Since being notified of the accounts, we have carried out a thorough investigation regarding the Tik Tok accounts, which have now been taken down.  We have spoken to several pupils, who had followed the accounts and commented online, as many were easily recognisable through their username or profile photograph.

Some of our main concerns were:

• The multiple number of user accounts that belonged to an individual pupil (these can be listed by clicking on their profile name at the top of the page - see image below).  This means that when you are checking your child's account there could be multiple accounts hidden.
• Accounts can be very difficult to trace back to the user as no email information has to be added at set up. 
• Privacy settings can be on settings that allow anyone to request a 'friendship', or these may be on settings where friends of friends can request.  Our pupils were very accepting of requests and said they accepted friends they did not know in order to see 'who they were!'

Please do the following if you suspect your child may have a TikTok account:

• Check if they have multiple accounts (by clicking on their username at the very top of the TikTok profile page).
• Regularly monitor their friends, who they are following and messages/comments.
• Delete any users who are not genuine friends or who are being unkind online.
• Limit the time they spend on social media Apps in order to support their mental health and wellbeing. 

Our curriculum already includes lessons specific to online safety and social media, however, follow up work will expand this further in order to ensure our pupils are fully informed of the importance of being both safe and kind online.  We will be continuing our work around e-safety in school, and reiterating to children the age restrictions of social media platforms, Tik Tok being 13 years old.

The Safer Schools Website has lots of useful resources to support staying safe online, including how to safely use APPs such as TikTok and Snapchat. 

Visit the Safer Schools advice page here: Home Page - Our Safety Centre

This video gives useful tips on how to stay safe on TikTok #BeSafer on TikTok (youtube.com)

 

Our website also features some useful advice on staying safe on a range of devices including Xbox and Playstation and on many social media Apps: Spa Academy Askern - Online Safety