At St Teresa's we are committed to keeping children safe when using technology and consuming media. We work with parents to help them to do the same.

At the top of this page, you will find information on common apps that we have heard children interacting with, which you may want to consider not letting your child use/monitoring closely.

At the bottom of the page you will find an archive of E-safety newsletters and letters home regarding E-safety sent to our parents.

At the right hand side of this page you will find external links to information sources around keeping your child safe online.

 

Common Apps, Games and Devices and their associated risks.

Here are some reminders about the risks of and suitable ages for children using specific technologies, applications and media:

Most of our children interact with tablets in some way in their lives. However, studies have shown that children who look at screens for large amounts of time each day may develop difficulties in cognitive function, language skills and academic outcomes in general. (Mupalla et al 2023). The key is moderation. Small amounts of time on these devices, guided by an adult can enrich a child's life and many educational apps available can actually support their development. 

Whats App is for users 13 years and older. Primary aged children should not have access, especially to large group chats where media is shared. 

TikTok is for users ages 13 years and over. There is a lot of material that is not age appropriate on this platform for young children. The impact of long term exposure to short-form media is also being linked to short attention spans, lack of self-control and addictive-like behaviours in those who consume it. (Yan et al 2024). We should be very aware of how much this sort of media can impact our children as their brains are still developing. 

YouTube is for users aged 13 plus. Youtube provides short form media such as Tik Tok as well as longer form media. It also hosts much material that young minds may be susceptible to such as videos promoting various forms of radicalisation, hateful views and violence. A "YouTube kids" platform is also available. However, we have found that the content screening on this platform is quite poor. A free alternative to YouTube that is aimed at children and has much better content filters is "Kidoodle" which you may find as a healthier alternative.

Games such as Fortnite are large online shooter games that involve playing online. Fortnite is rated PEGI 12 . Primary aged children should not play these games due to adult content. 

Games such as Among Us, Roblox and Minecraft are rated PEGI 7. However, they may still have risks to your child when played online. Unfiltered user-made content in Roblox and Minecraft may not be age appropriate and the ability to interact with strangers, many of them adults, online is a genuine area for concern. "Roblox" appears to have the worst safety measures of the games described here. "Among Us" has slightly better communication control, with bad words blocked and no way of strangers communicating after a game, but this should still be monitored. If your child plays these games online please closely monitor their gaming and interactions.

Some video games, (which we are aware that some of our children have had access to) are rated as high as PEGI 18. Letting your child play or see one of these games is no different to watching a violent or graphic adult-oriented movie. Children of a school age should not have any access to these games. If you are yourself, a gamer, who enjoys these kinds of titles, be aware of where and when you are playing these games around your children. Perhaps they are best played after your child's bed time.

 

E-Safety Newsletters

Online Safety Newsletters and E-Safety related letters sent to parents can be found below.