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A review of the e-safety related events of 2016

We also take a look forward to the opportunities in 2017.

Spring Term

In the spring term, the European Union launched a forum bringing together Internet firms like Google, Facebook and Twitter as well as law enforcement agencies to combat online extremism.

Police revealed that children as young as EIGHT are 'sexting' explicit images to each other.

A survey of more than 4,700 teenagers revealed that almost half think cyberbullying is a bigger issue than drug abuse among young people

Safer Internet Day 2016 took place with the theme Play your part for a better internet, which reached 2.8 million children!

Summer Term

In the summer term, it was announced that pornographic websites will require users to verify their age in a bid to stop children viewing harmful material online. Companies that fail to put safeguards in place will face civil sanctions under a new legal framework.

The ASCL released details of a report which reported that rising numbers of young people are suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and stress. It suggested that today's children are facing an "extraordinary range" of pressures - including modern technology - and specialist care needs to be available.

Action for Children reported that One in seven (15%) children has bullied others online, while nearly 60% of children responded that they bullied to fit in with a certain social group.

Twitter suspended 125,000 'terrorism' accounts after global calls to counter extremism online.

Autumn Term

At the beginning of the autumn term, the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) released a guidance document for schools on dealing with ‘Youth Produced Sexual Imagery’ (YPSI) or more commonly known as ‘sexting’. This was followed by new guidance from the Police to prevent criminalising some young people involved in sexting.

The annual Ofcom report, Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2016, indicated that the Internet has overtaken television as the top media pastime for the UK’s children.

The NSPCC recorded an 88% rise in children seeking help for online abuse. The number of children who contacted ChildLine increased by more than 2,000 over five-year period.

A School for teenage codebreakers is to open in Bletchley Park. The sixth-form College of National Security will teach cyber skills to some of Britain’s most gifted youngsters to fight growing threat.

What have been your significant moments of 2016?
There has been much to consider regarding online safety during 2016. Schools have once again felt the pressure of added risks that young people face when using the Internet. We would love to hear your thoughts. What have been the most significant e-safety developments or risks that have affected you, your school or your pupils? What do you think will be the biggest online safety challenge of 2017? Please use the comments section below to let us know.

New from E-safety Support in 2017
Look out for our new assembly for Safer Internet Day which will be available in early January. We will also be releasing a new cyber bullying assembly in the new year as well as issuing a new governor online training course.

You may have already noticed that the E-safety Support website has been getting a new fresh look. Over the coming days, we will be rolling out the new designs to give our members a new user dashboard area too. We will also be adding additional member features which will be announced in January. Watch out for your member email bulletins for further information.

Schools continue to fail Ofsted inspections due to inadequate training for staff

What is Ofsted looking for?
In the latest Ofsted guidance for inspectors undertaking inspection under the common inspection framework, it advises inspectors to look for evidence which demonstrates:

“the quality of safeguarding practice, including evidence that staff are aware of the signs that children or learners may be at risk of harm either within the setting or in the family or wider community outside the setting”

In addition, signs of successful safeguarding include:

“There are clear and effective arrangements for staff development and training in respect of the protection and care of children and learners.”

More specifically, when inspecting how effectively leaders and governors create a safeguarding culture in the setting, criteria includes:

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

Recent Ofsted comments
In recent Ofsted reports for schools rated 'inadequate', a number had the lack of training for staff cited as a contributing factor, with comments from inspectors including:

"Many teachers are not sufficiently trained to recognise indicators of risk or prepare pupils to stay safe."
"...staff do not have the information and training that enable them to meet the varying needs of the pupils."
"The manager and some staff do not have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues in order to effectively support children's welfare"

It is no doubt disappointing that these same schools are receiving good (and outstanding) reports for the quality of their teaching practices. However, while the lack of staff training was only one of the reasons why these schools have been rated inadequate, it can't be overlooked.

Your opinion
We would love to know your thoughts on the Ofsted requirements for staff training, the pressure it puts on school resources and how this impacts on the school as a whole. Please use the comments section below.

This week there have been a string of reminders in the news about the risks young people are exposed to through selfies, sexting and sextortion.

Just a week ago, news reports announced that the College of Policing was advising that not all cases of sexting should be reported as a crime. To avoid criminalising young people for inappropriate but generally naive behaviour, the report suggested that a ‘common sense’ approach be taken particularly in cases where the images are self-generated or obtained with consent. While the new advice has been largely well received, it remains to be seen how this will protect those involved, when a self-generated image gets shared beyond it’s intended recipient for example – and who has the responsibility for deciding what should and shouldn’t be reported.

A few days on, and a new online challenge emerged – the one finger challenge. This, the latest in the ‘online challenge’ genre, encourages people to take naked selfies in a mirror, using one finger to cover up their privates. It’s easy to see how this ‘challenge’ could be attractive to young people. It’s also easy to see how it can lead to regrettable and potentially upsetting situations for those involved at a later stage. There would no doubt be a considerable amount of peer pressure to get involved in the ‘challenge’, which could also lead to bullying for both those who do and do not take part.

24 hours later, Jeremy Hunt announced to the Commons Health Committee on suicide prevention efforts, that children should be blocked from texting sexually explicit images by social media companies. Mr Hunt urged technology companies to use software to identify and prevent inappropriate images being sent by under 18s. This recommendation has come under fire, suggesting that this form or ‘censorship’ could do more harm than good. And surely, this blinkered approach to an out-right ban on sexting for under 18s conflicts with the earlier advice from the College of Policing, who seemingly have accepted that sexting is part of current youth culture.

And lastly, on the same day, the National Crime Agency (NCA) reported that sextortion has increased. Sextortion is a form of blackmail, where victims are coerced into performing sex acts on webcams by fraudsters. The victims are then blackmailed with the footage. A substantial proportion of victims are aged between 11 and 20. This is a relatively new crime, but has already been linked to four suicides in the UK including one teenage boy. In response, the NCA have launched a campaign to give advice to actual and potential victims.

So, once again, these varying news items have brought to the forefront the issues surrounding the sharing of personal images online. The suggestions that have been made are likely to have mixed reaction and indeed mixed success. But ultimately, they all remind us that teaching children about these risks, must be embedded in online safety education.

Opinions will vary on the matters raised in these news reports and we welcome your thoughts using the comments section below.