The biggest concerns at present for children 3-11 continue to be gaming, or apps with a social element attached to them. Make sure you are aware of what you have at home and what your children are able to access. 

Our 3-11 pupils continue to access Roblox and Minecraft from home (please remember we promote giving children access) and when speaking with children informally it is surprising how many of them share the frequency of being subjected to inappropriate behaviour from others. The general trend is poor language but there is the odd instance of unusual questioning/conversations which could point to grooming.

Please ensure that you are part of the process with your children. Help set up accounts, make sure that they are in closed gaming groups with only their friends. There is no need at 3-11 age for unfiltered social access online. 

War orientated games on consoles, as well as tablets, that have an element of social interaction in them are now being used as easy access for radicalization groups. These games include Medal of Honor, Counter-Strike, Assassins Creed, Modern Warfare and Splinter Cell (by no means an exhaustive list!). These games are all rated 18+ and are not appropriate for use with our  children, but we are aware that some of our pupils ‘say’ that they have played them. We would therefore repeat the message that there is a real need to actively parent your children’s online experiences, in what ever form that may be.

If you have a specific concern, please do talk to a teacher. There's also plenty more guidance about online gaming (and even specific games) for parents on the NSPCC website.

David Hewlett, Head of Digital Learning at Dame B's