The Educator Magazine U.K. September - December 2025 issue. - Magazine - Page 17
Supporting schools
to strengthen
parental awareness
of online safety
Mubina Asaria, is Safeguarding Consultant at ed-tech
charity LGfL - The National Grid for Learning.
With the new school year underway,
children moving up to secondary school
are entering a new stage in their lives, when
digital technology use - often unsupervised
- rises sharply, and the pull of social media
grows stronger. For parents, navigating
the digital world can be daunting, and for
schools, the challenge lies in keeping up
with online trends, and providing clear
guidance and support for families.
The risks to children and young people are
constantly changing. According to Ofcom’s
latest ‘Children and parents: media use
and attitudes report 2025’
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/meia-use-andattitudes/media-habits-children/childrenand-parents-media-use-and-attitudesreport-2025
• Nearly half of teens use YouTube,
WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram
• 4 in 10 under-13s have a social media
profile
• From 2023 to 2024, Instagram use among
8–9s rose from 8% to 14%
• One third of 8–17s admit giving a fake age
to access apps/sites
• And up to a quarter have changed their
date of birth since setting up their profile
• A quarter of 8–12s were most likely to do
this on Snapchat
Despite most apps having an age restriction
of 13 years, younger children are able to get
around these, increasing the risk of them
coming to harm. Many children have online
profiles that make them appear older than
they actually are exposing them to content
inappropriate for their age, and other
harmful online interactions including, peer
to peer pressure, commercial advertising,
AI chatbots and adults posing as children or
young adults with the intention to groom or
exploit them for sexual, criminal, financial or
other purposes.
Furthermore, addictive algorithms make it
harder to take a break and maintain a
healthy balance between time on and
offline. Algorithms often push content
similar to what is liked, shared, or
forwarded, and while this can feel
personalised, it also limits exposure to
new ideas, risks spreading misinformation,
and reinforces existing stereotypes.
Top tips for schools
When it comes to raising parents
awareness of online safety, a drip-feed
approach is the most successful.
Incorporate short presentations into other
events - coffee mornings, parent evenings
and celebration days, rather than a once
a year standalone session. Co-presenting
with students is very effective. Students
can provide parents with an ‘insider’ view
by sharing their firsthand experiences
and knowledge of the latest trends, or be
‘tech-experts’ and demonstrate how to set
privacy settings and controls on devices.
To help schools start these key safety
conversations and empower parents and
carers, LGfL have created a free Parent
Online Safety Toolkit. This practical resource
combines the latest research on young
people’s online use and risks, with clear
tips and resources to help parents keep up
with new trends, apps and games, manage
settings and controls, and talk to children
about issues such as bullying, image
sharing, AI chatbots, screen time, and
protection from exploitation and grooming.
The toolkit is easy to use – simply choose
a topic from the menu, for example ‘Supervision and parental controls’, ‘Social
media and gaming’, ‘Screentime’, ‘Risks and
negative experiences’, ‘Staying safe and
reporting’, and then use the Google slides
or PowerPoint to build and personalise a
presentation. Discussion prompts, teacher
notes, fun activities and links to videos,
guides and resources are readily available
to support each area.
The key point to remember when talking to
parents, is to reassure them that they don’t
need to be a tech expert to help their child
stay safe online. Ultimately it’s about
communication, staying informed and
being proactive. For example,
establishing shared expectations like
screen free mealtimes for all the family,
or no phones in the bedroom at night-time.
The toolkit also contains ‘A Digital Family
Agreement’ with sample statements to
help parents get the conversation started.
At every opportunity, always encourage
parents to:
• Stay involved – talk regularly with their
child about what they enjoy, what makes
them laugh, or anything that worries them.
This helps parents understand their child’s
online activity and potential risks.
• Keep it casual – rather than quizzing, ask
about favourite apps, learning sites, or
anything unsettling their child has seen.
• Join in – play games together to see who
their child interacts with, and whether they
know others offline.
• Ask for guidance – ask their child for help
with privacy settings or to explain friend
requests, opening discussions on online
safety and consent.
• Lead by example – model good online
behaviour, including responsible device
use and respecting privacy before sharing
images.
• Reassure – ensure their child knows they
won’t be in trouble if something worrying
happens and that support is always avai
able at home and at school. Content filters
are never 100% effective, and at some
point any child may come across
inappropriate or upsetting content online.
As children get older, restrictions and
parental controls change, but this should
only be at a pace parents feel is appropriate
for their child, not just ‘because everyone
else is allowed’.
For more advice please visit
https://parentonlinesafety.lgfl.net/
