Y1 good things to know for website by St George's Communications

International School, Luxembourg A.S.B.L.

Year 1 Good Things to Know

We hope you find this handbook useful, it contains information which is an extension of the Parent Handbook you will have already received. You will receive further information in the form of termly Year Group letters with in depth information on each of the subjects your child(ren) will be studying.

Learning is growing in doing, knowing and understanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS HOMEWORK .................................................................................................................................. 4 CORE LEARNING IN LITERACY ......................................................................................................... 5 SOME DO’S AND DON’TS WITH READING .......................................................................................... 8 CURSIVE ALPHABET ....................................................................................................................... 9 LETTER OUTLINES ....................................................................................................................... 10 FRENCH ..................................................................................................................................... 11 CORE LEARNING IN MATHEMATICS ................................................................................................ 13 FUN MATHS ACTIVITIES TO DO AT HOME ........................................................................................ 15 MATHS VOCABULARY ................................................................................................................... 18 INTERNATIONAL PRIMARY CURRICULUM TOPICS (IPC) .................................................................. 22 INTERNET SAFETY INFORMATION ................................................................................................... 23

HOMEWORK We are often asked questions by parents about homework – its purpose and the amount. This letter will give you an introduction as to how we view homework here at St. George’s. A more detailed programme for each class will be drawn up by the individual class teachers. There is no doubt that parents who are involved in their child’s learning help them to make faster progress, to gain confidence and to achieve better results. We appreciate the support that you already give your children at home. At St. George’s we believe that the main purposes of homework are: 1) To develop our links with you, the parents 2) To help you to understand what your children are learning at school 3) To give your child the opportunity to practise what they are learning, particularly in literacy and numeracy 4) To develop self discipline and perseverance and become independent learners 5) To help your child to learn to plan the wise use of time and to develop confidence 6) To develop ‘The Homework Habit’ 7) To increase self esteem through knowing that their achievements are regarded as important by both home and school 8) To extend school learning The purpose and the amount of homework change as your child gets older. For children in Reception and Years 1 and 2 the homework could include reading, phonic practice, word games, spelling, learning number facts and reading together. The time spent on homework will be about 1 hour each week for Years 1 and 2 and 30 minutes for Reception. We would also encourage you to share other books by reading with your child for between 10 and 20 minutes a day. In Years 3 – 6 the main purpose of homework is to provide opportunities for your child to develop the skills of independent learning. By the time your child reaches Year 6 their homework will cover a range of tasks and curriculum content. In years 3 – 6 homework could include: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

Regular opportunities to practise word and sentence work Finding out information Reading in preparation for lessons Regular opportunities to practise number skills French

CORE LEARNING IN LITERACY – YEAR 1 Most children learn to:

A. SPEAKING AND LISTENING SPEAKING Tell stories and describe incidents from their own experience in an audible voice. Retell stories, ordering events using story language. Interpret a text by reading aloud with some variety in pace and emphasis. Experiment with and build new stores of words to communicate in different contexts.

LISTENING AND RESPONDING Listen with sustained concentration, building new stores of words in different contexts. Listen to and follow instructions accurately, asking for help and clarification if necessary. Listen to tapes or videos and express views about how a story or information has been presented.

GROUP DISCUSSION AND INTERACTION Take turns to speak, listen to others’ suggestions and talk about what they are going to do. Ask and answer questions, make relevant contributions, offer suggestions and take turns. Explain their views to others in a small group, decide how to report the group’s views to the class.

DRAMA Explore familiar themes and characters through improvisation and roleplay. Act out their own and well-known stories, using voices for characters. Discuss why they like a performance.

B. READING WORD RECOGNITION: DECODING (READING) AND ENCODING (SPELLING) Recognise and use alternative ways of pronouncing the graphemes already taught, for example, that the grapheme ‘g’ is pronounced differently in ‘get’ and ‘gem’; the grapheme ‘ow’ is pronounced differently in ‘how’ and ‘show’. Recognise and use alternative ways of spelling the phonemes already taught, for example that the /ae/ sound can be spelt with ‘ai’, ‘ay’ or ‘a-e’; that the /ee/ sound can also be spelt as ‘ea’ and ‘e’; and begin to know which words contain which spelling alternatives. Identify the constituent parts of two-syllable and three-syllable words to support the application of phonic knowledge and skills.

