Why do some apps ask for my age?

Childnet, a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, look at age restriction, specifically why some apps may ask for your age or date of birth.

Every day, our Education Team are in schools across the country talking to children, young people, teachers and parents about their experiences online and how they can stay safe on the internet.

In this series of blogs we look to answer some of the most frequently asked questions from these sessions. 

Why do some apps ask for my age?

There are a number of different types of websites or apps that may ask you to confirm your age before you start using them, these include:

• Social media
• Games
• Dating websites or apps
• Gambling websites or apps

Why do they ask for my age?

Some apps are designed for older people and adults, this can be due to the content on the app, the data that is stored on the users, or could be due to the aim of the app (for example dating apps).

The reason most social media services use an age limit of 13 or over is in part because of a law in the USA. The COPPA law or Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act states that any organisations or people operating online services (including social media services) are not allowed to collect the personal information of anyone under the age of 13 without parental permission.

To avoid the necessity of obtaining parental permission for any user under the age of 13, most services have instead chosen to place an age restriction of 13 to their services. They write this rule into their Terms and Conditions – which users must agree to when they initially sign up and some services may ask users to declare their age during sign up. These sites will delete accounts created by someone under the age of 13 in order to both protect the user and to protect themselves from breaking the law stated in COPPA

You can read more details about the age Restrictions on Social Media Services on our blog https://www.childnet.com/blog/age-restrictions-on-social-media-services

But what if I lie about my age?

Although it can feel like a long wait to be the right age to use some service, it is never a good choice to lie about your age in order to create an account. There are a number of reasons for this:

• Extra protection and privacy settings that apply to under 18 can be lost, whether immediately if you put an age that is over 18 or early than expected if you put an younger age that will turn 18 even when you are old enough to use the site
• You can lose your account on a lot of services if it is discovered that you are younger than the age you say you are. Some services even stop you making an account on a future date, even if you are then the right age, if they discover you having an account underage.
• You may see something unsuitable for your age. Some apps have a minimum age due to the content that is on them, this could be violent or upsetting, and by putting a false age you could be exposed to something that you do not want to see.

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Government announces new UK Council to improve Online Safety

The UK Government has announced it is expanding the scope of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) to help improve online safety for everyone.

Guided by the Internet Safety Strategy, the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) will be renamed as the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS), and will work to improve online safety for everyone in the UK.

The new Council will also have specific objectives reflecting children and young people’s special needs for care and protection, and will build on the pioneering work of UKCCIS in this area. 

Application for UKCIS

The government has opened up the application process to appoint the most experienced and committed organisations and individuals onto the council’s executive board to improve online safety all.

The council will unite more than 200 organisations that represent law enforcement, academia, government, regulators, industry, and charities.

The council will prioritise the following areas to improve online safety for all:

• Cyberbullying and sexual exploitation
• Radicalisation and extremism
• Violence against women and girls
• Hate crime and hate speech
• Forms of discrimination against groups protected under the Equality Act

Margot James, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries said:

“Only through collaborative action will the UK be the safest place to be online. By bringing together key stakeholders, from the tech giants to the third sector, UKCIS will be the cornerstone of this effort; driving the development of technical solutions and equipping UK citizens to tackle online harms.”

David Wright, Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre at SWGfL, said:

“To build a safer internet, we need to work across sectors and disciplines, making sure we learn from the experiences of a wide variety of citizens.

“We welcome the new opportunities provided by the UK Council for Internet Safety, and look forward to working closely with the new Council”.

The proposal for the council was outlined in the government’s Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper in October 2017.

The application process is now open and is expected at 1pm on 3 September 2018.

UKCISS

internet safety strategy

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Questions on Instagram: looking at the latest feature

Recently Instagram introduced ‘Questions’ - the latest feature onto the photo sharing app. Users are now able to invite their followers to ask them questions, which they can then publicly answer. In this blog we look at this feature, and the things to be aware of whilst using Instagram Questions.

What are Instagram stories?

Stories are a feature on Instagram where users can add an image or video to their ‘story’ which their followers can then view. Stories are different from normal Instagram posts as they can only be viewed for 24 hours before they disappear.

What are questions on Instagram?                                                                                                    

Questions can be added once you have taken a photo or video that you want to share on your story. This is done by selecting the poll sticker from the stickers tab  .

You can then position the questions sticker onto your story and invite your followers to ask you a question.

Your followers ask you a question by typing into the answer box in your sticker, and then sending this to you to answer.

