Online Safety: A guide for Parents and Carers

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Helping children stay safe online is a shared responsibility between home and school. This page provides simple guidance, practical tips and trusted resources to help you support your child to become a confident and responsible digital citizen.

What Is a Digital Citizen?

A digital citizen is anyone who uses the internet. Children learn that being a good digital citizen means:

Being honest and responsible online

Thinking about how actions affect others

Using devices and apps only with adult approval

Telling a trusted adult if something feels wrong

Never sharing personal information with strangers

Starting the Conversation

Online safety begins with regular, open conversations at home. You don’t need to be a technical expert — just talking with your child about what they do online, how it makes them feel, and what to do if something goes wrong is the most important step.

In school, online safety is taught through our PSHE curriculum and reinforced whenever children use technology in lessons.

The Four Cs of Online Safety

Helping children stay safe online is much easier when they understand the different types of risks they may come across. Instead of the older SMART rules, we now use the Four Cs of Online Safety, which give children a simple way to think about the kinds of situations they might face and how to respond safely. These categories help children recognise risks, make sensible choices, and know when to ask a trusted adult for help.

Content – What children see

Children may come across material that is upsetting, scary, inaccurate or inappropriate for their age. Examples include: violent videos, frightening images, misleading information or content meant for adults.

What to teach your child:

Tell an adult straight away if something online doesn’t feel right.
Use age‑appropriate apps, websites and games.
Understand that not everything online is true.

Contact – Who children talk to

Online spaces can allow strangers to contact children through chat, comments, messaging or in‑game features.

What to teach your child:

Only talk to people they know in real life.
Never share personal information (school, address, photos, routines).
Report any messages that make them feel uncomfortable.

Conduct – How children behave online

Children’s own actions online—such as what they post, how they speak to others and how they react—can create risks.

What to teach your child:

Be kind and respectful, just as they would in person.
Think before posting comments, photos or videos.
Understand that online behaviour can have real‑world consequences.

Commerce – Money and scams

Children may encounter adverts, in‑app purchases, loot boxes, or attempts to trick them into giving money or information.

What to teach your child:

Never buy or download anything without checking with an adult.
Be wary of “free” offers, pop‑ups or requests for card details.
Know that scams exist and to ask an adult if something seems suspicious.

Understanding Age Restrictions

Most social media and messaging platforms set a minimum age of 13 for users, primarily because of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prevents companies from collecting personal data from younger children. Following these age limits helps protect children from inappropriate content, contact from strangers and features designed for older users. Popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok all require users to be 13+, while WhatsApp has a minimum age of 13 in the UK (and 16 in some countries). Discord, which includes open chat servers and voice channels, also sets its minimum age at 13 due to the nature of user‑generated content. Respecting these age restrictions helps children build healthy digital habits and ensures they only access platforms designed with appropriate safeguards for their age group.

Trusted Adults and Reporting Concerns

Children should feel confident that they have several trusted adults they can turn to if something online worries or confuses them. These might include parents, carers, grandparents, teachers or another responsible adult they know well. It’s important to reassure children that they can talk about any online experience—big or small—even if they think they might get into trouble or have made a mistake. Let them know that adults are there to help, not to blame. Encourage regular check‑ins about what they’re doing online, who they’re talking to and how it makes them feel. If something upsetting happens, children should know how to ask for help straight away and understand that trusted adults can support them in reporting, blocking or dealing with situations safely.

Managing Online Profiles

When children begin using social media or online platforms, it’s important that they understand how to manage their online presence safely. A short conversation with your child can help them build good habits early and understand the importance of controlling what they share and who can see it. You can support them by talking about:

How privacy settings work
Who can see their information
Blocking or reporting users
What personal information is unsafe to share (full name, school, address, phone number, routines, photos showing uniform, etc.)
Why they should only connect with people they know in real life
How to choose appropriate usernames and profile pictures
How to recognise when someone isn’t who they say they are online
How long posts, photos or comments stay online (even if deleted or shared privately)
Why being kind and respectful online is just as important as in person
What to do if they feel pressured to share something or keep a secret

Useful E‑Safety Resources

With so much information available online, it can be hard to know which advice to trust. The organisations below provide clear, reliable and up‑to‑date guidance to help families stay safe online. Whether you want to understand risks, learn how to support your child, or explore activities you can do together, these national experts—CEOP, Safer Internet, the NSPCC and Childnet—offer practical tools and age‑appropriate resources designed specifically for children, young people and their parents.

Kids Online Safety

Find tips on how to help your child think carefully about online content. Help them build important life skills and support their wellbeing.

Safer Internet

Safer Internet: helping children and young people stay safe online

National Crime Agency CEOP

CEOP: The National Crime Agency's CEOP Education team aim to help protect children and young people from online child sexual abuse

NSPCC: keeping children safe online

Childnet

Childnet: Helping make the internet a great and safe place for children and young people

Guides for Popular Social Networks

As children grow older, they may become curious about the social networks that adults and older siblings use. Even if your child is not yet old enough for their own account, it’s helpful for parents to understand how major platforms work and what safety features they provide. The links below offer up‑to‑date guidance on privacy settings, reporting tools and ways to make each platform safer should your child encounter them in the future.

Setting Controls on Devices

Modern devices offer a wide range of built‑in tools that help parents manage what children can see and do online. Whether your family uses Apple, Android or Amazon Fire tablets, each platform includes settings that allow you to limit access to apps, filter content, manage screen time and create safer digital spaces for children. The links below explain how to use these controls so you can set up your child’s device with confidence.

Home Internet and Mobile Safety

All major UK internet providers offer parental controls to help families manage online content at home. These controls can filter adult material, restrict specific categories of websites, and help keep children safer while browsing. Below is a broader list covering the most common UK broadband providers:

Home broadband controls:

Mobile network safety controls:

Safe Search Tools

Reporting Online Abuse

If a child has experienced inappropriate, abusive or sexualised content online, support is available.

When and How to Use These Reporting Links

Knowing when to report an online safety concern can help ensure children get the right support quickly. Different organisations respond to different types of risks, so it’s important to understand which service to use and when.

CEOP – Report Abuse (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command)

CEOP is part of the National Crime Agency and should be used when there is a concern that an adult is behaving in a sexual, harmful or inappropriate way towards a child online. This includes situations such as:

An adult sending sexual messages or asking a child to share images
Someone trying to arrange to meet a child in person
Persistent or worrying contact from an unknown individual
Sexual images, threats, or blackmail involving a child

CEOP is designed to respond to urgent child protection concerns. Reports can be made by parents, carers, teachers or by the child themselves, and a specialist child protection officer will review the concern.

NSPCC – Report a Concern

The NSPCC helpline is a good option when you are worried about a child’s general safety or wellbeing, whether online or offline. This includes:

A child being bullied, harassed or frightened online
Exposure to upsetting or harmful content
Concerns about a child’s emotional wellbeing based on their online activity
When you are unsure whether a situation requires police involvement
Seeking advice, reassurance or guidance before taking further steps

Trained NSPCC advisors can listen, offer guidance, and help you decide what to do next. Reports can be made anonymously.

If You’re Unsure What to Do

If you are not certain which reporting option is appropriate:

Start by speaking with a trusted adult in school, such as the safeguarding lead
If you believe a child may be at immediate risk of harm, contact the police straight away
If the concern involves sexual messages or grooming behaviour, use CEOP
If the concern is broader, uncertain or emotional in nature, use the NSPCC helpline for advice