Help & advice for all teachers and professionals parents and carers 4–11 year olds 11–18 year olds

Most social media sites are not designed to be used by children under the age of 13.

Ensure that your child's social media accounts are protected with the available privacy settings.

Social media provides opportunities for children and young people to communicate with people outside of their offline friendship circle.

Live video chat and streaming allows people to communicate with others online and is a popular and easy means of online communication between young people.

Most social media sites are not designed to be used by children under the age of 13.

Online gaming allows players to play against each other and chat publicly or privately, in the form of a private message.

Personal information includes any identifying detail about someone, such as: Full name, home address, school name and location, phone number, passwords, age/DOB, location of somewhere where they like to visit.

Young people with SEND might be more trusting and believe the things someone tells or asks them to do online, especially if they have become close to their online friend.

It is important to talk about the difference between online and offline friendships and what these really mean.

Once your children are 13 or older, and are using social media independently, it is important that they state their correct age.