Sussex school head spells out dangers of social media to parents

Sharon Bondonno, headteacher at Handcross Primary, says that ‘a large number’ of pupils are going on-line outside of school which, she said, was having “a negative impact on the children’s friendships in school and on their learning.”

And in a letter to parents she said: “In some cases, there has even been contact with people the children do not know.”

She pointed out age restrictions on some sites and urged parents to follow advice given by the NSPCC to talk to children regularly about what they are doing online and how to stay safe.

She said it was good advice for all families to monitor their children’s activities online and place clear parameters around their use.

She added: “Children need to be educated that their on-line words matter just as much as their spoken words and we are supporting them to be able to use social media responsibly and for parents to ensure they have the most up-to-date information to be able to monitor their children’s online activities.

“We have even offered an online safety presentation for parents and will be running another one this term to ensure any concerns parents have about how to parent in the digital age can be addressed.

“I am a great advocate for the internet and for using modern technology; indeed we have access to iPads and smartboards in class as a fantastic learning and research tool for children.

“We want the families to have a positive experience when allowing their children access to online content and we hope we are supporting families to do this through giving them additional information and guidance.”

She added that Handcross Primary “probably has less social media issues than most schools due to dealing with any concerns openly.”

The school is in the top five for highest results in the county and in the top 20 per cent of the country.