To see the questions you have been asked, swipe up to open the viewers list for that part of your story.

Are the questions anonymous?

There has been some confusion recently about whether the question you ask on Instagram stories are anonymous.

Instagram questions are not anonymous, the person who you sent the question to will know that it is you who asked them. However, if the person you’re sending a question to decides to share your question publicly, your username will be removed.  

Remember that anonymous or not there is a real person behind the Instagram account that you are asking questions to. It’s important to act respectfully and kindly on this service and any other question platform you use.

Who can see my answers?

You can choose how you answer the questions you have been asked. When you click to reply to a question you are taken to a camera screen, where you can take a picture that will be the background to your answer. Once you have typed your reply to the question, you can choose whether to answer privately or publicly.

• Privately: you can choose to send your answer directly to the person who asked you in a private message
• Publicly: you can choose to post your answer onto your story so that all of your followers can see it. It’s worth noting that if you have a public account anyone who views your story will be able to view your answer.

You can also choose not to answer any questions you have been asked. You can delete any questions in the question viewer. If anyone asks you a question that is inappropriate or makes you feel uncomfortable you can always go and speak to an adult you trust, and report or block the user.

Things to remember

Whilst these questions can be used positively to find out more about your friends, there is potential for this feature to be misused. There have been reports of people using the feature to ask upsetting or insulting questions, especially if they think they are under an anonymous guise.

Remember that whoever you are asking questions of is a real person. Before you send a negative or mean comment, think about the effect that receiving this will have on a person.

Our advice

• Think about how your question will make someone feel
• Remember that they will be able to see what you post. If your question will hurt someone’s feelings it’s better not to ask it
• Report inappropriate questions
• If you see a story or question that you think breaks Instagram’s terms of service you can report it to Instagram.
• Speak to someone you trust
• Speak to a parent, carer or teacher if you are upset or concerned about any question you have been asked. You can also contact Childline by calling 0800 1111

Read more about Instagram on our blog

• Privacy settings on Instagram – what do they mean?
• What happens if I unfollow someone on Instagram?
• Polls and voting in Instagram stories
• How to spot advertising on Instagram
• Instagram introduces new comment moderation tools
• New Instagram tool helps users to look out for their friends
• More control over your Instagram profile

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More parents worry about bad language online than grooming or child sexual exploitation

A new Mumsnet and Gransnet survey for the Internet Watch Foundation (a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre) has uncovered the top concerns of parents and grandparents when it comes to children’s internet use, and lays out in detail how families in the UK approach concerns about children’s online safety, from aggressive trolling to child sexual exploitation.

When asked what worried or concerned them about internet use when it came to their own child, 78% of parents cited ‘being exposed to sexual imagery or pornography’, 75% cited ‘unpleasant or aggressive people, trolls and bad language’, 76% cited ‘bullying’, and 73% cited ‘violent imagery’. These concerns ranked above ‘grooming’ (cited by 69%) and ‘child sexual exploitation via video or photographs’ (61%).

The survey was commissioned ahead of the school summer holidays to raise awareness of child online safety. An Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) report from May 2018 highlighted the dangers of child sexual exploitation via livestreaming apps and described how legitimate internet platforms could be abused by offenders intent on contacting children. Parents and carers were warned that this could happen to any child who has access to livestreaming technology, so they should remain vigilant and know what technology their children are using.

Yet 16% of carers for under-fours and 28% of carers for four-to-six year olds surveyed by Mumsnet say the child they look after has used online video streaming without adult supervision - despite 81% of carers overall saying they classify video streaming without adult supervision as ‘risky’ or ‘extremely risky’.

One in five carers (22%) say the child they look after regularly or always uses the internet without adult supervision, including 7% of parents and grandparents caring for a child under four, 16% of carers for children aged four to six, and rising to 68% of carers for children aged between 13 and 18.

The survey indicates that carers are more comfortable talking to children about the risks of social networks and online gameplay than they are talking about video livestreaming - an online phenomenon that has only recently become widely popular in children’s apps and games. Most respondents (52%) say they have talked to their children about how to stay safe when playing online games with live chat, and 46% have spoken to their children about staying safe on social networks, but only one-third (34%) have spoken to their children about staying safe while using webcams and livestreaming.

Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts said:

“As the summer holidays get underway, the truth is that unsupervised internet use by children is as unremarkable as unsupervised CBeebies watching; for many parents it’s the only way we can get anything done between the end of July and the beginning of September. It’s clear, though, that parents need more information about the risks of livestreaming, and guidance on how to address the issue with their children. Our survey shows that carers worry about almost every aspect of online activity which perhaps inhibits them from identifying and dealing confidently with the most serious threats.’