Recognise automatically an increasing number of familiar high frequency words. Apply phonic knowledge and skills as the prime approach to reading and spelling unfamiliar words that are not completely decidable. Read more challenging texts which can be decoded using their acquired phonic knowledge and skills, along with automatic recognition of high frequency words. Read and spell phonically decodable two-syllable and three-syllable words.

UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING TEXTS Identify the main events and characters in stories, and find specific information in simple texts. Use syntax and context when reading for meaning. Make predictions showing an understanding of ideas, events and characters. Recognise the main elements that shape different texts. Explore the effect of patterns of language and repeated words and phrases.

ENGAGING WITH AND RESPONDING TO TEXTS Select books for personal reading and give reasons for choices. Visualise and comment on events, characters and ideas, making imaginative links to their own experiences. Distinguish fiction and nonfiction texts and the different purposes for reading them

C. WRITING WORD STRUCTURE AND SPELLING Spell new words using phonics as the prime approach. Segment sounds into their constituent phonemes in order to spell them correctly.

Children move from spelling simple CVC words to longer words that include common diagraphs and adjacent consonants such as ‘brush’, ‘crunch’. Recognise and use alternative ways of spelling the graphemes already taught, for example that the /ae/ sound can be spelt with ‘ai’, ‘ay’ or ‘a-e’; that the /ee/ sound can also be spelt as ‘ea’ and ‘e’; and begin to know which words contain which spelling alternatives. Use knowledge of common inflections in spelling, such as plurals, -ly, -er. Read and spell phonically decodable two-syllable and three-syllable words.

CREATING AND SHAPING TEXTS Independently choose what to write about, plan and follow it through. Use key features of narrative in their own writing.

Convey information and ideas in simple non-narrative forms. Find and use new and interesting words and phrases, including story language. Create short simple texts on paper and on screen that combine words with images (and sounds).

TEXT STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION Write chronological and non-chronological texts using simple structures. Group written sentences together in chunks of meaning or subject.

SENTENCE STRUCTURE AND PUNCTUATION Compose and write simple sentences independently to communicate meaning. Use capital letters and full stops when punctuating simple sentences.

PRESENTATION Write most letters, correctly formed and orientated, using a comfortable and efficient pencil grip. Write with spaces between words accurately. Use the space bar and keyboard to type their name and simple texts.

SOME DO’S AND DON’TS WITH READING DO DON’T

build confidence at every opportunity expect rapid results or constant progress – learning to read is a gradual progress

DO DON’T

give plenty of praise and encouragement criticise your child’s reading or insist that they try harder

DO DON’T

be patient insist that every word is correct – a story is spoilt by making it a word recognition contest, and getting the meaning is far more important

DO DON’T

choose a time when you can be relaxed and give individual attention try to read if you or your child is just not in the mood

DO DON’T

read books which interest your child – let them choose cover the pictures – these are vital clues for your child when reading

DO DON’T

encourage your child to guess if they are unsure of the next word make comparisons with other children’s progress and be competitive about reading – we all learn things at different rates

DO DON’T

keep the session short – stop if your child seems bored or disinterested try and sound out all the individual letters in an attempt to work out a word – not all words are built phonically and children need to blend sounds, not isolate them

DO DON’T

try and help your child guess the word by making out the initial sound always correct your child if they make sense but don’t necessarily get the word right – e.g. home for house

DO DON’T

tell your child the word if they are really struggling isolate words out of context and expect your child to know them

DO DON’T

read a book together with your child and share the story – try missing out words and see if they can fill in the gap stop reading to/with your child once you think they can read for themselves

DO DON’T

ask your child if they can point out easy words on a page, e.g. the, me discourage your child from reading books that you think are too easy

DO DON’T

encourage your child to point as they read, following each word carefully make your child anxious about reading especially if you are. It is more important that a child becomes a keen reader than learns to read at a particular age

remember that learning to read is dependent on a child’s belief that they can do it

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up, over, back around, up, down, flick.

up, to the top, down, half way up, right around.

up, over, back round.

up, to the top, over, back, right down, loop.

up, over, back around, up, right down, loop.

up, down, flick. (Dot after)

up, to the top, down, half way up, right round, down out, flick.

up, to the top, down, flick.

up, down, up, over, up, over, flick.

up, down, up, over, flick.

up, over, back all the way round, flick.

up, right down, up, right round.

up, over, back around, up, right down, flick.

up, down, back up, over, flick.

up, over, back around, round.

up, to the top, down, flick. (Cross after)

up, down, round, up, down, flick.

up, down, up, flick.

up, down, up, down, up, flick.

up, down, flick. (Cross down after)

up, down, round, up, right down, loop.

up, along, down, along

up, over, back around, up to the top, down, flick.

up around.

