This page is to share information with our community around keeping safe online.

What Parents Need to Know about How to Combat Online Bullying

A free online safety guide on combatting online bullying. 

Defined as “ongoing hurtful behaviour towards someone online”, cyber-bullying makes its victims feel upset, uncomfortable and unsafe. In the digital world, it has numerous forms – such as hurtful comments on a person’s posts or profile; deliberately leaving them out of group chats; sharing embarrassing images or videos of someone; or spreading gossip about them. Cyber-bullying can severely impact a young person’s mental health … so, in support of Anti-Bullying Week, we’ve provided a list of tips to help trusted adults know what to look for and how to respond to it. 

In the guide, you'll find tips such as playing online games with your child, talking about your child’s online life and being prepared to listen without showing any judgement or criticism. 

What Parents Need to Know about TikTok

A free online safety guide on TikTok.

TikTok is a free social media platform that lets users create, share and watch short videos ranging anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes in duration. The app gained notoriety for its viral dances, trends and celebrity cameos and can be a creative, fun platform for teens to enjoy. Now available in 75 languages, it has more than a billion active users worldwide (as of spring 2022) and is most popular with the under-16 age bracket. In fact, a 2022 Ofcom report found TikTok to be the most-used social media platform for posting content, particularly among young people aged 12 to 17.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as age-inappropriate content, dangerous challenges and contact with strangers.

What Parents Need to Know about Roblox

A free online safety guide on Roblox.

Roblox is one of the most popular video games on the market. By 2020, the game’s makers were claiming that more than half of children in the USA play it. As a ‘sandbox’ title, Roblox offers a huge amount of creative freedom: it lets players create their own gaming experiences with the Roblox Studio to build custom levels and games, which can then be shared with other players online. Roblox fosters creative thinking and enjoys a robust online community of fans.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as online daters, in-app purchases and contact with strangers.

What Parents Need to Know about Minecraft

A free online safety guide on Minecraft.

Minecraft is a beloved classic of modern gaming. First released in 2011, this open-ended ‘sandbox’ game of building and exploration still has over 140 million players who happily return to play it at least once every month. Minecraft has also been utilised for much more than just entertainment: it’s sometimes used in schools to teach children coding, and it's also employed as a tool for computer-aided design, which is another valuable skill. Encouraging creativity and problem solving, Minecraft has plenty to offer gamers of all ages, and it's available on almost all video game platforms.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as in-game purchases, addiction and chatting with strangers.