Susie Hargreaves OBE, CEO of IWF and a Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, said:

“Our report in May highlighted the need to raise awareness about online safety guidance for children, particularly where livestreaming apps are involved.

“The internet has great educational benefits for children, but like any technological tool it can be abused by offenders intent on harming children. Our role, as part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, is to help parents, carers and children stay safe online and just before the school summer holidays is the perfect time to share that message.”

abuse

grooming

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Staying safe online in the summer holidays – advice for parents and carers

Children and young people across the UK are getting ready to have more free time to spend with friends and family as the summer holidays get into full swing.

For many young people this time will be spent using the internet to keep in touch with school friends, catch up with the latest apps and online trends, and play their favourite games.

In this blog we look at the ways in which parents and carers can help keep their children safe as they start to spend more time online.

Sit down together

The summer holidays are a great chance to sit down with your children and find out about the things they like to do online. Together you can visit their favourite sites and join in with their favourite games. This is a great way to stay up to date with their online lives and show them that you’re interested in what they are doing.

The holidays are also a good opportunity to have positive conversations about the internet, so if something ever does upset your child online they would feel more confident in confiding in you.  Sometimes young people may find it difficult, or may not want to speak to an adult about their online lives. It’s important to reassure them that no matter what the issue may be, you are there to listen without judgement, and help them without confiscating their devices or punishing them.

Our conversation starters are a great tool to help encourage an open and honest dialogue with your child.   

Become an expert

Although it can sometimes feel like young people are the experts when it comes to different apps and games, it’s important to remember that as an adult you are the expert in keeping them safe.

To learn more about the apps, games and services children are using you can spend some time on them, familiarise yourself with their reporting and blocking features and ensure that you have the knowledge to be able to help them if they face a problem over the summer holidays or in the future.

Our recent blog for parents and carers ‘but everyone else is playing it!’ looks at how to decide what games and apps are suitable for children and young people.

Find fun things to do together online

As you and your children will be spending more time together, why not find some fun and engaging ways to use technology and talk about keeping safe:

• Read Digiduck’s Big Decision with your children aged 3 – 7, this story follows the lovable Digiduck as he makes some tough decision about how to be a good friend online
• Have an adventure with Kara, Winston and the SMART Crew as they navigate the online world, and help them to make SMART online decisions
• Watch the Childnet Film Competition winning films, these have been made by young people across the country and look at issues such as digital footprints, positive comments and the ways in which you can connect respect.
• Spend some time on BBC Own It: the website for 7-11 year olds has real-life stories, advice from experts, fun quizzes, and videos with CBBC presenters, celebs, and star vloggers
• Get creative: Look up recipes and ways to be creative online together and replicate this offline
• Create your own vlogs or bogs to chronicle the fun things that you did over summer 2018!

Take time to do a privacy check up

During the summer holidays, young people may want to keep in touch with their friends through social networking sites or games. It’s a good time to ask them about what sites they use, and do a privacy check-up.

Encourage them to use the privacy tools on the services they use, so that the content they post is only available to people they know and trust in real life.

To help set these up, the UK Safer Internet Centre has a guide to the privacy settings of different sites .  You can also download the UK Safer Internet Centre's safety checklists for popular sites such as Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.  

Have a conversation about sharing holiday pictures

Some children may want to share photos and videos online of what they are getting up to in their summer holidays. Talk to them about what types of photos are appropriate to share, and who they are okay to share with. Photos can hold clues that give away personal information. For example, when sharing a selfie, are there any landmarks or street signs that give away your location?

This is true for photos you might share of your children too! It’s always worth asking children if they are happy with an image you want to share online. We have written some guidance for parents looking at ‘sharenting’ and the impact of sharing online.

Make a family agreement

A family agreement is a great way to start a conversation with your whole family about how you all use the internet and discuss together how to behave in a positive way when online at home, at school or at a friend’s house. 

The agreement involves generating promises, these are positive statements about how your family want to look after each other online and how you should treat others online. The summer can be one of the best times to sit down as a family and agree these promises together. We have created some handy guidance to help you put the family agreement into practice.

And most importantly: enjoy the summer holidays!

