15 February 2019
By Rebecca Avery
Online Safety Briefing: Term 3 (January – February 2018-19)
This is the 2018-19 Term 3 (January- February) edition of the Kent Education Safeguarding Team’s Online Safety briefings, which aim to help Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) in educational settings keep up to date with emerging online safety issues, as well as resources and research.
The following links are not endorsed, controlled or promoted by The Education People. This briefing should not be shared or forwarded directly to children, young people or parents due to the sensitive and potentially distressing nature of some content.
Before sharing content that name specific apps or websites, we recommend DSLs access the following links:
General Content
- PSHE Association:
- Parenting for a Digital Future:
- TES:
- BBC:
- SWGfL: New Swiggle protects children as they take their first Net steps
‘Addiction’ and Screen time
- BBC:
- TES:
- Dr Mark Griffiths: Eight days a week: Survival in the age of the ‘always on’ culture
- Department of Health and Social Care: UK Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO) commentary on ‘Screen-based activities and children and young people’s mental health and psychosocial wellbeing
Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
- Sky News: Massive increase in web pages of child abuse being identified and removed from the internet
- BBC: 'I was groomed on Grindr when I was 15'
- The Telegraph: Cyber sex crimes against children have trebled in three years, NSPCC warns
Criminal Exploitation
Cyberbullying
- The Telegraph: WhatsApp groups for parents become overrun with 'vitriolic tirades', leading headmaster warns
- BBC:
Cybercrime
Gaming and Gambling
- BBC:
- The Independent:
- The Guardian: Gambling ads to be banned from child-friendly sites and games
Information Governance, Privacy and Data
- Sky News: Staying off social media is not enough to protect your privacy, study says
- The Guardian: Why you shouldn’t post photos of friends without permission
- BBC: Children's smartwatch recalled over data fears
- That’s Nonsense: How your photos may be revealing your address to strangers
Mental Health
- BBC:
- The Guardian:
- Depression in girls linked to higher use of social media
- What are social media companies doing about suicidal posts?
- Faking it: how selfie dysmorphia is driving people to seek surgery
- Social media urged to take 'moment to reflect' after girl's death
- Blaming Instagram is too easy: politicians must do more to help teens
- TES:
- The Conversation: Self-harm and social media: a knee-jerk ban on content could actually harm young people
Professional Conduct
- TES:
- The Guardian: Female nursery worker, 18, jailed for sexually abusing children
'Sexting’, Sexual Harassment and Violence
- Huffington Post: Upskirting is finally going to be made illegal
- BBC:
- Gov.uk: Upskirting: know your rights
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Social Media and Technology
- TES: Let’s face it, social media isn’t going anywhere
- Parenting for a Digital Future: The social implications of teens leaving Facebook
- The Conversation: Touchscreens can benefit toddlers – but it’s worth choosing your child’s apps wisely
- The Guardian:
- BBC:
- Dr Mark Griffiths: Snap chat: The psychology of selfies
- The Guardian: The internet, but not as we know it: life online in China, Cuba, India and Russia
Trust and Reliability
- That’s Nonsense: Why we shouldn’t share Facebook hoaxes “just in case”
- The Guardian: Facebook rolls out fact-checking operation to UK
- BBC: WhatsApp restricts message-sharing to fight fake news
Educational Content
Teaching Materials, Tools and Video
- BBC Newsround: Instagram egg: Kylie Jenner's most-liked record beaten
Articles for Parent/Carers
- The Guardian: Think twice before you share our faces online, say children
- The Telegraph: How can we monitor our teen's social media usage?'
Resources to share with parents/carers
- Parent Info:
- NSPCC: TikTok: all you need to know
- Internet Matters:
- Online consent & images sharing – Mum shares challenges of teaching teens to share safely
- What is online consent and how can I discuss this with my child?
- In the age of social media, how can I help my child maintain a positive body image?
- How can I help my child manage their friendships online safely?
- TikTok app safety – What parents need to know
- How can I help my child best manage their screen time?