Online Safety

Dear Parent/Carer,

Further to the Social Media letter that was posted on our website 22nd March 2023, we would like to draw your attention to some further specific issues and guidance. We feel this is particularly important with the onset of the Easter holidays and young people having, potentially, more unsupervised time, which may be spent online.

Omegle

Created in 2009, Omegle is a free online website that allows users to socialise with strangers. The service randomly pairs users in a one-to-one virtual video chat session.

Omegle does not appear to have powerful moderation. It also does not require registration or have age verification, which make young people a potential target for abuse online. Its site states ‘predators have been known to use Omegle, so please be careful’. Additional concerns:

1. Scammers use Omegle to target victims.
2. Users can be exposed to explicit and inappropriate content.
3. Omegle does not require user registration or verification.
4. Users can be recorded and their conversations can be shared.
5. Users can be freely matched with strangers who are far older than themselves.
6. Omegle is infamous for a lot of sexual content.

The Key has as designated parent area with a large number of factsheets pertaining to online safety. Below we have focused on just two of them: 10 tips and TiKToK but if you follow this link you will be able to inform yourselves further.

https://safeguarding.thekeysupport.com/parent-online-safety-zone/?org=a1232f2b-8ef3-4980-b705-5b38f570034d

Wishing you a happy, holy and safe Easter.

Kind regards

Mrs Nutt

Assistant Principal