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From Gaming to Safeguarding concerns: An update from the Professionals Online Safety Helpline (April – June 2018)

The Professionals Online Safety Helpline provides free support to members of the children’s workforce in the UK with an online safety concern. In this blog Kat Tremlett, Helpline Practitioner, offers an insight into the type of cases the helpline has been dealing with over the last 3 months.

During the second quarter of 2018, the POSH helpline has seen nearly 500 contacts. The top reasons for contacting the helpline were:

• Online Reputation issues (26% of all contacts),
• Potentially Harmful Content (17% of all contacts),
• Cyber-Bullying (14% of all contacts) and
• Media Literacy / Online Safety education (13% of all contacts).

Online Games

A large portion of the media literacy and potentially harmful content cases during this quarter have been regarding well-intentioned safeguarding messages sent out from various professionals to organisations supporting children warning them about the risk of harmful content in certain games.

Often in these instances, professionals contact us to find out whether the concerns are credible. Sometimes they are, sometimes not so much, but our advice in such instances remains the same; that information shouldn’t be circulated broadly, rather on a “need to know” basis. This way, young people who don’t already know about the harmful content are not attracted to it unnecessarily.

Safeguarding Young People Online

Another common trend regards media literacy cases over the last 3 months has been about online safety organisations contacting schools claiming to have witnessed their pupils engaging in risky behaviour on social media platforms. These organisations claim to be warning schools so that they can address the behaviour. However they often seek confirmation of the young person’s indentity and offer a training package to the school to help them address online safety concerns.

The ethical implications of how these organisations obtain information about the pupils is questionable, and we would advise not corresponding with any organisation that contacts a school in this way.

One of our helpline practitioners has written a blog about the issue which has more practical advice.
If you are looking to arrange online safety training for your school, make sure it is from a reliable source. UKCCIS has published this guidance for education settings for Using External Visitors to Support Online Safety Education.

SWGfL delivers training as part of its work as a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, and is a trusted training provider with a wealth of experience in the field of online safety.  You can find out more about how to book a UKSIC training session here.

Hacked Accounts

We have also received a handful of cases about young people having their social media accounts hacked. These are generally where a password has been shared within a friendship group and peers have logged in and posted nasty content for a laugh. While we will always help to eradicate bullying behaviour, in most of these circumstances, we would advise following the ‘hacked account’ reporting route on the social media platform in the first instance.

If you’re a member of the children’s’ workforce requiring assistance with an online safety concern, please contact the Professionals Online Safety Helpline for further advice:

Email: helpline@saferinternet.org.uk  Telephone: 0344 3814 772

harmful content

gaming

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IWF scoops 20th Anniversary ISPA Award

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, has won the 20th Anniversary Award 2018 in the UK ISP Internet Industry Awards for its groundbreaking work removing child sexual abuse imagery from the internet.

The UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA), which hosted the awards ceremony on Thursday 12th July, chose the IWF as its worthy winner of the prestigious prize, which is one of three new awards added for 2018.

On its 20th anniversary in 2016, the IWF proudly celebrated having reduced the UK’s hosting of child sexual abuse imagery from 18% in 1996, to less than 1% today. This was done through its fundamental services to the internet industry, including its URL List and Keywords List.

The UK Safer Internet Centre, of which the IWF is a partner with Childnet International and SWGfL (South West Grid for Learning), was also selected as a finalist in the Best Project or Partnership category, which is another new award for 2018.

Susie Hargreaves OBE, IWF CEO and UKSIC Director, said:

“I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that the IWF has won this ISPA Award. We know that our Hotline Analysts are world class and have worked incredibly hard over the past 20 years.

“When we started out, 18% of online child sexual abuse was hosted in the UK. Today that figure is less than 1%.

"To have this success recognised by the internet industry is something which means a great deal to us. Thank you.”

The finalists for 2018 were scrutinised by an “independent panel of industry experts,” while broadband ISPs, website hosts and VoIP providers underwent technical testing.

The winners were announced during the awards ceremony at the Midland Hotel in Manchester.

Find our more about the ISPA Awards

*20th Anniversary Award 2018 is a trade mark of the Internet Services Providers’ Association, used under licence”.

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A reintroduction to the IWF – looking at the important work they do

The IWF (Internet Watch Foundation), which makes up one third of the UK Safer Internet Centre, is a leading organisation removing child sexual abuse imagery from the internet. It’s a tough job, but a vital one, not only for the victims of this hideous abuse who we work to protect from the torment of having the images of their abuse shared again and again, but also for internet users who want peace of mind that the internet can be a safe place.

What does the IWF do?

