The Internet is essential in 21st-century life for education, business and social interaction. As students move up through the school their access to various types of technology increases and it stands to reason that their exploration and curiosity increases too. The positives of the digital world overwhelmingly outweigh the negatives but children, schools and parents all need to be aware of various online risks.

Parental Controls and Internet Filtering

Whilst students are in school their Internet connection is filtered, however, by default home broadband connections are unfiltered, which opens up the risk of students accessing inappropriate sites or sites that may be harmful. 

We recommend implementing filtering on your home network via your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to help protect students from inappropriate online content.

Below are guides for implementing parental controls for BT, Virgin, TalkTalk and Sky.
If you have a different ISP (Internet Service Provider) please check their website for details on how to implement parental controls in your home.

BT Broadband

Virgin Media Broadband 

TalkTalk Broadband 

Sky Broadband 

We have also created a helpguide for Parents and Carers to have more information on how to protect students when using sites such as Snapchat and TikTok. This will be updated regularly as information changes and more features become available. 

Online Gaming Platforms 

One of the best things about online gaming is being able to do it with people all over the world. Meeting people through games can be really rewarding, as there is a guarantee you have at least a few things in common with them, and it’s good to have people to play with that you’ve gotten to know in that space.

However, sometimes, not everyone is what they seem behind the screen and there have been an increasing number of incidents with students across the country falling victim to cyber bullying or abuse. For more information on how students can stay safe online please visit the 'Ditch the label' site

Parental Controls for devices  

For information on how to set up Parental Controls on devices such as mobile phones, game consoles and other tech, please visit the NSPCC website.