FRENCH By the end of Year 6, we would expect some of our pupils to attain level C1 if they have been attending French at St Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s from Early Years. Below is an explanation of the levels used to assess language levels: The Common European Framework (CEFR) divides learners into three broad divisions that can be divided into six levels. It describes what a learner is supposed to be able to do in reading, listening, speaking and writing at each level. Level group Level group name Level Description

Basic User

Independent User

Proficient User

Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.

Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).

Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.

Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his / her field of specialisation.

Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning.

Can introduce him / herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has.

Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.

Can deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics that are familiar or of personal interest.

Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.

Can express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.

C2 Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.

Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.

Level Description

Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Can produce clear, wellstructured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.

SUPPORTING THE FRENCH LEARNER OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL Language Camps: www.languages.lu/language-camps/ Tutoring: www.languages.lu/school-tutoring/ Tutoring: www.mastercraft.lu/en/soutien_scolaire.html Sports and Languages: www.inlingua.lu/?q=en/node/136 After-school: www.inlingua.lu/?q=en/node/135 Little Gym: www.thelittlegym.eu/lu-fr

SUPPORTING THE EAL LEARNER OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL Little Gym: www.thelittlegym.eu/lu-en Ceramics School: www.ceramics.lu/index.htm British Guides in Luxembourg: www.bglux.eu Telstar Scout Group: www.telstar.lu Newsround: www.bbc.co.uk/newsround Online Talking Stories: http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/onlinestory.htm British Council: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/

CORE LEARNING IN MATHEMATICS – YEAR 1 * Key objectives are in bold. Most children learn to:

USING AND APPLYING MATHEMATICS Solve problems involving counting, adding, subtracting, doubling or halving in the context of numbers, measures or money, for example to ‘pay’ and ‘give change’. Describe a puzzle or problem using numbers, practical materials and diagrams; use these to solve the problem and set the solution in the original context. Answer a question by selecting and using suitable equipment, and sorting information, shapes or objects; display results using tables and pictures. Describe simple patterns and relationships involving numbers or shapes; decide whether examples satisfy given conditions. Describe ways of solving puzzles and problems, explaining choices and decisions orally or using pictures.

COUNTING AND UNDERSTANDING NUMBER Count reliably at least 20 objects, recognising that when rearranged the number of objects stays the same; estimate a number of objects that can be checked by counting. Compare and order numbers, using the related vocabulary; use the equals (=) sign. Read and write numerals from 0 to 20, then beyond; use knowledge of place value to position these numbers on a number track and number line. Say the number that is 1 more or less than any given number, and 10 more or less for multiples of 10. Use the vocabulary of halves and quarters in context.

KNOWING AND USING NUMBER FACTS Derive and recall all pairs of numbers with a total of 10 and addition facts for totals to at least 5; work out the corresponding subtraction facts. Count on or back in ones, twos, fives and tens and use this knowledge to derive the multiples of 2, 5 and 10 to the tenth multiple. Recall the doubles of all numbers to at least 10.

CALCULATING Relate addition to counting on; recognise that addition can be done in any order; use practical and informal written methods to support the addition of a one-digit number or a multiple of 10 to a onedigit or two-digit number.

Understand subtraction as ‘take away’ and find a ‘difference’ by counting up; use practical and informal written methods to support the subtraction of a one-digit number from a one-digit or twodigit number and a multiple of 10 from a two-digit number. Use the vocabulary related to addition and subtraction and symbols to describe and record addition and subtraction number sentences. Solve practical problems that involve combining groups of 2, 5 or 10, or sharing into equal groups.

