Many games consoles such as the Xbox 360 & Playstation 3 and other handheld consoles such as PSPs and DSlites now allow Internet access at home and it is important to educate your children and yourselves with regard to accessing Internet content safely and responsibly. Please refer to the relevant sections of this website for further advice. 

The main issues around the safe and responsible use of game consoles are to do with the content of the games and the communication with other gamers online. Many children access content / games that are not suitable for their age range and many Primary pupils access 18 rated games. It is important that parents and carers are aware of the content tof these games so they can make an informed decision as to the content they deem to be acceptable for their children. Parents can also set up their games console (example here is the Xbox 360) to prevent these games being played.

Please note some of the links in this section are to Youtube clips from 18 or 15 rated video games and will not be suitable for children under those ages.

Below is Youtube footage of some of the most popular games that children are playing in order to give you an idea of the content.

Call of Duty (COD) world at war rated 18 click here for trailer

 Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA) rated 18 click here for trailer

 Assassin's Creed 2 rated 18 click here for trailer

Setting up the 'family settings' on the Xbox 360. The following video clip will take you through how to set up your Xbox 360 so that you can control the content and time you allow the children on the Xbox. Click here

Click here for more information about Xbox live controls and controlling who your children are communicating with online and the amount of time children can spend on their xbox..