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Only 68% of schools reported that all staff are receiving regular e-safety training and updates.

In 2012, Ofsted released their inspecting e-safety briefing, placing an emphasis on educating young people about staying safe online, while providing a safe environment in which to explore the web.

In the six years that have followed, a great deal has changed, not least the available technology and indeed how young people are connecting to the virtual and online world.

From a school perspective, the greatest change has come in the form of responsibility. Gone are the days when e-safety was considered the domain of the IT teacher – now the responsibility lies with the senior management team in the form of a designated safeguarding lead.

To that end, e-safety is no-longer a separate entity but is incorporated in the DfE guidance relating to the wider safeguarding issues, primarily set out the in the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance, which was updated at the beginning of September.

One of the key elements of the guidance is that of staff training, with the KCSIE stating that:

Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that all staff undergo safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety) at induction. The training should be regularly updated.
And
In addition, all staff should receive regular safeguarding and child protection updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins, staff meetings) as required, and at least annually, to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.

To underline this requirement the “Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings” Ofsted guidance issued earlier this month advises inspections to include evidence that:

staff, leaders, governors and supervisory bodies (where appropriate) and volunteers receive appropriate training on safeguarding at induction, that is updated regularly.

However, it seems that many schools are currently not providing adequate staff training on internet safety. According to figures extracted from the E-safety Support e-safety checklist, in the 2017/18 academic year, only 67.8% of users who logged progress in this area reported that they were fulfilling this requirement.

In addition, less than half (48.2%) of governing bodies were considered to be is involved the e-safety policy and practice within schools, while only 59% of users reported having an effective e-safety policy in place.

With the safeguarding remit ever widening, it’s not hard to understand why some schools may not be meeting the DfE requirements for e-safety – budgets, time and the expanding areas of risk which need to be considered make the safeguarding arena a challenging one to keep up with. However, we must remember that “Early years settings, schools, and further education and skills institutions should be safe environments where children (that is, everyone under the age of 18), learners and vulnerable adults can learn and develop” and having trained staff is essential to ensuring this is the case.

Online e-safety training available from Safeguarding Essentials

Our online training courses are simple to distribute and monitor. They are a cost effective way to make sure your whole school community receives regular up-to-date training. With no 'per-user' costs, you can distribute the training to as many staff, parents, governors and pupils as you need and can repeat the training as often as necessary.

There are currently 13 online training courses for staff covering a range of safeguarding topics - a full list of courses can be viewed here

Review your e-safety provision with our interactive online checklist

The statistics quoted are taken from our interactive online e-safety checklist, which is available to all Safeguarding Essentials members. The 9 point checklist gives you an outline of the necessary action or procedure that needs to take place in your school, with references to additional information and support if you need them. Find out more

Subsidised memberships available

Since 2013, we have been supporting schools across the UK and beyond to deliver consistent, outstanding practice in online safety. Recently, we have added resources to our service to address wider safeguarding requirements. To date, our online training has been completed over 130,000 times.

However, we recognise that some of the schools who need the greatest support are those with the least resource. That’s why we have teamed up with our partners at Friendly WiFi to offer subsidised membership to those most in need - up to 100% discounts are available to qualifying schools. Discover your discount now!

After a record-breaking year last year, with over 150,000 pupils joining, tootoot’s Pupil Voice Week is back and bigger than ever.

Running from the 24th – 28th September, this year’s Pupil Voice Week has more partners and resources than ever before to help schools celebrate.

With the theme ‘Use Your Voice’ Pupil Voice Week this year will celebrate all of the incredible things that happen when our children and young people use their voice to speak-up about the things that are important to them.

Children and young people are our future and hold a huge potential for the communities they are part of. We know that when children feel valued and confident to speak-up it creates a positive force for change.

We want children around the world to feel comfortable to speak-up about anything; empowering children’s voices should be at the core of everything we aim to do which is why the Pupil Voice Week activities, lesson plans and resources focus on the idea that it’s good to speak-up, and that if we want to make a positive change in our communities children’s voices have to be a part of that.

It is time to act now and work together to make sure that this becomes a reality. Sign-up and download the resources and activities. Let’s celebrate the pupil voice together.

Receive your free support and resources by signing up at pupilvoiceweek.co.uk, and join the celebration on social media from the 24th – 28th September using #PupilVoiceWeek and tag @tootootofficial.

Across the UK, thousands of social media users are gearing up for the start of the first ever mass-participation social media-free month, Scroll Free September, which kicks off tomorrow (1 September 2018).