UNDERSTANDING SHAPE Visualise and name common 2-D shapes and 3-D solids and describe their features; use them to make patterns, pictures and models. Identify objects that turn about a point (e.g. scissors) or about a line (e.g. a door); recognise and make whole, half and quarter turns. Visualise and use everyday language to describe the position of objects and direction and distance when moving them, for example when placing or moving objects on a game board

MEASURING Estimate, measure, weigh and compare objects, choosing and using suitable uniform non-standard or standard units and measuring instruments (e.g. a lever balance, metre stick or measuring jug). Use vocabulary related to time; order days of the week and months; read the time to the hour and half hour

HANDLING DATA Answer a question by recording information in lists and tables; present outcomes using practical resources, pictures, block graphs or pictograms. Use diagrams to sort objects into groups according to a given criterion; suggest a different criterion for grouping the same objects.

FUN MATHS ACTIVITIES TO DO AT HOME SECRET NUMBERS Write the numbers 0 to 20 on a sheet of paper. Ask your child secretly to choose a number on the paper. Then ask him/her some questions to find out what the secret number is, e.g. Is it less than 10? Is it between 10 and 20? Does it have a 5 in it? He/she may answer only yes or no. Once you have guessed the number, it is your turn to choose a number. Your child asks the questions. For an easier game, use numbers up to 10. For a harder game, use only 5 questions, or use bigger numbers.

SHAPE ACTIVITY At home, or when you are out, look at the surface of shapes. Ask your child â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what shape is this plate, this mirror, the bath mat, the tea towel, the window, the door, the red traffic light, and so on. Choose a shape for the week, e.g. a square. How many of these shapes can your child spot during the week, at home and when you are out?

DICE GAME You need a 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 dice, paper and pencil. Take turns. Choose a number between 1 and 10 and write it down. Throw the dice and say the dice number. Work out the difference between the chosen number and the dice number, e.g. if you wrote down a 2 and the dice shows 5, the difference is 3. You could also draw a number line to help your child to see the difference between the two numbers.

HOW OLD? Start with your child’s age. Ask your child: How old will you be when you are 1 year older? How old were you last year? How old will you be 10 years from now? And so on.

TAKINGS For this game you will need a dice and a collection of small things such as Lego bricks, sticky shapes or dried beans. You will also need a pencil and paper. Take turns. Roll a dice. Take that number of beans. Write down the number. Keep rolling the dice and taking the number of beans. BUT, before you take them, you must write down your new total. For example, Sally has 7. She throws 4. She has to work out how many she will have now. She starts counting from seven: eight, nine, ten, eleven. She writes 11. You can only take your beans if you are right. The first person to collect 20 beans wins!

TRACK GAMES Make a track to 20 or longer. Make it relevant to your child’s interests – sea world, space, monsters, ... Then play games on it. Throw a dice. Move along that number of spaces. BUT before you move, you must work out what number you will land on. If you are wrong, you don’t move! The winner is the first to land exactly on 20. Now play going backwards to 1. Throw a dice. Find a number on the track that goes with the number thrown to make either 10 or 20. Put a counter on it, e.g. you throw a ‘4’ and put a counter on either 6 or 16. If someone else’s counter is there already you may replace it with yours! The winner is the first person to have a counter on 8 different numbers.

OUT AND ABOUT On the way to school, see how many cuboids, spheres and cylinders you can spot. Which did you see most of?

CUPBOARD MATHS Choose two tins or packets from your food cupboard. Ask your child to hold one in each hand and tell you which is heavier, and which is lighter. (Check by reading the weight on each tin or packet.) If he/she is right, they keep the lighter one. Then choose another item from the cupboard, trying to find one that is still lighter still. Carry on until your child has found the lightest item in the cupboard. It might be suitable to eat as a prize.

CAR NUMBER BINGO Each person chooses a target number, e.g. 14. Think about which pairs of numbers add to make your target. You have to see a car that has two numbers that add up to your target number. ZK 8925 Say: 9 + 5 = 14, bingo! Change the target number each week. You can extend this activity by looking for three numbers which add up to your target number.

ADDING CIRCLES For this game, you need a dice and pencil and paper. Each of you should draw four circles on your piece of paper. Write a different number between 2 and 12 in each circle. Roll a dice twice. Add the two numbers. If the total is one of the numbers in your circles then you may cross it out. The first person to cross out all four circles wins.

