E-safety
Everyone who has a duty of care towards children and young people across the whole Salford community needs to understand about keeping themselves safe when using digital technologies. As well as being common sense this is also part of the wider Safeguarding Best Working Practice in use across Salford.
What does 'keeping safe online' mean?
If you are at work or somewhere representing your organisation you should behave in a professional manner at all times and particularly with regard to digital technologies. For example always use your work email address for work related matters, likewise any contact numbers that you give out.
Do check out all safeguarding policies and guidance and be aware that you could be putting yourselves and those you care about at risk if you use the internet and mobile phones inappropriately. You may also subject to disciplinary action.
How can I keep myself safe online?
Salford has produced a special guide to help those people working with or volunteering with children and young people with regard to their own safety online. The guidance is downloadable from the Salford City Council website. If you have not had any training on e-safety please contact your manager and ask for some.
Professional online safety toolkit
CEOP
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, or CEOP Command, is a apart of the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), and is tasked to work both nationally and internationally to bring online child sex offenders, including those involved in the production, distribution and viewing of child abuse material, to the UK courts.
Parents, professionals and young people alike should know how to make a report to CEOP. Instructions can be found here.
Remember, if a referral has already been made to children services or the police, you will not need to make a report to CEOP.
Education
To access the resources available from CEOP Education, visit this page. Click register in the top right and corner. Fill in your details and you will then be sent a verification email. Click the link you are emailed and you will then be able to download a variety of content covering a multitude of areas.
In addition, you can direct parents/carers to this page. Here you will find 'Home safety activities' and also a new resource called '#AsktheAwkward' which has content regarding how older teenagers are making connections and expressing themselves online.
It is also worth looking at CEOP’s YouTube channel which has some short films which can be used in direct work.
Other content which can be found on YouTube to use in sessions include:
Online Reputation – This explores how things online that you have liked, shared and commented on, as well as what others have shared about you, may shape what other people think about you.
Digital Footprint – This short film explores how what we post can have an affect on our future.
Helping kids understand Consent – This link supports children understanding consent.
Always view content before using with a child or young person. Make sure it is age appropriate and will not trigger previous trauma experienced.
Image sharing
Regarding image sharing, a good starting point for parents are the Nude Selfie films by CEOP.
For professionals and teenagers, So you got naked online is a useful resource and should be complimented with the Childline image removal tool. This tool is utilised for the removal of images posted on public platforms.
Take It Down is another service that can help remove online nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit photos and videos taken before a person was 18 years old. The organisation is based in the USA but can support people worldwide.
Also, explore the 11 to 18 section on CEOP education where you will find advice for when nudes get shared around, receiving unwanted sexual content and impacts of sending nudes. Other specific information and advice is available, so please explore and bookmark.
Bullying
Cyberbullying is difficult to deal with and can happen over a long period of time before parents/carers and professionals become aware. Advice is available from CEOP however this NSPCC resource is helpful in highlighting the signs and effects.
You can also find further advice and resources from The Anti-Bullying Alliance. .
Parental guides
It can be difficult to know what every app or game does and if it is suitable for a child or teenager. They change all the time and many have different safety features and privacy controls.
National Online Safety have parental guides which cover the most popular social media app, games and common activities which children and young people participate in.
You’ll need to register after-which you will be able to download a variety of guides for free.
In addition, common sense media allows you to type in a book, game, podcast, app, youtuber etc and it will give you an overview. It also provides parents and children/young people’s views, alongside common sense media's evaluation.
Interactive content
Lastly, examples of interactive content which can be used to compliment direct work are:
Interland is a site created by google which encourages children and younger teenagers to learn about online safety through various games. This is browser based so it can be done on a standard laptop or on a child’s tablet.
Another example which is useful for prompting discussion with older teenagers is the ministry of sharing which has a game (click on ‘take the test’) which provides a fun element to direct work.
Safer Online Surfing from the FBI is a good resource for younger users comprising of games which teach the basics of online safety.
Thats Not Cool is a resource for teenagers which explores healthy relationships.
Band runner is for younger children and consists of a game, videos and accompanying guides to use in direct work. These can be found here.
In conclusion
The majority of resources you need can be found on the CEOP education page, but as is the nature of the internet, it changes rapidly and as such so do some of the areas of risk. We should all endeavour to stay up to date so that we can best safeguard our children and young peoples in the online world.
If you need specific advice or guidance, you can email:
Terry Franke E-Safety Safeguarding Specialist (Safeguarding Unit)
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