The campaign, organised by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and sponsored by Silentnight, asks people to give up or cut back use of their personal social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for one month, with the intention that the experience will have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.

Participants can choose to go completely Cold Turkey, or just stop using social media at selected times, such as in the bedroom or at social events, while other phone use such as instant messaging is still allowed.

Based on public polling, RSPH estimates that as many 320,000 people in the UK may be planning on taking part in the inaugural campaign. However, the campaign has also attracted widespread international interest, with participants from 56 countries across five continents already signed up to receive tips and advice through the official campaign website.

Polling carried out on behalf of RSPH on the eve of the campaign also found that:

More than a third (34%) of 25-34 year olds who have heard of the campaign plan to take part.

More than a third (34%) of the public think taking part would have a positive impact on them personally, rising to almost two thirds (63%) of 18-24 year olds.

More than two in five 18-24 year olds (41%) think their parents would benefit from taking part, while more than half (55%) think their siblings would benefit.

More than a third (35%) of people in a relationship, as well as almost half (45%) of 25-34 year olds, think their partner would benefit from taking part.

Among the 10 most followed celebrities on social media, Kim Kardashian-West is the one the highest number of people (28%) would like to see take part in Scroll Free September.

Find out more about the different ways of participating and sign up to take part in the campaign at www.scrollfreeseptember.org.

Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive of RSPH, said: “When used in the right way, social media can have a lot of real positives for mental health and wellbeing, including improving social connectivity and providing a source of emotional support. We want to harness and promote those positives, so Scroll Free September certainly isn’t about quitting social media for good.

“Scroll Free September is about taking a break and taking notice of the aspects that may be having a more negative impact on your wellbeing – of which we know there are many – and using that knowledge to establish a healthier, more balanced relationship with social media in the future. Whether it’s scrolling before bed stopping you sleeping, following aspirational and unattainable accounts denting your self-esteem, or the ever-presence of phones getting in the way of your face-to-face interactions with friends and family, Scroll Free September gives us all the opportunity to identify those negative elements and cut them out for good.”

Endorsing the campaign, Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “Having just completed my own ‘digital detox’ for August I wholeheartedly endorse RSPH’s ‘Scroll Free September’ campaign. My scroll free August wasn’t easy but I certainly feel I benefited from taking a break.

“RSPH’s significant research has confirmed that many young people believe their anxiety, body-image concerns and sleeping difficulties are worsened by considerable social media use. We can no longer ignore the impact excessive social media use and addiction is having on the mental health and wellbeing of so many in our communities. I congratulate RSPH for launching this campaign which I know will influence all those who, like me, are determined to improve the health and wellbeing of every child.”

Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national director for mental health, said: “Scroll Free is right to highlight growing concerns that social media is contributing to increasing mental health issues in young people and a major ramp up of services will be needed to deal with the problems as part of the NHS long-term plan. We need to see concerted action, with everyone taking responsibility, including social media giants, so the NHS is not left to pick up the pieces of a mental health epidemic in the next generation.”

Supporting the announcement of Scroll Free September last month, Chris Elmore MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Media and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing, said: “Scroll Free September is a great opportunity to take a break from social media. Many of us are guilty of becoming consumed by social media and whilst there are many benefits to using the various platforms which are available, it’s important to take some time out. I’d highly encourage everyone to get involved in this initiative – there are several different ways to do so to suit everyone. So please do take a look and see what benefits it brings to your everyday life.”

Victoria Prentis MP, Vice-Chair of the APPG, added: “I am really pleased that I am able to lend my support to Scroll Free September. I am an active user of social media, given my role as a Member of Parliament so I am sure the first few days of the blackout will be a challenge. However, as the mother of teenagers I am only too aware of the negative impact social media can have on the mental health and wellbeing of children these days. Initiatives like Scroll Free September provide a welcome opportunity for users to reflect and to build a healthier, more balanced relationship with social media. I would encourage my constituents to get behind the campaign too!”

Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, a sleep expert from Scroll Free September sponsors Silentnight, said: “Social networks are definitely causing a heightened feeling of FoMO, particularly with the younger generation who are so used to seeing their social lives played out online.

“It’s quite concerning to see just how much people are using social media at night time. The impact on sleep is particularly concerning. It’s proven that the blue light from phones and tablets wakes up the brain making it difficult to wind down and fall asleep. So punctuating the night with social media checks is a recipe for disaster if you want to sleep well.

“As a sleep deprived nation we’d do well to limit the amount of time we are spending on social media. Scroll Free September is a great chance to initiate this change in lifestyle and reassess our social media use.”