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Keeping students safe at home#
There are several ways to protect rangitahi | young people online including web filtering and parental controls. Parental controls can be applied on the device or within an application (app).
Netsafe’s Online Safety at Home webpages provide advice on:
- device security
- managing screen time
- using apps
- accessing age-restricted content (like porn).
Online safety at home – Netsafe
Parental controls and settings – Keep it real online
Netsafe’s webinar series includes a programme for parents and whānau to learn about online safety topics and tips.
Webinar series for parents – Netsafe
Set expectations about online use with your child#
Safety can’t be provided by technology alone – it requires a holistic approach. It’s important to set expectations with your child around online behaviour and what they should do if they see or experience something inappropriate.
You should talk to your child about:
- how to report issues
- who to talk to
- seeking help from trusted adults.
Netsafe has online safety conversation starters for a range of ages.
How to talk to your whānau about online safety – Netsafe
For tips and advice to support online safety conversations with your whānau, check out Netsafe’s guidance.
Netsafe has an online parent safety toolkit available in 5 languages.
The Netsafe website has parent advice pages on the types of platforms children and young people may access at home.
Parents and caregivers – Netsafe
Gaming guidance
The Netsafe gaming guide includes advice on screen time management, in-app purchases and popular platforms like Roblox.
Social media guidance
The Netsafe Social Media Safety guide includes advice on the most popular social media apps among children such as:
- Snapchat
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Discord.
They include parental control settings and how to report harm on each platform.
Keeping students safe at school#
Schools can block access to inappropriate and harmful websites on their network using firewalls and other technology.
State and state-integrated schools get these services for free through Network for Learning (N4L). N4L has several recommended categories to block as a baseline, and schools can block further categories or websites based on each school’s needs.
N4L also offers SafeSearch, which filters out explicit content from search engines like Google and Bing.
What you need to know about online safety and web filtering – N4L
Schools can also block content in other ways. This includes:
- using the restricted mode in YouTube
- changing school filtering settings in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 to restrict user access to video content.
Speak to your school or read their information technology (IT) and cyber security policies on how they manage these settings at your school.
Online behaviour at school#
There’s more to online safety than internet access. It is also about learning how to behave online and how to recognise behaviour that’s not okay.
Netsafe has several resources for schools to use via a platform online called Netsafe Kete. These include te ao Māori resources for kura.
These are for every age group and include topics ranging from cyberbullying to digital footprints.
Information for primary-school aged children
Hector’s World is an animated series with curriculum-aligned classroom resources for primary schools.
Conversation guides are available for parents to use Hector’s World at home too.
Information for teens
Interactive short online learning modules are available for secondary schools. Families can use these at home with teenagers too.
Parents and caregivers – Netsafe
How we support schools with cyber safety#
Our Cyber Security and Digital Support for Kura and Schools programme worked closely with sector groups on projects aimed at creating safer, more resilient and effective online environments for education.
Cyber security and digital support for kura and schools programme
We also provide schools with a guide on how to be safe and responsible online.
Safe and responsible use of digital technology in schools guide
