https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/dark-web-explained/
Please see the NSPCC website below with helpful tips and advice about speaking with your children about their online lives:
Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online | NSPCC
Respect and healthy relationships online – how the Children’s code can help | ICO
Taken from the Andrew Hall Briefing
TikTok has now raised its Livestreaming Age Requirement to 18 (BBC News)
TikTok has frequently been called out for its glaring failures to protect under 18s which use its service. With its flashy images, easily digestible content and ‘childlike’ feel it has always been popular among school aged children. A fact which has made its safeguarding failures all the more worrying. The platform’s attempt to ban under 18s seems to be unfeasible however, and so it is as important as ever to be aware of its usage in the classroom. In particular, its gift function can easily be manipulated in order to commit criminal acts against children. As such wariness around the app should not be lowered as a result. To find out more about what motivated their decision, and its potential outcomes head over to the page linked below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-63262102
Unfortunately, one of the effects of lockdowns has been an increase in cases of child abuse, especially where this is linked to children spending more time online than they usually would. Recently, the Internet Watch foundation (IWF) reported a rise of 77% in cases where young people had been encouraged to create ‘self-generated’ sexual images and videos. In response to this they have launched the TALK campaign; full details are in the attached leaflet, but the simple advice is:
TALK to your child about online sexual abuse. Start the conversation – and listen to their concerns.
AGREE ground rules about the way you use technology as a family.
LEARN about the platforms and apps your child loves. Take an interest in their online life.
KNOW how to use tools, apps and settings that can help to keep your child safe online.
As usual, if you would like to discuss any concern about the safety of your child (or anybody else’s) please contact school.
Please see this parent/carer leaflet for more information:
If you receive regular online safety training you will (or should) be acquainted with the 3C’s which are content, contact and conduct. These are by far the easiest way of understanding the vast range of online risks and issues. You may delve deeper and sub-divide these 3 aspects into aggressive, sexual and values to get deeper into specific risk areas. Some people and organisations use a 4th C, which is commercialism. Dependent on the context I use this sometimes in my training but it isn’t widely recognized.
The 3C’s have been around since 2008 and have stood the test of time, however, there is a newer, formalised 4th C which is contract and this is highlighting issues such as identity theft, gambling, streaming CSA, profiling bias and more.
I don’t think there is a need to update staff at this point as the change is a proposal, but if you would like to find out more or to acquaint yourself with the 4C’s you can take a look at this small article HERE.
The hugely popular leaflet for young people has recently been updated with a new SEND version for KS3 and above. There is a PDF version and an audio version of the resource which you can download HERE.
During February this year, the Anti-Bullying Alliance conducted non-academic research with over 400 young people, parents and school staff in relation to bullying and relationships with friends during the lockdown period. Although not a scientific study there are some stark results and messages, as well as examples of the concerns of young people, such as children relieved they’re weren’t at school due to bullying, others saying there is more bullying as they’re all interacting more on their phones. Click HERE to read more.
Safer Internet Day 2021
On Tuesday 9th February we will be joining schools and youth organisations across the UK in celebrating Safer Internet Day 2021. Safer Internet Day is a global campaign to promote the safe and responsible use of technology, which calls on young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers, and more to join together in helping to create a better internet.
Using the internet safely and positively is a key message that we promote in school and celebrating Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for us to re-emphasise the online safety messages we deliver throughout the year. Some of the activities we’ll be participating in on the day include:
Safer Internet Assembly, Safer form time activities and Safer internet-focused lessons.
We would be delighted if you could join us in celebrating the day by continuing the conversation at home. To help you with this, you may be interested in downloading the free Safer Internet Day Education Pack for Parents and Carers which is available at: saferinternet.org.uk/sid-parents.
There are also top tips, a quiz and films which you can use at home with your child. Some other resources which you may find helpful in supporting your child online are:
Online safety is an important issue which as a School we’re committed to teaching our pupils about.
If you have any concerns or questions about keeping your child safe online, please do get in touch with your child’s Key Worker or a Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Mrs Stevenson
Mrs Gould
Mr T Morris
Mr L Morris
It is no surprise, horrendous as it is, to see this type of video on TikTok. Spend any time on any social media platform and you will find inappropriate/harmful content, it isn’t just TikTok. Over the last few weeks, I was commissioned by the NSPCC to re-risk-assess all the apps and games on their Net Aware website and whilst I was familiar with most of the apps previously, spending lots of time on the apps exposes you to all sorts of content and conduct.
Whatever the rhetoric you hear from these tech companies, you, me and parents cannot ever rely on technology to mitigate risk
You can read more about the TikTok investigation HERE.
