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Michael Gove has done it recently, As has David Camreron and Barack Obama...(courting controversy in its wake too)...we're talking 'Selfies' and a staggering 91% of teens are doing it.

Along with the growing trend, there are accompanying Apps which play up to our insecurities and perpetuate the concept that we need to project the perfect image to the world. The Apps that are most worrying are 'Skinnee pix' and Snapchat.

Skinnee pix is the most worrying app in terms of young people as it’s designed to shed up to 15 lbs off your image. Justifying the app, the makers claim that photos add an average of 15 lbs to the average person and they are simply just taking away what photos add. However, it's still encouraging teens to see and be curious about what they would look like 'if only' they could lose a stone in weight. Moreover is it reinforcing users to sink deeper into narcissism? After all, it's been proven that women and young girls post more Selfies than males, does this prove that females base their self worth on how attractive they are, opposed to intelligence, personality and skills?

Snapchat is another growing app, being used by 24% of 8 year olds. This is a service where you send photos and a short message to a recipient and it will only exist for 10 seconds before disappearing into the cyber abyss. The very concept of this being temporary could be argued that it encourages users to be more risqué or push boundaries further as it won't be a permanent record of peoples online behaviour. It also could make cyber bullying far more difficult to prove or track, appealing to young people out there who are tempted to send things for a 'joke' when it is anything but for the recipient.

Lastly, on the subject of Selfies...if heads of state are able to make errors in judgement about the appropriacy of taking and sharing their Selfies (Nelson Mandela's memorial) then expect our young people to sometimes get it wrong too.

Good advice to give to young people about selfies

- Employers can and will check online profiles...always be mindful that photos are a true representation of you as a person. They should depict you in a positive light, incorporating interests and hobbies, loved ones and positive aspects of your life other than the stereotypical 'duck face' pouts and buffed up shots. Think- how do I want a stranger to perceive me?

- Pictures can tell a thousand lies, as the saying goes...online pics are not and should not be a substitute for the real relationships. Don't hide behind your online profile. Meet people and communicate face to face to build confidence and network!

- Reflect on your need to post a lot of Selfies, ask yourself 'what is my aim?' what do I want to get out of this? ...maybe you need to fulfil yourself in other ways to gain confidence. Think about what maybe lacking in your life?

- Don't base comments and likes on your self worth and popularity ...you have other qualities other than your looks. It means so much more to get a pat on the back for something you have achieved other than what you were born with.

If you would like to add your thoughts on this topic, please use the comments section below. You may also be interested in the 'Selfies' lesson plan available to E-safety Support Premium and Premium Plus members

As the Easter break began for many schools across the UK, Ofsted released their latest version of the 'Inspecting e-safety in schools' briefing document.

In the main, the inspection criteria remained unchanged - the only exception being an amendment to the key features of good and outstanding practice for management of personal data.

This section now reads:

• The impact level of personal data is understood and data is managed securely and in accordance with the statutory requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.
• Any professional communications that utilise technology between the school and pupils/students, their families or external agencies should:
  

  take place within clear and explicit professional boundaries
  be transparent and open to scrutiny
  not share any personal information with a child or young person.

There is, however, now more information about the reason why e-safety is such an important issue to face in schools, notably the change in device ownership demonstrating the decline in mobile phones amongst young people, in favour of tablet devices. This could be indicative of how young people are using technology - while school work remains the top online activity for UK youth, they are also playing games, viewing TV shows and films, downloading music and, of course, interacting on social media sites.

Figures quoted in the report recognise the rise in usage of social media sites among young people, with the transition between primary and secondary education apparently being a trigger. 28% of young people have a Facebook account as they leave primary school, but this rises to 59% for 11-12 year olds.

Further data provides evidence that parents are now more likely to talk to their children about online activity. 83% of parents trust their children to use the internet safely.

The subject of online personalised advertising is raised for the first time in this edition, with 42% of 12-15 year olds stating that they were not aware that websites could use their information in that way. A definition of this will be added to the E-safety Support Knowledge Base.

As ever, at E-safety Support, we will review the resources available from our website against the latest Ofsted briefing and will update the material as necessary. Members will be advised about updated resources via the Members Dashboard.

As educators, one of our key roles is to engage parents in their child’s education. In addition to conventional parents’ evenings, reports and newsletters why not draw on what we do best – teaching – and get parents back into the classroom as students?

A recent workshop at a small rural first school in Staffordshire is a prime example of how powerful this method of engagement can be. St Leonard’s First School headteacher Julie Lane was keen to promote the use of smart technology to enhance learning, and approached us with the idea of hosting a workshop to help parents to ensure their children make the most of their iPads and tablets at home while staying safe online.

The result was an evening course that covered how to manage tablets and set up different restrictions to make them more secure for children to use, as well as exploring various free apps to encourage youngsters in educational use of their tablets and iPads.

In addition to providing parents with peace of mind that they can ensure their children stay safe online we wanted to make the session fun and interactive. We explored how to make puppet shows on the iPads and each group of parents produced their own little show about a Princess called Prudence and her handsome knight, Kevin! I wanted to show parents how easily their children can create exciting multimedia projects and use the iPad for learning as well as for games. We also explored augmented reality using children's own drawings and brought their artwork alive with video explanations from the children themselves.

The feedback from the session has been great – the school reports parents commenting on how useful they found the experience, and has gone on to set up a regular ICT evening club that is attended not only by parents but members of the wider community, as well as including ICT tips and app reviews in its newsletter.

Why seek to constantly reinvent the wheel when often a back to basics approach, focusing on the skills we have as teachers, can have the biggest impact?

For more ideas on how to engage parents in e-safety matters, take a look at the E-safety Support Parent Pack or if you are interested in running a parents’ workshop on e-safety, iPad skills or a host of other topics at your school? Contact Fantastict on 0800 030 5241. Don't forget, all E-safety Support Members qualify for a free needs analysis and Premium and Premium Plus members can also claim discount of Fantastict courses.