Staying safe

Online safety

To help your children to stay safe online, you should:

  • be aware of what they are doing
  • know who their online friends are
  • talk to them about the dangers of sharing personal information and photos
  • make sure they can talk to you if they feel uncomfortable about something they have seen
  • teach them about privacy settings on social media

Advice for children and young people

The internet can be fun. It's important to stay safe online.

Do

  • tell an adult you trust if you are upset or worried about something that has happened online
  • save any message that has upset you and show them to an adult you trust

Don’t

  • tell anyone you meet online your address, telephone number or school's name
  • send anyone your picture that you wouldn’t be happy for your family to see
  • send anyone your credit card or bank account number
  • arrange to meet anyone without checking with your parent or carer
  • give your password to anyone
  • stay in a chat room if someone says or writes something that makes you feel uncomfortable

Further advice

For more tips about online safety, visit:

Report online abuse

You can report online abuse or obscene content to:

If you are a victim of cybercrime, call the police on 101.

Personal safety

Safety whilst out and about

When you are going out in the day or at night, you should feel safe. For advice, visit:

Underwear rule: talk PANTS

Talk PANTS helps children understand that their body belongs to them. 

They should tell someone they trust if anything makes them feel upset or worried. 

Road safety

Awareness of road safety, either driving or as a pedestrian, is important. For advice, visit:

Doorstep safety

You should be aware of doorstep criminals, scammers and rogue traders. Older and vulnerable people are more likely to be targeted. For advice, visit: