Tēnā koutou,
Well the weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse this week. One silver lining is that it gives us all something to talk about - I have had conversations with many staff, tamariki and whānau this week about how bitterly cold it has felt. Here’s hoping things warm up just a little as we head into our last week of school this term.
One of the things that has been on the mind of leaders and Pōhutukawa kaiako this week has been keeping our tamariki safe online. We have reached out to families in Pōhutukawa recently to discuss keeping our tamariki safe online, particularly around social media. However, online safety is important enough to mention again to a wider audience and with slightly broader information, as it is something we will all be dealing with together over the next few years.
Last year we had Rob and Zareen Cope from ‘Our Kids Online’ come and present to parents from the schools in our Kāhui Ako community of schools. One of their key messages was that, as parents, there is no precedent in how to deal with tamariki who have grown up online. This is the first generation of parents where social media and online connections and communities are such a central part of young children’s lives. As such, everyone is doing the best that they can, and people should not feel bad if they feel like they do not know what they are doing in this space. However, Rob and Zareen also emphasised that there was often a feeling from parents that whilst this is a problem generally, it is not a problem for their child. The statistics don’t bear this out. Over 40% of NZ tamariki are engaging with strangers online. Even child-friendly platforms such as Minecraft and Roblox provide chat features that allow users to connect virtually. Nearly 19% of teens have experienced unwanted digital connection. One in five young people experience online bullying, which also means a similar fraction of our youth (or more) are engaging in those behaviours towards others.
The most important aspect of this is that we need to all work together to help keep our tamariki safe online. Amesbury School has a cyber safety programme, and we also include online safety in our Health programmes. However, this vital mahi can’t just be left to schools. It is important that, as parents, you know where to access resources that will help you to support and protect your children online. Technology is amazing and offers many fabulous benefits. It can also expose our children to dangers, and we need to be actively involved with our children’s digital use and help our tamariki to navigate the online space in a healthy way.
Netsafe is a New Zealand independent, non-profit online safety organisation around online safety, support and expertise, and is a fabulous source of support and education for parents and schools. As a school we are looking into organising a Netsafe parent workshop to help support our community with this. In the meantime, here are some key links:
If you have any concerns about any of this, or you would like to talk more about this, please do feel free to contact us about it.
Kia pai tō rā whakatā, enjoy your weekend.
Ngā mihi,
Urs Cunningham
