Dear Parents and Carers
How much do we know about what our children are up to on social media?
Comprehensive schools such as Myton reflect the community they serve. Changes in the community are reflected in schools and we have to respond quickly if we are to meet the needs of our students. I believe no change has affected us more than the role social media plays in the lives of young people. The opportunities for quick and easy communication bring with them clear benefits for everyone; however, for some, these benefits are outweighed by the problems.
Over a few short years we at Myton have increased dramatically the size of our behaviour and welfare teams. We now have a counsellor, a family support worker, several behaviour experts, a welfare manager and a child protection team. And a very large proportion of their work in these areas is taken up with social media issues.
It is a fact that nearly all of our students go through their school life behaving responsibly online. On the other hand, there is a significant and growing number who cause significant disruption and stress by their irresponsible behaviour, and risk their own wellbeing by not keeping themselves safe online.
Online arguments, some of which lead to bullying, spill over into school. Individuals often forget their comments are public. They also forget that others will pass judgement both on the victim and on the person who wrote it. Even more alarming are those who share inappropriate images of themselves to ‘friends’. Our Child Protection team have intervened in dozens of these cases, as inevitably the ‘secret’ picture gets broadcast to hundreds of others, leading to extremely upset and vulnerable teenagers.
Hence my question: ‘How much do we know about what our children are up to on social media?’. We raise our children to have high standards of manners and to act responsibly, including keeping themselves safe online; but it is difficult for parents to supervise in this world of non-stop connectivity and smartphones.
Myton School supports parents by teaching our students how to be safe and responsible online through PSHE, assemblies, courses, and individual mentoring if needed. We also enforce a rule that students’ phones must be turned off and in their bags. However, despite the best efforts of us all, the frequency of issues which start on social media in the evenings and end up having to be resolved in school keep on increasing.
There are a few key things I always mention when discussing this issue with parents:
- All the comments, images or activity on a smartphone belong to whoever is named on the phone contract.
- As soon as your child is unsupervised online, they are at risk of being contacted by anyone.
- If in doubt, get a phone which isn’t connected to the internet. Almost every child and parent tells me they are for emergency purposes, so a standard mobile phone will suffice.
- It is common practice for employers to Google applicants for information held about them online. Will your child’s internet history help get them get a job?
I am no fan of social media, but that is probably down to my grumpy old disposition (as well as having to deal with the fallout almost daily in school). However it is here to stay and we have to adapt.
The work we do together is key in educating our children to be safe and responsible online. As I often remind students: they are accountable to you, their parents. Children do not have the right to privacy from parents, so don’t do anything online that your parents wouldn’t approve of, because chances are, they will find out!
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