We are one of the world’s leading charitable hotlines identifying and removing illegal content online and receive tens of thousands of reports from internet users every year, who are often distressed after stumbling across images and videos of children being sexually abused. From our office in Cambridge, our 13 analysts proactively search for child sexual abuse content from across the globe to remove it from the internet. We assess the imagery and then, if it is illegal, we have it taken down.

You might be surprised about the reach of abusive content on the internet. We recently revealed a 37% increase from 2016 to 2017 in the number of child sexual abuse URLs which have been reported to us (57,335 in 2016 to 78,589, as reported in our 2017 Annual Report). We also revealed that unfortunately, offenders are getting cleverer at evading detection and the images of the abuse are increasing in severity. The report makes for shocking reading, but it is essential that the scale of child sexual abuse imagery is known by all. You can read more on our 2017 Annual Report here.

In May we published our new webcam research, titled Trends in Online Child Sexual Exploitation: Examining the Distribution of Captures of Live-streamed Child Sexual Abuse. Using a sample of more than 2,000 incidents, it analysed the spread of permanent captures and recordings of live-streamed child sexual abuse content. Shockingly, 98 percent of the victims were 13 or younger, and 96 percent of the victims were in their own home environment, such as their bedroom or bathroom. You can read more about it here.

Our work not only stops the re-victimisation of children whose suffering is shared again and again online, but also helps to identify new victims who we may be able to help rescue. We work with law enforcement agencies, governments, the internet industry and others such as charities and hotlines across the world to track these children down so they can be rescued, while their images are removed.

Our Analysts

We’d like to introduce you to Peter*, he’s one of our analysts and can better explain why the work we do is so vital.

Peter’s story: “A public report came in for a website showing a lot of child sexual abuse imagery. There were many, many images and videos on that site. They were of children showing themselves in sexual positions or performing sexual acts on webcams. One set of images showed a girl and by her appearance, her clothes, the décor in her room and things in the background, I could tell that she was in the UK. I called a few other analysts over to help me assess the images and after investigating a bit more with a few online searches, we managed to come up with a potential location for her. We sent the report to CEOP, the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and they then contacted the local police. In less than two days we got the message that the girl had been safeguarded by the police. She was 12 years old and had been groomed for years. I’ll never forget the feeling of absolute joy that we had helped this girl. That’s probably the highlight of what I’ve done at the IWF so far.”

*Peter’s name has been changed to protect his identity.

Our Members and our goal

The IWF helps the internet industry join the fight against online child sexual abuse imagery by providing world-class specialist services to our Members, which include internet service providers, phone companies and social media companies.

We’ve also launched 21 international reporting websites, known as Reporting Portals, in countries across the world. Online child sexual abuse imagery is a global problem, which demands a global solution. The internet doesn’t respect geographical borders, which is why we work together with partners across the globe, now including Public Interest Registry, so one day we can live in a world without child sexual abuse imagery.

What can you do?

If you stumble across child sexual abuse imagery online, or come across it in your line of work, you can make a report simply and easily at: iwf.org.uk

The report can be made completely anonymously, or if you’d like to receive feedback or an update on your report you can enter your contact details. Every report made could save a child from continued abuse or stop the revictimisation of that child every time their image is shared and seen. Please spread the word about the work of the IWF to your colleagues, friends and family, to protect children all around the world.

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“But everyone else is playing it!” – How do I decide if a game is right for my child?

Childnet, a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, give advice for parents and carers, looking at the ways in which you can decide what games and apps are suitable for your children.

Every day, our Education Team are in schools across the country talking to children, young people, teachers and parents about their experiences online and how they can stay safe on the internet.

In this series of blogs we look to answer some of the most frequently asked questions from these sessions. 

“But everyone else is playing it!”

This is something parents tell us they hear a lot from their children. As each new gaming fad or craze progresses, children can sometimes feel like they’re the only one who’s being left out. However, it can be helpful for parents to dig a little deeper.

It’s important to remember that just because everyone at school is talking about a game, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are playing it. 

Try talking to other parents and asking if their children playing it. It’s easy for these kind of things to get exaggerated and you may find that far fewer of your children’s classmates are actually playing it than it may have initially appeared.

“Well maybe not everyone is! But so-and-so definitely is!”

This can be a real challenge for all parents – you don’t want to be the reason your child is left out, but you also have a responsibility to keep them safe and make sure they are playing games that are appropriate for them.

Regardless of how many of your child’s classmates are using a new app or game, it’s vital you make your own judgement about how suitable it is.

