Online safety during Covid

Are you aware of the risks that children are exposed to online? Children are spending more time online and expanding the ways they use the internet.  For further information please click on the following link: NSPCC  

Do you know the ‘SMART’ rules for staying safe online? For further information please click on the following link: SMART 

Have you checked out the ‘Think U Know’ website?  This website provides the latest information on the websites young people like to visit, mobiles and new technology.  It discusses what’s good / not so good about the internet and also, about online risks and what you can do about them.  To access the website please click on the follownig link: Think U Know 

Do you know how to help young people and their parents understand how mobile phones, instant messaging and online profiles are all digital extensions of who we are?  The ‘That’s Not Cool’ website aims to provide young people with information about what is or is not okay in their digital relationships and the tools to resist peer pressure. For further information please click on the following link:  That’s Not Cool

Do you find it hard to keep up with the constant changes of the digital world? There seems to be a new app, social media, or game every other week.  This can sometimes mean that children know more about the online world than we do.  For further information please click on the following link: Barnardos

Are you familiar with Contextual Safeguarding? This is an approach to understanding, and responding to, young people’s experiences of significant harm beyond their families, including online relationships that can feature violence and abuse. For further information please click on the following link: Contextual Safeguarding

Online Mental Health explains the benefits and challenges to your mental health of being online and gives ideas for looking after yourself online and getting support.  It also provides information on staying safe online and getting the balance right between your online and offline life. For further information please click on the following link: MIND 

As you know there are lots of fun and interesting things children can do on the internet and that it can be a great way to stay in touch online.  But do you know what to do when things go wrong?  For further information please click on the following link: Childline

Are you aware that there are lot of benefits for children and young people when using the internet but there are also risks? For further information please click on the following links:online safety / online gaming

Do you know that cyber bullying is a form of bullying which takes place online or through smartphones and tablets? Social media, messaging apps, gaming sites and chat rooms can be great fun and a positive experience but what do you do when things go wrong? For further information please click on the following link:Cyber Bullying 

Are you aware that online sexual exploitation most commonly includes grooming; live streaming; consuming child sexual abuse material; and coercing and blackmailing children for sexual purposes? As technology advances, new forms of this crime emerge. For further information please click on the following link: ecpat

Do you know that radicalisation is the process through which a person comes to support or be involved in extremist ideologies? It can result in a person becoming drawn into terrorism and is itself a form of harm.  For further information please click on the following link: Internet Matters / NSPCC 

Are you aware that online grooming is when someone builds an online relationship with a child/young person and tricks them or pressures them into doing something? For further information please click on the following link:Online Grooming

Do you know that over 6,000 children under 14 (some as young as 4 years old) have been investigated for sexting? For further information please click on the following links: NSPCC / Gov.uk

Have you accessed the ‘Digizen website’?  This website provides information for parents; carers and young people.  It is used to strengthen their awareness and understanding of what digital citizenship is and encourages users of technology to be and become responsible digital citizens.  For further information please click on the following link:Digital Citizens

Do you know that criminals might befriend victims online by using a fake identity and then persuade them to perform sexual acts in front of their webcam? Children could be coerced into these actions using financial incentives or threats. For further information please click on the following link: Sextortion

What is the dark web? How do people access it? Is it illegal? For further information please click on the following link:The Children’s Society

Have you accessed the ‘Internet Matters’ web portal which aims to direct parents and carers to credible and helpful information on how to keep children safe online? For further information please click on the following link:Internet Matters

Are you aware of the Home Office and Microsoft’s A1 Technique to block online grooming?  If not, for further information please click on the following link:Gov.uk

Are you aware of the CEOP Centre which is the UK’s national police agency set up to tackle online sexual abuse?  If you are worried about someone’s behaviour towards a child, either online or offline, you can report this at: CEOP

HSSCP’s website has links to the latest safeguarding news; a wide range of tools/resources and safeguarding training information all relating to safeguarding children online.  To access the website please click on the following link:HSSCP