As the holidays approach, many children will be spending more time online and many will be having fun gaming and chatting to their friends online. As a professional, remember one of the key principles of children and gaming: the majority of children use gaming for socialisation over and above the actual game. It’s one of the reasons Fortnite, COD, PUBG and other games are so popular.
CEOP released a YouTube video back in August that might be useful for some of your parents. It’s only 38 seconds long so if you use social media in your school (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) share the link, or you could link to it from your school website where there is other useful information for them.
The YouTube video is HERE.
With the new gaming consoles at the top of many wish lists this year (including mine!) this is a timely guide from Andy Robertson (GeekDadGamer) which includes how to set up a parent account and child accounts. You can either send the link out to parents or add the link to your website and direct parents to it.
Setting up the Playstation 5 for your family – click HERE
Staying on the gaming theme, Internet Matters has a new article for parents showing some of the top child-friendly games for children aged 3 upwards.
Click HERE to read the article.
Impact of Covid-19 on Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (Interpol)
A recently published report by Interpol found shifts in environmental, social and economic factors that have combined to create an increased risk of sexual exploitation both
online and offline. These factors include:
the closure of schools and subsequent movement to virtual learning environments; the increased time children spend online for entertainment, social and educational purposes;
the restriction of international travel and the repatriation of foreign nationals; confinement measures leading to the increased time spent at home;
limited access to community support services, child care and educational personnel who often play a key role in detecting and reporting cases of child sexual exploitation
During lockdown the technology providers had fewer people reviewing issues and there was an increase reliance on Artificial Intelligence. Darknet offenders had noticed a reduced response time from platforms in taking down child abuse materials and capitalised on their networks to ‘create and distribute’ new material.
With increased time being spent online by the general population, and often in more private settings than in the work environment, the illegal consumption of child sexual exploitation material has increased. Offenders with the technical expertise to administrate and create forums had more time to create new forums.
Whilst there were significant increases in the use of online gaming platforms during lockdown measures introduced across the world, Interpol member countries reported no significant changes in the number of children being targeted by sexual offenders on these platforms. However, gaming platforms continue to be used for the distribution of child sexual abuse material and as a means for offenders to make contact with children.
You can read the full report here: https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2020/INTERPOL-report-highlights-impact-of-COVID-19-on-child-sexual-abuse
Black Friday Sale!
No not mine! This is a reminder that the ‘Black Friday’ periods see the highest number of emails flying across the ether than at any other time of year. The means that not only are there millions of legitimate emails, but the scammers also send out their flurries too.
We are all vulnerable, but children, perhaps teenagers especially might be ‘secretly’ buying presents online for the first time. Reminders about safe buying online would be very timely.
The National Cybersecurity Centre has a Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) where you can send emails you are concerned about.
The message might be from a company you don’t normally receive communications from, or someone you do not know. You may just have a hunch. If you are suspicious, you should report it. Your report of a phishing email will help us to act quickly, protecting many more people from being affected.
Just forward the email to: report@phishing.gov.uk
You can find more advice about online security here:
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/information-for/individuals-families
A hugely popular new game is now doing the rounds. Called Among Us it has a PEGI rating of 7 and, as with many new games, it has multi-player collaborative features built-in with up to 10 player able to play together, as well as public and private gaming modes.
I don’t think it’s going to be a new Fortnite, but it’s worth being aware of just so that you know what students are talking about. Click HERE for an excellent write-up from Internet Matters.
27 May 2020
Zoom is a service that allows you to virtually meet other people online through video or audio-only calls. You can join these calls via laptops, tablets and mobile phones. The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that ways of connecting online are more important than ever, with Zoom being an increasingly popular option for many young people.
In this blog we will cover:
MediaSmart UK have come up with an excellent new, free resource for KS3 students.
With piracy at an all-time-high (1 in 4 12 year olds has illegally downloaded a movie in the last 3 months) this is a very timely resource, quote our new resources include a short film with TV presenter, content creator and YouTuber, Luke Franks, and TV presenter and producer, Jacqueline Shepherd, who help explain what piracy and copyright means and why it matters to young people unquote.
This guide features what children do online, the threat of online strangers and how to ensure a healthy balance between Internet use, your children’s online privacy, digital security, and more on online safety to mention.
A new Parent Info article explores how Tik Tok works, the parental controls available, and how they can help their child to stay safer on the platform.
In response to the lockdown, Catch22 has produced a video aimed directly at children and young people, given that we know they will be spending many hours a day on their devices and they are coming into contact with fewer adults who might otherwise have the opportunity to help safeguard them. You may already have seen the video (attached) as it has been shared with commissioners, across Catch22 social media nationally and a copy was even requested by the Met Police.
You will see that the messages are in the form of abbreviations and emojis which will be familiar to many young people but perhaps less so to parents and professionals.