We understand that there’s inappropriate content on the internet that our students shouldn’t see. Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) works tirelessly to ensure students are as safe as possible when using school-issued devices and accessing the internet. As part of the division’s commitment to safe and effective use of technology, Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) partnered with Securly Parent Portal, a web-filtering tool offering parental controls and reports on division-issued devices.
VBCPS offers all parents the option to use Securly to monitor how their children are using their school-issued devices. Parents can view online activity outside of the classroom, such as sites browsed, social media use and activity, and items searched.
Families, parents and/or guardians must sign up to receive weekly Securly emails that include detailed information about their children’s internet activity on school-issued devices. Securly also gives users the ability to customize what their children can do and see on their devices while at home and, specifically, allow or deny access to specific sites and categories. Additionally, the software also contains a cyberbullying and self-harm detection feature.
Through web filters and cyberbullying/self-harm detection across social media, Securly enables the division to maintain a safer 1:1 environment for students. In 2018 the division became 1:1, meaning each student in grades one through 12 will have their device provided for them at school. Whenever Securly detects a possible sign of distress, administrators and parents are notified, allowing for a quick and suitable solution.
To further increase good digital citizenship, the division educates students throughout the year about appropriate online behavior when interacting with others on social networking websites and other forms of electronic communications.
To receive access to your child’s full online activity history you can enter the free Parent Portal. If you do not wish to receive the weekly email from Securly, simply click unsubscribe in the bottom left corner of the Securly email. Parents already enrolled in Securly do not need to enroll again.
To enter the Parent Portal, click on the “go to my parent portal” link, or the “sign up” link at the bottom of your weekly email. You will be asked to check two boxes and then click “Yes, please set up my account.” Once you do this, you will receive an email with login and password information. After you set up your account, you can enter the Parent Portal any time by going to www.securly.com and clicking on “login.”
The Parent Portal contains three categories on the left from which you can choose:
- Activity (shows a real-time audit trail of your child’s online activity)
- Flagged (shows posts made on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ that have been flagged by Securly)
- Settings (allows you to control content on the device at home only)
For more on the Parent Portal, visit these helpful video links:
Parent Portal Walk Through
Parent Portal Summary
Access the free SecurlyHOME app and activate your account through the VBSchools app or by requesting the SecurlyHome link.
To request the link it only takes a couple of steps:
- In the enrollment email, tap the white button labeled ‘Send me a link’ to get started. The link will be sent to the email address registered with your child’s school.
- Select the link to open the SecurlyHOME App. Your account is ready to go! You will start receiving weekly email updates about your child’s online activity.
Parents with multiple children will enroll once and will receive one weekly email per child.
SecurlyHOME lets you access your account information from anywhere, in real-time.
For additional help with Securly, check out the Securly Support site.
For additional information about YouTube filtering, click here.