Why should parents think about Internet Safety?
Parents have approached us and asked about safe use of the internet. At school our internet is filtered by Essex and RM. Whilst no system is 100% perfect, the filter prevents any sites which show adult material or allow chat. If we feel a site has been accessed through our computers which is not appropriate we can report it to the filter to prevent further access. In our experience this system has been very successful.
At home it is up to parents to ensure the internet is filtered. Depending on your internet service provider (ISP) and you anti virus software, you will have a number of options to filter inappropriate sites and restrict access to chat rooms. You should look at your software guides or contact your provider if you are unsure about these. By simply changing some settings and password protecting them you can have more confidence that children are not accessing sites with adult content.
If they use chat sites to communicate with friends and you are reluctant to stop this then set rules and agree that you can monitor this occasionally to ensure they are only chatting with people they know in the 'real world' not an online persona who could actually be anyone.