Educating and empowering

CIS MagThe RDI and Child Internet Safety, both North West companies who are passionate about online child safety, recently joined forces.

The partnership is about raising the profile of safety of children whilst out and about via the Friendly WiFi Scheme and to communicate details of the scheme to parents and the educational sector. The announcement of the partnership also coincided with the launch of the Child Internet Safety magazine.

The Child Internet Safety magazine is free of charge, and provides an ideal reference point, with focus on everything from social media, gaming, e-commerce, internet access, internet footprint and identity, to e-safety, content filtering, and mobile devices. The information gathered together means families can celebrate the amazing resources found online and via connected devices - whilst also being well aware of all the hidden digital dangers.

Aisha Tilstone, Founder and Publisher at Child Internet Safety comments “Every child is now born into a digitally enabled world and we’re all, collectively, still learning about the benefits, and the dangers. Children are at the forefront of that, because their natural tendency to explore, communicate, and break down barriers is amplified online; any mistakes can have far-reaching consequences.”

Ed Vaizey, Minister for the Digital Economy, said: “The Friendly WiFi and Child Internet Safety partnership will make clear to parents which cafes, restaurants and other businesses have internet access that is safe for their children to use. It will help these firms ensure that families feel comfortable and make it clear to parents they are choosing a safe online environment. It will also allow parents to access the Child Internet Safety magazine, which will help show families how to stay safe online.

“This shows that businesses are responding to Government’s call to think about how they can help parents protect their children from inappropriate content online.”

To download your free copy of the Child Internet Safety magazine, please visit www.childinternetsafety.co.uk.

Written by Friendly WiFi on January 29, 2015 12:30

Keeping children safe online is the biggest child protection challenge of this generation

Parents’ concerns about social networking sites popular with children were revealed recently, as the NSPCC launched its Share Aware campaign to get families talking about socialising safely online.

An NSPCC panel of more than 500 parents from Mumsnet reviewed 48 of these sites and said all those aimed at adults and teenagers were too easy for children under 13 to sign-up to. On more than 40 per cent of the sites, the panel struggled to locate privacy, reporting and safety information.

At least three quarters of parents surveyed by the NSPCC found sexual, violent, or other inappropriate content on Sickipedia, Omegle, Deviant Art, and F my Life within half an hour of logging into the sites.

Those aimed at younger children, like Club Penguin, Moshi Monsters, Popjam and Bearville, fared better and parents did not find any unsuitable content on them.

The NSPCC also asked just under 2,000 children and young people which social networking sites they used. Talking to strangers or sexual content were the main concerns mentioned by children. But they also thought the minimum age limit for signing up to many sites should be higher, despite saying they’d used the sites when they were underage.

The NSPCC has used the reviews to create a new online guide to help inform parents about the risks of different social networking sites used by children.

Peter Wanless, CEO of the NSPCC, said: “Children are taught from an early age that it is good to share but doing so online can be very dangerous. We must all be Share Aware. This Christmas many children will have been given a smart phone, a tablet computer, or a games console. So it’s the perfect opportunity for parents to have that important conversation with their children about who they are talking to and what they share when they socialise online.

“We know that children do take risks online, sometimes without realising it. And we know some parents feel confused by the internet – out of their depth, and out of control. Our Share Aware campaign gives parents straightforward, no-nonsense advice that will help them to untangle the web and feel confident talking to their children about online safety.

“Keeping children safe online is the biggest child protection challenge of this generation. Parents have a vital role to play but we want social networking sites to respond to parental concerns about their children’s safety and privacy. The NSPCC will continue to challenge and work with internet companies and the Government to make the internet a safer place for children.”

The NSPCC’s Share Aware campaign is aimed at parents of 8 to 12-year-old children and also features two animations to be shown on prime time TV and digital spaces. I Saw Your Willy and Lucy And The Boy are engaging films with a serious message that follow the stories of two children who share too much about themselves online. Both films contain the simple message that although children are taught that it’s good to share, this is not always the case online.

People can find out more about the NSPCC campaign at www.nspcc.org.uk/shareaware and join the debate on social media by following #ShareAware.

Anyone looking for advice about keeping children safe online, or concerned about the safety and welfare of a child, can contact the NSPCC’s 24-hour helpline on 0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk

Children worried about online safety or any other problem can call the free, 24-hour helpline on 0800 1111 or get help online at www.childline.org.uk

Written by Safeguarding Essentials on January 22, 2015 13:37

Three things you need to know to understand e-safety

Exa BettThe rise of communications technology has been fast. For many it arrived fully formed and e-safety is often an attempt to retro fit conventions after the fact. We can not put the genie back into the lamp and it is pointless to stick an Elastoplast over the spout, so somehow we need our understanding to catch-up with reality.

We are delighted to announce that we will be discussing this issue when we speak at Bett next week.

We have joined up with Exa Education - the UK's leading independent Internet Service Provider to schools, who are hosting a number of presentations on their stand. With seminars ranging from need-to-know e-safety advice to teaching computing in 2015, there's something for everyone!

In the E-safety Support presentation, we will illustrate three basic principles underpinning Internet technology and its usage which will equip you to not only understand e-safety today, but also to continue to understand it as the technology evolves.

Be sure to come along to stand B228 at 4pm on Wednesday 21st or 12 noon on Thursday 22nd to hear the presentation.

For those not able to attend Bett, we will be featuring the full presentation in a blog soon.

A timetable of the Exa seminars can be found on their Facebook page.

If you would like to meet a member of the E-safety Support team at Bett, please get in touch using the comments section below.

Written by Safeguarding Essentials on January 15, 2015 14:29


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