Blog – Latest stories tagged 'bullying'

Thousands of digitastic families set to descend on the Digital Kids Show this October half term at EventCity, Manchester

On October 29th & 30th, thousands of Minecraft, gaming, YouTube loving children and parents will gather at EventCity for a day out like no other. Split across five zones, the event will showcase an unrivalled array of events and activities all included in the ticket price, making it one of the best value days out of the year.

There’s an awesome selection of child friendly games including a 40 Player MINECRAFT Hub, Gaming Bus, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Retro Gaming and the latest Virtual Reality to keep fans of all things futuristic entertained.

Dads will love the Ferrari F1 Simulator and Bandai Namco’s Project Cards on Oculus Rift will bring out the Lewis Hamilton in anyone! There are prizes for the fastest lap in the next generation Scalextric Arc Air family tournament and if that’s not enough car action, 5 -17 year olds can take part in driving lessons in REAL cars – great fun and an amazing way to instil road safety from an early age.

Everyone dreams of launching the next big thing and if you are a budding app inventor or engineer then this is the show for you. The show has lots of activities to ignite the imagination and parents can get involved with kids as they get creative with robots, coding workshops and STEM toys and prepare them to be wowed by the cool Science Shows in our purpose built Explorer Dome.

E-Safety and Anti-Bullying workshops from the Diana Award and Internet Matters are an essential part of the show to help you keep your kids safe online and inspire them to be responsible digital citizens. Meet our friends from YouTube Kids and CBBC who’ve got some awesome surprises for our Digital Kids.

The Digital Kids Show also features some of the UK’s biggest YouTubers including LDShadowLady, AmyLee33, Ashdubh, Tomohawk, SmallishBeans & EthanGamerTV amongst others. They will be doing Meet & Greets and live shows on the stage. They will be joined by CBBC favourites Dick & Dom and BGT Finalists Mythical PSM and Boogie Storm!

Commenting on the event Aisha Tilstone said: “The Digital Kids Show is set to be the highlight of the October half term. We have everything every gamer needs to know right now and an insight from some of the industry’s leading lights. Even if gaming isn’t your thing it’s set to be an amazing day out for all the family. There’s so much on offer for everyone and the leading Minecraft players are sure to be a hit as they will be meeting fans and telling them all about the secret of their success. There is also an underlying message of Internet safety with a specific zone dedicated to it. This comes on the back of a recent report from OFCOM* which highlighted that there has been a fall 2015-2014 from 83% to 78% in the number of parents who trust their children to use the internet safely.”

The Digital Kids Show will be taking place 29th and 30th October at Event City. Visit www.digitalkidsshow.co.uk to find out more.

Holiday tips to share with parents to help children to avoid online risks

As wonderful as the Internet can be for helping our children to learn new things, and connect with relatives throughout the globe, it also opens up a range of new potential threats that we, as teachers, need to protect them from.

Thanks to the popularity of social media and communication-based websites, cyber bullying has grown increasingly common over the recent years with *thousands of children in the UK affected.

You can’t monitor a child’s behaviour in the online world at all times, particularly so during school holidays, so what can parents do to help protect your pupils against the threats that plague the Internet today? We spoke to Rebekah Carter from Broadband Genie about some of the steps parents can take to keep kids safe online.

Step 1: Speak to Your Child

First and foremost, the fight against cyber bullying requires parents to maintain an open, and honest path of communication with their children. Parents should make sure that their kids know that they can speak to them if they’re feeling threatened by anyone, or anything when they’re browsing the Internet, and ensure that they’re aware that parents aren’t going to blame them for any problems, or overreact to an issue.

The more comfortable their children are with the idea of speaking to them, the more likely it is that they will be able to address an issue of cyber bullying in its earliest stages - before the problem is allowed to progress.

Step 2: Supervise Where You Can

Many parents pay close attention to what their children do throughout the day - including who they play with at school, and what extracurricular activities they are involved in. So why not get involved with their cyber-lives too? They can find out which social networks their children use and friend or follow them so that parents can carefully supervise who they talk to, and what they do.

Parents should make sure however, to not smother their children with constant supervision, otherwise children may start using fake accounts and sites without their knowledge in an attempt to avoid their parent’s constant presence.

Step 3: Work with Schools and Set Limits

Most schools work to teach children about the threat of real-world bullies, and how they should deal with bullies if they are ever approached by one. Parents should tell the administrators and teachers in the school if they’re concerned about the issue of cyber bullying or other online threats, teachers can then ensure that the matter is addressed in assemblies and classes where possible.

What’s more, remember that the more unrestricted, and unsupervised access their kids get to Internet-accessible devices, the more likely they are to fall victim to cyber bullying, as they’re actively increasing their online presence. To reduce the chances that their children will suffer as a result of the behaviour of other children, they can set some limits. For instance, parents might restrict use of a laptop to after-dinner hours, and ensure that social media usage occurs in shared areas of the home, rather than behind closed doors.

Parents might also consider setting up instant-messaging or texting filters so that younger children are only permitted to communicate with close friends and family members, or use a shared account for emails so they can watch what comes in, and what goes out.

Young people spend a considerable amount of time online at home, with the latest Ofcom report stating that in 2015 close to nine in in ten 8-11s (91%) and nearly all 12-15s (96%) have Internet access at home. While the Internet is a fabulous source of entertainment and knowledge, it is essential that parents understand how to harness this resource to protect their children online.

*Figures from the NSPCC claim that there were 7,296 counselling sessions with young people who talked to Childline about online bullying and safety last year.

If you would like further support on engaging parents, E-safety Support members can assess a bank of parental engagement resources including an online parent training course which can be issued via email and allows parents to take the course at a time to suit them.

Bullying isn't confined to the school gates and its victims aren't limited to young people. It also exists at home and in our wider communities. And of course, bullying exists online: The result being a constant, and unrelenting attack. Research shows that bullying can have long-lasting and devastating effects.

Organised by the Diana Award, the campaign hopes to:

There is still time to get involved, ​You can also watch and share the #StandUpToBullying campaign video which features celebrities, young people and members of the public who have all pledged to #StandUpToBullying.

Make sure to watch out for the official #StandUpToBullying snap chat filter available to users in the UK and Ireland.

You can also download the social media toolkit and create your own #StandUpToBullying Bomerang on Instagram.

"Your support can help shape attitudes and behaviours early on, ensuring no one should have to suffer the devastating effects of bullying, at any point in their life. We hope you join us in any way you can and #StandUpToBullying"

Find out more

All E-safety Support members can download a cyber bullying assembly from their dashboard.