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New survey by Internet Matters reveals how parents of 8-11 year olds want minimum age enforced for smartphone ownership

Internet Matters this week launched its ‘Back to School’ survey which reveals the majority of parents (84.6%) would like a minimum age for smartphone ownership in the UK - with age 10 being the most popular minimum age. With millions of children back to school this week, the new research shows that over half (65%) of 8-11 year olds own a smartphone and nearly a quarter (23%) of parents let their children take their phone to school. The survey is complimented by a Back to School e-safety advertising campaign and a new online safety guide by Internet Matters which helps parents keep their children safe online.

Carolyn Bunting, General Manager at Internet Matters, commented: ‘With such a huge amount of young people owning smartphones and the acceptable age of doing so being 10, parents need to be more aware than ever of what their children are doing online. That’s why we have launched our brand new online safety guide, so that parents remember these safety precautions in their back to school shopping list for their children.”

On the anniversary of changes to the National Curriculum in England, which made e-safety a compulsory topic for primary schools, the ‘Back to School’ survey shows parents believe the responsibility lies with them and schools to ensure their kids are safe online. Whilst nearly three quarters of parents (72%) said their primary school teaches their children e-safety, 67% of parents think it’s up to them to keep their kid’s safe online but 90% think schools could do more. Whilst mobile technology brings enormous benefits to young people, the majority of parents (82%) would prefer that mobile phones were not allowed in primary school.

The research highlighted huge regional variations of smartphone usage among children with Newcastle revealed to be the kids “smartphone capital of Britain” - with 90.5% of primary school children aged 8-11 owning one, compared to Manchester (65%), Birmingham (61%) and London (55%). Brighton and Hove came bottom of the table with 40%.

Child psychotherapist Catherine Knibbs commented: “It is no surprise that 10 appears to be the most popular age parents feel comfortable letting their children own a smartphone as this is the age that children move from a more simplistic view of the world to being more independent, think in a more complex way, and show the ability to understand the consequences of their actions. This adult-like behaviour in children makes parents feel more comfortable that their children are grown up enough to own a smartphone, but it’s a tough decision as parents need to balance this new found freedom with a level of supervision and boundary setting to ensure safe internet usage.”

Bunting, further commented: “Every parent agonises over that all-important decision of when to give their children a mobile phone. Whether it’s peer pressure, a sign of maturity, or out of peace of mind, every child is different and parents know intuitively what the right age is for their child. Giving children this great tool comes with responsibilities both for parents and children. We would urge parents to ensure they have the conversation with their children about how to be responsible on their phones and ensure that the safety settings are in place across all their devices and search engines.”

For more information on Internet Matters Back to School campaign please visit www.internetmatters.org.

The SWGfL series of live e-safety briefings recommence in September

After a successful 2 year programme of delivering vital e-safety information across the UK, the South West Grid for Learning are now planning a further series of 80 events to run until march 2016.

Online safety is one of those areas of safeguarding that never seems desperately important until things go wrong; only then do a host of authorities appear to point out the massive gaps that have been missed.

The recent Serious Case Review at a North Somerset First School where a member of staff had been systematically abusing children over a period of time clearly identified the glaring gaps in online safeguarding that in hindsight are so obvious but at the time, obviously didn’t register as a cause for concern.

The E-safety Live Briefings are short sharp sessions that aim to provide the most amount of information in the shortest possible time at a local location to you...and they are free?

Who for?

In the broadest sense the sessions are designed for any professional working with children and young people, and certainly not just designated ICT leads in schools. There will be lots in the session for those in Senior Management, those who are accountable for governance, need to steer holistic approaches and formulate strategy as well as practitioners who are keen to extend knowledge and increase effectiveness. Anyone in the Children’s Workforce will benefit from the insight and the testimonials reflect the wide appeal.

Content

There will be content about current technology, latest trends and issues that are emerging, focus on some of the key research that is being carried out and the important findings from it. Guidance on policy and legislative frameworks as well as exploration of tools, techniques and strategies being employed to good effect. There is also signposting to useful sources of support.

The scanning and scrutiny of material in the rapidly changing field of online safety is constant and the briefings are a vital component in efforts to ensure practitioners and policy makers alike are aware and conversant.

Resource Base

The resource base, accessible by every delegate who attends through a password issued to them, reinforces all the headline content of the briefing by giving access to the detailed research, documentation, presentations, legislation and quoted material of any other form from the session itself. This includes media coverage, video clips, hyperlinks and multi-media interactions.

Hosting Opportunity

The UK Safer Internet Centre are looking for organisations who would like to host one of these briefings, and are committed to achieve a broad reach. So urban or rural, North, South East or West, you could put yourself at the centre of learning and change.

To find out more, visit the E-safety Live website

Make a Noise about Bullying and win tickets to see the classic musical, Wicked

The Anti-Bullying Alliance are working in partnership with Wicked to share the Make a Noise about bullying message through a prestigious and inspirational competition for children and young people in schools and colleges in England.

Schools and colleges are invited to submit entries on behalf of their students in the following six categories:

1. Individual – Key Stage 2 (student aged 9-11)
2. Group – Key Stage 2 (2 to 10 students, aged 9-11)
3. Whole school entry – Key Stage 1 and 2 (11 + students)
4. Individual – Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 (student aged 11-18)
5. Group – Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 (2 to 10 students, aged 11-18)
6. Whole school entry – Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 (11+ students)

How to enter?
Send the Anti-Bullying Alliance a video clip where students Make a Noise about bullying! This could be a song, poem, rap, musical piece – or even a collective shout out in an assembly. The video clip should be no more than 2 minutes long and it can be filmed on a phone.

The prize
One winner in each category will win tickets to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London, and will win one of the following prizes dependent on the category entered: Individual – up to 4 tickets; Group – up to 10 tickets; School - up to 300 tickets.

The competition closes at 5pm on Wednesday 30th September.

For more information on how to enter, including the terms and conditions, visit www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk.

For more information about Wicked visit www.wickedthemusical.co.uk.