DICEY COINS For this game you need a dice and about twenty 10 cent coins. Take turns to roll the dice and take that number of 10 cent coins. Guess how much money this is. Then count aloud in tens to check, e.g. saying ten, twenty, thirty, forty, ... If you do this correctly you keep one of the 10 cent pieces. First person to collect â&#x201A;Ź1 wins. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to give the coins back!

This is the Maths vocabulary that your child will be exposed to this year. We don’t expect you to teach it to them, but would like you to be aware of the words that will be used in case your child would like help or reassurance in their understanding. If English is not their first language, it will enable you to be aware of the vocabulary they are learning. * Words new to Year 1 are in red.

NUMBERS AND THE NUMBERING SYSTEM COUNTING, PROPERTIES OF NUMBERS AND NUMBER SEQUENCES number zero, one, two, three... to twenty and beyond zero, ten, twenty... to one hundred none how many...? count, count (up) to count on (from, to) count back (from, to) count in ones, twos... tens... more, less, many, few odd, even every other how many times? pattern, pair

PLACE VALUE AND ORDERING units, ones tens exchange digit ‘teens’ number the same number as, as many as equal to

Of two objects/amounts: greater, more, larger, bigger less, fewer, smaller

Of three objects/amounts: greatest, most, biggest, largest least, fewest, smallest one more, ten more one less, ten less compare order size

first, second, third... tenth, eleventh... twentieth last, last but one before, after next between, half way between above, below

ESTIMATING guess how many, estimate nearly, roughly, close to about the same as just over, just under too many, too few, enough, not enough

CALCULATIONS ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION +, add, more, plus make, sum, total altogether score double, near double one more, two more... ten more how many more to make...? how many more is... than...? how much more is? -, subtract, take (away), minus leave how many are left/left over? how many have gone? one less, two less... ten less... how many fewer is... than...? how much less is...? difference between half, halve =, equals, sign, is the same as

SOLVING PROBLEMS MAKING DECISIONS AND REASONING pattern puzzle answer right, wrong what could we try next? how did you work it out? count out, share out, left, left over number sentence sign, operation

MONEY money coin penny, pence, pound, cent, euro price cost buy sell spend, spent pay change dear, costs more cheap, costs less, cheaper costs the same as how much...? how many...? total

ORGANISING AND USING DATA count, sort, vote group, set list same, different table

MEASURES, SHAPE AND SPACE MEASURES (GENERAL) measure size compare guess, estimate enough, not enough too much, too little too many, too few

nearly, roughly, close to, about the same as just over, just under

LENGTH length, width, height, depth long, short, tall high, low wide, narrow deep, shallow thick, thin longer, shorter, taller, higher... and so on far, near, close metre ruler, metre stick

MASS weight, weighs, balances heavy/light, heavier/lighter, heaviest/lightest balance, scales, weight

CAPACITY full half full empty holds container

TIME time

days of the week: Monday, Tuesday... seasons: spring, autumn, summer, winter day, week, month, year weekend, birthday, holiday morning, afternoon, evening night, midnight bedtime, dinnertime, playtime today, yesterday, tomorrow before, after next, last now, soon, early, late quick, quicker, quickest, quickly fast, faster, fastest slow, slower, slowest, slowly old, older, oldest new, newer, newest takes longer, takes less time

hour, oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock, half past clock, watch, hands how long ago? how long will it be to...? how long will it take to...? how often? always, never, often, sometimes, usually once, twice

SHAPE AND SPACE shape, pattern flat curved, straight round hollow, solid corner point, pointed face, side, edge, end sort make, build, draw

3D SHAPES cube cuboid pyramid sphere cone cylinder

2D SHAPES circle triangle square rectangle star

PATTERNS AND SYMMETRY size bigger, larger, smaller symmetrical pattern repeating pattern match

POSITION, DIRECTION AND MOVEMENT position

over, under, underneath above, below top, bottom, side on, in outside, inside around in front, behind front, back before, after beside, next to opposite apart between middle, edge centre corner direction journey left, right up, down forwards, backwards, sideways across close, far, near along through to, from, towards, away from movement slide roll turn, whole turn, half turn stretch, bend

INSTRUCTIONS listen join in say think imagine remember start from start with start at look at point to show me put, place fit

arrange rearrange change, change over split separate carry on, continue repeat what comes next? find choose collect use make build tell me describe pick out talk about explain show me read write record trace copy complete finish, end fill in shade colour

tick, cross draw draw a line between join (up) ring arrow cost count work out answer check

