Dear Parents and Guardians

I hope you have had a good week. 

As well as having the privilege of being the Head of Secondary I am also an evaluator for the Council of International Schools (CIS). In February I had the honour of leading a team of international educators to evaluate a school in Vietnam. All schools that are part of the CIS community must meet rigorous international standards and adhere to the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). These rights include the right to be children and not exposed to harmful or adult media. 

With this in mind we would like you to think about what your child is viewing and posting on chat groups and social media as these are often poorly moderated and content can put them at risk now and later as digital footprints are easily tarnished. 

While we understand the appeal of these groups for students, we are also concerned about the potential hurtful and harmful conversations that may occur in them. Please take the time to ask your children if they actually want to, or need to be in these groups. If not, please encourage and support them to leave these groups if they would like to do so. The school has no authority to shut down these groups, but we do want to make sure that your children are not exposed to any negative interactions that could occur in them. Thank you for your support in helping to ensure that our students are safe and protected.

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of having conversations with your children about their digital footprint and how their identity online is ever lasting. The posts, images, videos and extreme opinions our children post online can be captured, shared and reposted, meaning that the original poster no longer has control over the post. It is essential that our children understand the implications of their online activities and how they can affect their future prospects. We encourage you to take the time to discuss with your children the importance of being mindful of their digital identity. Remind them to think before they post, and to remember that the internet is forever.

A good way to approach these conversation is to state to your children that something that is posted online should be something that they are happy with a family member seeing. If they are not -then it should not be posted. Under important notices you will see some helpful tips and tech advice about how to set up controls on devices and ways to model good behaviours around tech use in your home. 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend

Best wishes

Dr Heather

Head of Secondary