Over Christmas – e-safety of setting up apps, games and software

15th December 2022Louise Gatti

In 2020, smartphone and tablet users spent a global total of around £330 million on downloading apps over the Christmas period. The following year, the UK alone saw almost seven million video games being given as gifts. The holiday season, in short, heralds a major spike in young people encountering new games and apps for the first time.

So far, so festive. And although games and apps mainly offer harmless fun, there are still risks to remain aware of – from realistic violence in this year’s must-have shooter to contact from strangers on the latest networking platform.

Millions of new phones, tablets, laptops and games consoles will be nestling under Christmas trees this year. However, even if parents and carers have gone to the trouble of setting up these new devices and enabling the safety features, there are still potential hazards in the apps, games and software that children will want to install and use. Knowing what to look for and discussing those risks with your child may help avoid any nasty surprises this Christmas. Here are our top tips for ensuring that unwrapping this year’s presents doesn’t unleash any unexpected dangers.

In the guide, you’ll find tips such as disabling in-app purchasing, take note of age ratings and watching out for imitators.

Over 1000 items collected for Wansbeck Food bank and families in the community.

12th December 2022Louise Gatti

Over 1000 items collected for Wansbeck Food bank and families in the community. Great team work from all Duke’s students, families and staff which showed great compassion for others, especially in these tough times. Staff from the food bank were genuinely overwhelmed by how much we collected and the van was full. Students from the Arc were a great help in organising and setting up the collection on the day. A huge thank you from Beacon staff.

Also

 

Christmas Jumper Day
Christmas jumper day will be on Wednesday 21st December. You can wear a christmas jumper/tshirt or top  and can make any donation you can give. Normal school uniform expectations apply so school trousers/skirts and school shoes please.
Year 7&8 Disco
Please remind groups that disco tickets are still on sale. To buy a ticket come to The Beacon at break or lunch. Tickets are £1.50.
Secret Santas
 These are selling fast so if any students or staff would like to buy one please come to The Beacon at break or lunch. They are £1.

National Online Safety – HiPal

7th December 2022Louise Gatti
A recent study by the Co-Op Foundation reported that 95% of children and young people admitted to occasionally feeling lonely. So it’s easy to understand how networking apps like HiPal – with the tempting lure of bucketloads of cool new people to befriend and interact with online – become hugely successful very quickly if they’re delivered well.

HiPal is indeed a competently assembled app in terms of usability and features – but (with no age verification system and an ineffective reporting tool) it does also sport some glaring omissions from a safeguarding perspective. Trusted adults should check out this week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide for our full profile of this up-and-coming chat app.

 
HiPal is a trending social media app which turns phones into walkie-talkies, allowing people to have voice conversations with friends or strangers. There are two account options: one for users aged under 12 and one for those aged 12 or above. The former has fewer features and limits interaction with strangers; enabling use of the walkie-talkie feature or photo sharing with friends and family only. The 12+ accounts offer more options, including adding strangers as friends, sharing photos and videos publicly, send private messages and holding voice chats with strangers as well as friends.

In the guide, you’ll find tips on a number of potential risks such as contact with strangers, dangerous challenges and intrusive features. 

Newcastle United Foundation offer a FREE football session in Ashington on a Friday evening for boys and girls aged 8-18.

1st December 2022Louise Gatti

Newcastle United Foundation offer a FREE football session in Ashington on a Friday evening for boys and girls aged 8-18.

Newcastle United Foundation Premier League Kicks provides young people aged 8 to 18 the opportunity to play football for FREE, for 48 weeks of the year in a safe, supervised environment with our charity’s coaching staff.

Please see below, that can be attached and link for registration.

https://ile5o88bign.typeform.com/to/vuz4fIXp?typeform-source=www.nufoundation.org.uk

National Online Safety – Social Media and Mental Health

30th November 2022Louise Gatti

An estimated one-third of children have a social media account, so it’s important that trusted adults know what content young people are consuming, what they’re posting and the interactions they’re having. On social media, it can be easy to go down a rabbit hole that isn’t beneficial to our wellbeing. As platforms grapple with managing ‘legal but harmful’ content, lives are being impacted – sometimes to tragic effect. We might be daunted by the scale of the tech giants and their content which enthrals young people, but we can still help children to be mindful of their mental wellness: recognising when something isn’t OK … and knowing what to do about content that upsets them.

In the guide, you’ll find tips such as how to hide content, setting daily limits and discussing what children have seen online.

Parent and Carer Guide – TikTok

24th November 2022Louise Gatti


TikTok is a free social media platform that lets users create, share and watch short videos ranging anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes in duration. The app gained notoriety for its viral dances, trends and celebrity cameos and can be a creative, fun platform for teens to enjoy. Now available in 75 languages, it has more than a billion active users worldwide (as of spring 2022) and is most popular with the under-16 age bracket. In fact, a 2022 Ofcom report found TikTok to be the most-used social media platform for posting content, particularly among young people aged 12 to 17.

The euthanasia debate, centring around people with either a terminal illness or an agonising incurable condition, is a complex one that’s been rumbling on for years. Of late, however, it’s gained a new dimension on TikTok, with some content creators gaining popularity for suggesting that assisted suicide should be available to those experiencing severe mental health issues.

Some of this material, often referred to as MAiD (medical assistance in dying), has accrued millions of views and – more worryingly – hundreds of thousands of likes, along with many supportive comments. It’s not the first time the platform has faced a dilemma over legal but potentially damaging content; this #WakeUpWednesday, check out our updated guide to TikTok.