GENERAL same number(s) different number(s) missing number(s) number facts number line, number track number square number cards abacus counters, cubes, blocks, rods die, dice dominoes pegs, peg board same way, different way best way, another way in order, in a different order not all, every, each

INTERNATIONAL PRIMARY CURRICULUM TOPICS (IPC TOPICS) TERM 1 IPC Topic

Corresponding Science Topic

Who am I

Ourselves

Time Detectives

Sorting Materials

TERM 2 IPC Topic

Corresponding Science Topic

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Celebrate

Light and Dark

Saving Water

Pushes and Pulls

TERM 3 IPC Topic

Corresponding Science Topic

Flowers and Insects

Growing Plants

Flowers and Insects

Sound and Hearing

Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information either to people you are chatting with online or by posting it online where other people can see it.

Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents’ or carers’ permission and even then only when they can be present.

Accepting emails, IM messages, or opening files, pictures or texts from people you don’t know or trust can lead to problems – they may contain viruses or nasty messages!

Someone online might lie about who they are, and information on the internet may not be reliable. Check information or advice with other websites, books, or someone who knows.

Tell your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied online.

• Make sure your children know the SMART rules. Childnet’s SMART rules have been written especially for young people to remind them how to be careful online.

• Make use of available filtering and monitoring software. These can help to block inappropriate material but remember they are not 100% effective and are no substitute for adult involvement and supervision. For more advice see: www.getnetwise.org

• Encourage children to talk to someone they trust if they feel worried or upset by something that happens online.

• Bookmark your family’s favourite websites. Add www.ceop.police.uk to your favourites if you ever need to report online abuse to the police.

• Create a family email address for registering online.

• Agree rules as a family about not disclosing personal information – such as your full name, email address, phone number, home address, photos or school name – time spent online, and contacting people via the internet.

• Get involved in your children’s internet use. Discussing the opportunities and risks with children involves helping them to see for themselves how they might get into and out of difficulty.

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW

The Internet Watch Foundation website is the UK’s hotline for reporting illegal online content. It deals specifically with child abuse images hosted worldwide and criminally obscene and incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK. www.iwf.org.uk

This guide has been written and produced by children’s charity Childnet International.

Childnet forms part of the UK Safer Internet Centre in partnership with the SWGfL and the IWF. www.saferinternet.org.uk

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre’s website houses a range of information on how to stay safe online. It includes a link that enables parents and young people to make reports of actual or attempted abuse online which the police will investigate. www.ceop.police.uk

Childnet’s Sorted website is a resource produced entirely by young people for young people and adults on the issues of internet security. It gives important information and advice on how to protect computers from the dangers of viruses, phishing scams, spyware and Trojans. www.childnet.com/sorted

Childnet’s Digizen website provides information about using social network sites and social media sites creatively and safely, it shares advice and guidance on preventing and responding to cyberbullying. www.digizen.org

Childnet’s award winning suite of Know IT All resources have been designed to help educate parents, teachers and young people about safe and positive use of the internet. You can access the suite of resources for free at www.childnet.com/kia

Childnet runs a special parents’ seminar which can be held in your school and there is further advice for parents on Childnet’s KidSMART website at www.kidsmart.org.uk/parents

The Childnet International website gives internet safety advice, resources and links for young people, parents, teachers, and other organisations. Childnet’s Chatdanger website, accessible from here, gives information and advice about how to keep safe while chatting online. www.childnet.com

FURTHER ADVICE AND RESOURCES

... AN INTERNET SAFETY GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

www.childnet.com/kia

KEEPING UP WITH CHILDREN ON THE INTERNET

THE INTERNET – ALWAYS CHANGING

Encourage your children to keep their personal information private, learn how to block pop-ups and spam emails, and use a family email address when filling in online forms.

Young people’s privacy can be invaded by aggressive advertising and marketing schemes.

COMMERCIALISM

There can be legal consequences for copying copyrighted content. Young people need to be aware that plagiarising content and downloading copyrighted material without the author’s permission is illegal.

Inappropriate material is available to children online. Consider using filtering software and agree ground rules about what services you are happy for your children to use. Give them strategies for dealing with any content they are not comfortable with – such as turning off the computer screen and telling an adult they trust.