There are a few different ways to make this judgement – but research is key. Downloading and using the game or app yourself is a great idea to experience first-hand what your child may be exposed too. Understandably for some parents, this can seem a little intimidating but it will also mean you’re well placed to support your child if you go on to let them use it too.

Alternatively there are other places you can go for more information:

NetAware – this is a collaboration between O2 and the NSPCC. It is available as both a website and mobile app. Parents can get information on some of the most popular services with young people, including the types of content children could be exposed to when using a service and what other parents are saying about it.

Common Sense Media – this organisation provide detailed information on a vast number of games, apps, films, television programmes and even music. They include a breakdown of the type of content children might be exposed to, photos from within the gameplay and written reviews from both parents and children.

“So can I get it? Please…”

Once you’ve made your decision it’s time to break the news to your child. Whatever conclusion you’ve come to, this is a fantastic opportunity to start a conversation more generally about online safety.

If you’ve decided that you are happy for your child to play the game then it’s worth setting some boundaries.

You could use this opportunity to set time limits per day or per week. You might want to use the game as a reward after chores or homework are complete. Perhaps you want your child to turn off the chat function or set up their account so that they can only talk to friends they already know.

Our family agreement provides advice and a framework that can help families set clear expectations for safe and positive internet use.

If you’ve decided the game isn’t suitable, then it’s important to explain to your child why. It may be useful to show them what you found in your research to help them understand your concerns. This way they know that you’re not just saying no to be mean, but because it’s your job as a parent to protect them.

Another good idea is to set a timeframe for reviewing the decision:

“At the moment I think the content on this game would be too scary for you and I’m concerned about the ability to chat with strangers. If you still want the game in two months’ time, then we’ll sit down again then and talk about it some more.”

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Book a UKSIC training session

As part of our work as a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, SWGfL delivers a range of online safety training and briefing sessions across the whole of the UK.

With the school summer holidays coming up, this means weeks of (relative) freedom for teachers and pupils alike. It also means that schools cannot be involved in their pupils’ online safety in the coming months. This is a great time to squeeze in some online safety training or book early for the new school year, to ensure young people know how to stay safe online, and parents and teachers know how to combat any problems they may encounter.

With exams and other end of year commitments we know that it’s a busy time of year for schools, but with one of our bespoke training sessions, one of our highly experienced experts could come and equip your pupils, parents and staff with the knowledge they need when it comes to navigating the online world.

The training sessions are a great tool for learning how to use the internet in a positive way, and how parents and their kids can engage with it together. While there are several worrying aspects of the online world, there are also lots of really great ways that young people can interact and create their own online spaces.

Tailor-made

Our training sessions can be tailored to meet your school’s needs and cover specific areas of concern for discussion, these could include:

• gaming,
• sexting,
• screen-times or
• keeping identities or personal details safe.

Sometimes the trickiest thing can be knowing how to talk to young people about the way they use the internet.

Concerns around particular apps, cyberbullying and social media are commonplace, and it can be difficult to know how to tackle these issues and start this kind of dialogue with young people.

Training you can Trust

When it comes to seeking training from external bodies, it can be difficult to decide on which provider to trust. It’s important that you are confident on who they are and the quality of the content they are delivering. UKCCIS has produced this helpful guidance for schools on Using External Visitors to Support Online Safety Education.

Who we are

Our consultants come from a range of backgrounds; the police, schools, IT, children’s charities and social development research, and they all have years of experience in online safety. The variety in experience and expertise of our consultants ensures that you will receive high quality training you can trust.

If you book one of our training sessions you can also be safe in the knowledge that SWGfL works alongside organisations like the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, the Department for Education, the NEN Safeguarding Group, Welsh Government, Scottish Government, OFSTED and many more in the UK and around the world.

Easy to digest

Online Safety is an ever-changing entity, and it can seem overwhelming, but once you break it down the solutions become more realistic.

If you understand tools like parental controls on games and privacy settings, this can make a fundamental difference to the way in which a child interacts with the internet, and could keep them safe.

Let us know what your school or parents are worried about, and we can cover it. Getting these dialogues started is the most important thing to ensuring children’s online safety and happiness in the future.

How to book

If you are interested in booking one of our training sessions, visit https://swgfl.org.uk/training-events/training/ to see the different types of training sessions. By clicking ‘Enquire Now’ and filling out your details we find a dedicated consultant according to your requirements.

We are already taking bookings for the new school year. Get in touch today!

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