We hope the following information is helpful in assisting you to set up and manage your daughter's device and her phone (if she has one). 

General internet safety and managing internet and device usage

We recommend the guides on the UK Safer Internet Centre website. 

We strongly recommend that you use the internet filtering and family controls available on your home broadband connection.

We strongly recommend that internet-connected devices are used in shared areas of the home wherever possible, visible to supervising adults.

We would like to remind parents that the minimum age for the use of most social media apps is 13, and for WhatsApp the minimum age is 16. Read more in this excellent guide from ThinkUKnow.

If things go wrong

You can report an incident directly to CEOP here

Or here via the Internet Watch Foundation

We are here to help as well. Contact your daughter's tutor or our Designated Safeguarding Leads in the usual way.

Other sources of support and advice

Microsoft Family

We ask senior school students to bring a Windows laptop to school. Parents may find the Microsoft Family setting useful - the system offers quite a lot of control and/or oversight of your child's device.

You'll find all the information about the system here.

Do note that the Microsoft account can be used through a web browser on any device, so even if you are an 'Apple' or 'Google' family, you can sign up for a Microsoft account.

There are some specific settings you need to use in the Microsoft Family settings to ensure that your daughter's device can connect to our school WiFi and network - guidance here -

Parental Controls on devices

Parental control software on phones, laptops and tablets can help families manage the challenge of limiting and monitoring use of technology, including games, social media and YouTube. Internetmatters.org has this excellent resource for finding suitable software and using it effectively.

We strongly recommend the use of parental controls on all devices used by children and young people. These controls can include screentime limits, further web filter, control within apps and which apps can be installed.

Technology solutions to technology problems are only ever part of the solution, and must always sit alongside open and honest conversations in school and families, and vigilance on the part of adults caring for children.

Managing mobile phones

We have policies and clear expectations around the use of mobile phones at school expressed in our mobile phone policy. We want to help parents, of course, in managing this at home as well. Here are some resources about managing and monitoring children's use of mobile phones (and iPads and Android tablets too).

 We also recommend the book How to Break Up with Your Phone - find more information on the author's website here

Please also see:

Junior School Mobile Phone Policy

Senior School Mobile Phone Policy