We have been made aware of a number of Apps that are available to download, often for free, on Apple or Android devices.

31 March 2020 - House Party App 

Information for parents

The House Party App is taking social media by storm. It’s from the same company that created Fortnite. Over the last 48 hours there has been lots of misinformation over social media about it. As with all live-streaming platforms, screenshots, unsolicited messages and self-generated sexualised imagery can put young people at risk.

Links to ‘rooms’ can also be shared publicly – to other platforms which could see uninvited users joining.

‘Rooms’ should be locked to prevent uninvited guests from joining – remember all rooms will lock by default if a user enables ‘private mode’.

If an uninvited guest joins a room they can easily ‘friend’ others taking part in the live stream.

It appears that when a friend is invited, their friends can also join a ‘room’ without the invitation. Therefore potentially increase the opportunity to cyber-bully and troll others.

10 February 2020 - Live Streaming App 

information for parents and carers

28 February 2019 - The Momo challenge

This has recently come to the attention of schools and children, and has been covered a lot by the media. A parent guide is available to read and download.

15 February 2019 - Please be aware
Roundhay St John's Church of England Primary School reported a white van driving slowly up and down outside the school and surrounding side streets in the North Lane area on Thursday 14 February. This has been reported to Children's Services and to the Police.

23 January 2019: Grand Theft Auto Top Tips for Parents - click on the link for more information.

26 November 2018: Fortnite Warning

Many of you may be aware of the risks and concerns around children playing the online game Fortnite, which has a 12 rating but is played by much younger children. We have been made aware of an emerging trend, where people are playing strip Fortnite using webcams. The rule is that when you achieve a “kill” you have to strip off, potentially adding an additional risk from children being exposed to and/or sharing indecent images whilst playing the game. Please remember that any inappropriate/unlawful contact with children online needs to be reported.

'TikTok' (used to be called Musical.ly) is a social networking app that young people can use to generate and share their own short videos and lip sync to popular audio clips. The app allows users to create and upload videos, remix existing videos using in-built editing tools, and also to view and comment on videos created by other users.

‘Yellow’ is a new App which has been dubbed ‘Tinder for Teens’. Users can set a search area to view other profiles, where they then swipe right to ‘like’ a person, or left to move on. Once two profiles have ‘liked’ each other, they can chat via direct messaging or can share photos and videos through a link to Snapchat. Concerns have been raised that Yellow doesn’t have an age verification process, as well as its potential to be misused by adults with the intention of grooming young people.

'Lovoo' is an online dating, chatting and flirting App. Similarly to Yellow, users set a search area and engage in private chats. The App is free, but there is also a ‘VIP’ paid membership option which allows users to send a greater number of chat requests, have more matches and to view other profiles in ‘ghost mode’, where the user is not aware their profile has been viewed.

'Woozworld' is a virtual gaming app which allows the user to create their own fashion themed avatar which is then used to complete quests. It has chat facilities and the App has been described as being designed for the 'tween' market with the average age of users being between 8 and 14.

If you would like to find out more about games and Apps, please visit Net Aware by clicking on the image below. If you would like to speak to a member of staff about any concerns, please contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Sarah Whittingham, or Child Protection Officer, Ruth Rowbotham, for further information.

Please be assured that within school there are filters in place to block inappropriate content online and students aren't able to access personal emails, social media platforms or YouTube.