CONTENT

Children may be at risk because of their own and others’ online behaviour, such as the personal information they make public. They may also become either perpetrators or targets of cyberbullying (the use of information and communication technologies to deliberately upset someone else).

CONDUCT

Potential contact from someone online who may wish to bully or abuse them. It is important for children to remember that online contacts may not be who they say they are. Children must keep personal details private and agree not to meet unsupervised with anyone they have only contacted via the internet. It’s important that you discuss with your child who they can report inappropriate conversations, messages and behaviours to and how.

CONTACT

The risks for children when using the internet and mobile phones include inappropriate:

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

This Childnet Know IT All guide will help you to understand online safety issues and give you practical advice as you talk to your children so they can get the most out of the internet and use it positively and safely.

Many children may have better technical skills than you; however they still need advice and protection when using internet and mobile technologies.

Keeping up to date with children’s use of technology is challenging for many adults. It can be hard to supervise what young people are viewing and creating online, who they are chatting to and texting, and what they are downloading.

CYBERBULLYING

IS IT LEGAL? People who download or upload copyrighted material online without the author’s permission are breaking the law. You can legally download by going to websites where this permission to share files has been given.

WHAT IS PEER-2-PEER (P2P)? A file-sharing network enables people to exchange photos, videos, music, software and games directly between computers, by downloading P2P software.

DOWNLOADING, P2P AND FILE-SHARING

For further information on social networking safety visit: www.childnet.com/downloads/blog_safety.pdf

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Learn from and teach children how to use these applications responsibly. Check the privacy settings available and encourage children to make their profiles accessible only to people known offline. Encourage young people to keep their personal information to a minimum and to think very carefully before including a personal photograph of themselves or their friends in their profile. Photos online can easily be copied, changed and used elsewhere, and can potentially stay online forever.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS? Personal information and contact details can be contained in a profile or could be disclosed during online conversations. Such information can lead to children and their social network receiving unwanted contact from inappropriate people. Children can also post comments or images of themselves or others online, which may compromise their or their friends’ safety or be used as a means to bully others.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Social networking services or blogs are places online where young people can create personalised web-pages in order to express themselves and share ideas and opinions with others. These services enable them to meet and socialise online by linking to other people and therefore create an environment for the whole of their social network to easily exchange information and chat.

New technologies provide an apparently anonymous method by which bullies can torment their victims at any time of the day or night. While the bullying may not be physical, the victim may receive an email, chat or text messages or be the target of unfavourable websites or social networking profiles that make them feel embarrassed, upset, depressed or afraid. This can damage their self-esteem and pose a threat to their psychological well-being. For more advice on preventing and responding to cyberbullying see: www.digizen.org

For more advice on online gaming and how to stay safe visit www.childnet.com/downloads/Online-gaming.pdf

GAMES CONSOLES AND HANDHELD GAMING DEVICES Home entertainment consoles such as the Playstation, Wii and Xbox are capable of connecting to the internet as are handheld games consoles like the DSi and Playstation Portable.

For more advice visit: www.chatdanger.com/mobiles

It is very important to encourage your children not to give out their mobile numbers to strangers either online or in real life and help them to use their mobile safely and responsibly.

MOBILE PHONES Whilst mobile devices offer opportunities in terms of communication, interaction and entertainment, children can be at risk of accessing and distributing inappropriate content and images and talking to strangers away from parental supervision. Children can receive abusive text messages, be vulnerable to commercial mobile phone pressures and run up large phone bills.

The internet can be accessed through mobile phones, handheld gaming devices and gaming consoles as well as other devices like the iPod Touch and iPad. Internet safety issues apply to these interactive technologies.

ACCESSING THE INTERNET ON OTHER DEVICES

For further information visit: www.childnet.com/downloading

WHAT ARE THE PRIVACY AND SECURITY RISKS? Your computer is at risk from spyware, viruses and other invasive programmes if you are sharing files on non-regulated sites. Protect your computer and personal files by visiting reputable sites and by installing a firewall and anti-virus software.

WHAT ABOUT INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT AND CONTACT? File sharing networks are the least regulated part of the internet. They can contain pornography and inappropriate content, often in files with misleading names. Direct children to legal downloading sites to reduce this risk.

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