EDUCATION
Schools and parents working in partnership Marina Gardiner-Legge, head of Heathfield School in Ascot gave a head’s perspective of the challenges
ahead.She referred to a recent report by gaming trade body, UK Interactive Entertainment (UKie): Online safety: a pupil’s perspective which revealed that it is not all doom and gloom: 73% of the pupils surveyed said that they felt that their parents understood online safety. Ms Gardiner-Legge counselled of the
importance of schools and parents working in partnership to enable students to be responsible digital users. “I want young women to be able to leave my school knowing how to use Instagram positively and to be able to look at LinkedIn and understand how it works.“We cannot simply ban students from using social media. It’s up to us to help students to understand the risks associated with its use whilst taking full advantage of everything that social media has to offer.”With this in mind, she made some suggestions as to what parents should look for in a school that is forward-thinking about the use of digital media:
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• Don’t look for a school that completely bans social media said Ms Legge. “A school has to get a child prepared for life. One of the most important aspects of this is self-regulation – teaching them wisdom to know when is the right time to turn a device off.”
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“Look for a school that inculcates a mind that questions what they see,” she said. That way a child will be able to discern what is credible and advisable
Tips for managing digital use during adolescence
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Stay away from “tech-bashing”. Parents need to handle a child’s digital use with empathy, showing that we understand that it is good fun but hard to put down. She suggested that setting up a “technology contract” is a good idea. This is where you get together as a family and talk about your family values that you want to guard during your digital use. Each member of the family then signs the contract.
• Think about when children might need a phone. Most children only get a phone when they are travelling alone for the first time (often when starting secondary school.)
• Make a rule that no digital devices can be used in the bedroom. “Have a drop zone where everyone puts their phone before bed,” said Miss Eastwood. “Adolescents need 9-10 hours sleep a night and they will struggle to sleep if you add in the blue light and ‘pings’ from their phone. A disturbed night’s sleep will mean that they will be unable to deal with situations the next day.” having phone-free
• Think about
time, for example phones off during mealtimes or at the weekend only checking phones once in the morning and once in the evening.
• Model good digital behaviour as a parent
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• Any good school will encourage the development of compassion and empathy. “If you are an empathetic person you are not going to go online and hurt someone,” she said
For parents looking for help and support, Jenny Eastwood recommends the following websites:
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Commonsensemedia.org •
Childnet.com •
Digitalawarenessuk.com •
Internetmatters.org
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