about what they’re watching. Rather than naming specific harmful challenge (which could spark curiosity) parents could talk about online challenges in general, emphasising that threats tied to these challenges are not real. For guidance on how to approach these conversations, you can visit How to prevent harm from online challenges | Internet Matters.

There is also an additional resource to support transition with children that are moving to secondary school- it helps children to understand the possible risks and benefits of going online.

Moving to secondary school: Online safety guide | Internet Matters

If you need more support or guidance with online safety, please contact a staff member or send us an email.

Email: newdale.primary@taw.org.uk

We are pleased to share the headlines of our recent online safety survey, in which your children participated. The survey has provided valuable insights into students’ digital habits and awareness of online risks, helping us better understand how they navigate the online world. These findings will guide our ongoing efforts to promote responsible internet usage and enhance our online safety education. We encourage you to review the results and engage in discussions with your children about safe digital practices.

KS1 Headlines (Year 1 and Year 2)

• Internet Usage at Home: Virtually all children (98.2%) use the internet at home.
• Feeling Safe Online: Most children feel safe when using the internet at home (78.8%), however, a fifth of children still feel unsafe when using the internet at home.
• Online Experiences: A significant majority (75.2%) have not experienced unkindness online, but 24.8% have.
• Support Awareness: An impressive 95.6% know who to turn to if they encounter something upsetting online.
• Parental Guidelines: 85% of children have internet usage rules set by their parents/carers, however, 15% of children said that they do not have rules when using the internet at home.
• Parental Communication: 73.5% discuss their online activities with their parents, while just over a quarter of children (26.5%) said that they do not.
• Gaming Trends: A striking 94.7% play online games.
• Passwords: While many children have special passwords (65.5%), a notable percentage (34.5%) said that they do not.
• Information Sharing: Most children (83.2%) are aware of what information is appropriate to share online.
• More children appear to be using technology in their own bedroom (55.7%) compared to using it in a shared family space (44.3%).

KS2 Headlines (Year 3-Year 6)

• Children have access to a range of devices at home to access the internet, the most popular device being a smart phone at 27.3% (the most popular last year was a games console meaning more pupils have access to a smart phone).
• There has been a decrease in the percentage of children using a games console as the most popular device. The percentage from last year in 2024 was 30.1%, however now in 2025 the percentage is 25.1%.
• The top 3 things the children use the Internet for are gaming, chatting and learning/research. This remains the same as last year (2024).
• 5% (previously 37.7%) of pupils have access to the internet in their own bedroom, with an additional 7% having access to the internet in a shared bedroom. This is opposed to 27.8% (previously 36%) who use the internet in a shared family space.  The data shows that more children are accessing the internet in a private space away from parents/carers.
• 43.2% (previously 36%) of pupils spend more than three hours on the internet each day. This is an increase of 7.2%.
• 22.9% (previously 18.8%) of pupils said that they never talk to an adult about the rules for safe internet browsing. This is an increase of 4.1%.
• All children could suggest what classes as personal information online and could identify systems we have in place in school to keep children safe online.
• All children could give advice to others about online safety and could correctly identify what to do if they felt uncomfortable about something online.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the survey findings, please contact school.

Please find below the Online Safety Newsletter for May:

May 2025

This month, it includes information on:  cyberbullying, Minecraft and Wonderlab+.

There is a large section within the newsletter that outlines what cyberbullying is and what steps you can take to support your child, if you suspect that they are being bullied online. There is also further advice and support from Childnet and the Anti-Bullying Alliance.

Within the newsletter there is also information from Roblox. Please see below, three new parental/ carer controls that they have introduced.

1. Friend blocking – Block specific people on a child’s friend list.
2. Experience blocking – Restrict access to certain games.
3. Top game insights – View the games a child has played most in the last week.

Ask Silver – Scam Protection

Ask Silver is a tool that helps users determine whether messages or online content might be scams. Users can upload screenshots of suspicious messages, and Ask Silver will assess if it is safe or not. Please see the link within the attachment to access this.

There is also an additional resource below from the NSPCC that can be used to improve your family’s online wellbeing.

Positively online: top tips for online wellbeing | NSPCC

If you need more support or guidance with online safety, please contact a staff member or send us an email.

Email: newdale.primary@taw.org.uk

We want to extend a huge thank you to all the parents and carers who attended our face-to-face NSPCC Online Safety Workshop. We are grateful for your engagement, questions, and shared experiences throughout the session.

The NSPCC provided invaluable insights into the latest online trends, risks, and protective measures, helping us all feel more equipped to guide our children through the digital landscape. By working together, we can empower young people to make safer choices online while fostering open conversations about digital wellbeing.

We appreciate your time and dedication, and we hope you found the workshop both informative and practical. If you were unable to attend the workshop but would like to know more information about how to keep your child safe online, please see the attachments below.

NSPCC_OnlineSafetyWorkshop_ResourceSheet 2

NSPCC_OnlineSafetyWorkshop_Factsheet 2

If you have any further questions or need additional resources, please do not hesitate to contact school.

Thank you once again for being a part of the workshop- we look forward to seeing you at future events.