CYBER SAFETY
At the end of last term I was fortunate to attend a conference and hear an amazing speaker by the name of Susan McLean. According to her Bio, Susan is “Australia’s foremost expert in the area of cyber safety and was a member of Victoria Police for 27 years. Susan established Cyber Safety Solutions in March 2007 and this has grown to be the most highly respected and in-demand cybersafety consultancy in Australia.”
Susan gave an excellent, informative, and somewhat scary (as a parent of two teenagers!) presentation about Cyberbullying, Online Grooming, Problematic Internet use and Gaming Issues, Sexting and more. Her website has a range of no-nonsense, practical downloadable fact sheets that I highly recommend every parent read:
http://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/fact-sheets/
There is also information about a program called Family Zone, a cyber safety platform that can be used at home:
http://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/family-zone/
I am also currently reading one of Susan’s books, “Sexts, Texts & Selfies” which includes case studies of what children get up to online, and clear and practical guidelines on how to help them navigate and use the internet responsibly and safely.
If you have any questions or need any assistance in this area, I’m happy to meet and share the resources that I have.
Jenni Forder (PCW)