Online Safety Briefing: Term 1 2018-19

Online Safety Briefing: Term 1 (August-October 2018-19)

This is the 2018-19 Term 1 (August-October) 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:

• Online Safety Alert: Think before you scare
• Engaging parents in children’s use of apps

General Content

• TES:
  • Schools suffer from tittle tattle of Facebook and tabloids
  • 'Social media is great, but beware death by email'
  • Hinds: 'Schools should be phone-free - but I won't ban them'
• Net Family News: Dealing with viral media scares
• BBC:
  • German school sued in photo copyright row
  • 'My robot makes me feel like I haven't been forgotten'
  • Almost half of UK internet users 'harmed' online
  • Pre-schoolers are watching more online video, says study
• Parenting for a Digital Future:
  • Dire warnings about children dying because of apps and games are a form of ‘juvenoia’
• Childnet: 7 in 10 children are using voice assisted technology

 ‘Addiction’ and Mental Health 

• Centre for Mental Health: Social media, young people and mental health briefing
• SWGfL: Persuasive Design and how it keeps us glued to our devices
• The Telegraph:
  • Instagram promoting accounts which 'incite' self harm, Telegraph investigation reveals
  • Instagram criticised over eating disorder hashtags that pose 'dangerous health risk' to users
• Huffington Post:
  • We need to better understand the 'link' between children's mental health and social media
• The Guardian: Research finds link between time online and obesity in children

Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

• TES:
  • Primary pupils harassed with naked adult images
  • Pupils livestreaming creates a 'cocktail of risks'
• The Guardian: To protect children from sexual abuse we need to talk to potential offenders
• BBC:
  • Child sexual exploitation: How big is the scale of online abuse?
  • Kik chat app 'involved in 1,100 child abuse cases'
  • Children 'blackmailed' for sexual images in online video chats
  • Our son was blackmailed for sexual images online
• Huffington Post: How do we teach children not to talk to strangers when social media is a part of their lives?

Cyberbullying

• TES: 'It will take the whole community to tackle cyberbullying'
• Huffington Post: Channel 4 to tackle online abuse with 'thought-provoking ad break'

Cybercrime

• TES: Do you know what your students are doing online?
• SWGfL: Password Management & Security Guide

Gaming and Gambling

• The Guardian: Why can't people stop playing Fortnite?
• BBC:
  • Teenagers bombarded by gambling ads ask for help
  • Fortnite cheat YouTuber sued by Epic Games

Information Governance, Privacy and Data

• The Telegraph: Spy app that lets parents track their children leaks 2 million private files
• TES: GDPR: five things schools should have done by now

Professional Conduct

• SWGFL: Back to School: Social Media advice for teachers from the Professionals Online Safety Helpline
• TES:
  • Why your social account is not as private as you think
  • Teacher banned for groping TAs and lewd remarks
  • Banned: Teacher who swapped nude photos with pupil
  • Banned: Teacher who called pupils c**** on Facebook
  • Banned: Teacher who viewed child sex abuse
  • Banned: Teacher who told pupil ‘condoms are boring’ and sent pupil inappropriate messages despite requests to stop
  • Teacher banned for racist comments online about Jews
• The Telegraph: Female primary school head admits child sex offences as outraged parents thought she was 'off sick'
• Wales Online: Female primary school head teacher sentenced for making indecent images of child

‘Sexting’, Sexual Harassment and Violence

• The Guardian: The criminalisation of upskirting is good news – but it’s just a start
• TES: Calls for more school guidance on sexting

Social Media and Technology

• TES:
  • Need to know: Pupils' use of social media
  • ‘Internet should be a formal subject in schools’
  • We can't blame social media for everything…
• The Guardian:
  • What would you do if your teenager became an overnight Instagram sensation?
  • Logged off: meet the teens who refuse to use social media
  • MPs question Google, Facebook and Twitter on problematic content
• BBC:
  • What's life as a YouTube child star really like?
  • Facebook Watch video service launches worldwide
  • Social media guidelines for young people to be drawn up
• The Telegraph:
  • Revealed: Seven ways to erase embarrassing old social media posts and clean up your digital footprint
  • A decade of smartphones: We now spend an entire day every week online
  • Are smartphones killing the art of conversation - or is it just a moral panic?
• Huffington Post:
  • Police chief calls for easier access to social media in criminal investigations
  • Being in the centre of a social media storm
• Common Sense Media: Social Media, Social Life Infographic
• Tech Crunch: Instagram launches parent portal to teach internet safety
• Mashable: Instagram is using new tools to detect bullying on the platform
• The Conversation:
  • The social implications of teens leaving Facebook
  • Social media: is it really to blame for young people being lonelier than any other age group?
  • Regulate social media? It’s a bit more complicated than that

Radicalisation and Extremism

• The Guardian: Why I am seeking to stamp out online echo chambers of hate
• BBC: Google, Facebook, Twitter face EU fines over extremist posts
• Independent: Teenage boys share offensive memes about Holocaust and rape to score ‘lad points’, expert says

Trust and Reliability

• Huffington Post: Why Do Sensible People Believe Fake News?

Educational Content

Teaching Materials, Tools and Videos

• Childnet: Why do some apps ask for my age? (KS2/3)
• BBC Own it (KS2/3)
  • DanTDM talks about becoming a YouTube star
  • Level Up! Get into gaming
  • Quiz: What's your digital future?
  • What do parents worry about online?
  • “It can sometimes be overwhelming and scary”
  • How to deal with social media anxiety
• BBC Own it – Managing Parents (KS2/3)
  • "A stranger asked me out when I was gaming"
  • "My mum checked my phone!"
  • "Stop questioning me about what I do online!"
  • "My mum limits my screen time"
• The Guardian: NewsWise (KS2)
• Childline: Lottie’s story: Healthy/unhealthy relationships (KS3 – Chapter 1 may be suitable for Upper KS2)

Articles for Parent/Carers

• Parent Zone: 6 myths about children in the digital age
• Huffington Post:
  • ‘Mum, how could you do that to me?’ Why I’m cutting back on sharing photos of my kids online
  • You can now see exactly how much YouTube your kids watch
  • How to set a good example to your kids on social media
• LSE: Banning kids from having smartphones misses the point
• The Daily Mail: Family photo predators: Tempted to post pictures of your children’s milestones on social media?
• SWGfL: Managing screen time for your children and Apple’s latest iOS12 release
• The modern parent: Friend or Follower? Helping kids know the difference
• Parenting for Digital Future: Managing children’s media use in new family formations
• Mashable: Real life vs. online life: For kids, is there a difference?

Resources for parents/carers

• Cbeebies: Keeping children safe online
• Internet Matters: Grandparents guide to online safety
• Huffington Post:
  • What is Roblox? Is it safe for kids and how to use the parental controls?
  • How to stop your kids playing Fortnite without smashing an iPad
  • How to talk to your kids about sexting after schools criticised for 'ineffective' tactics
• Instagram: Parent’s Safety Centre
• Common Sense Media: Help! My Kid Wants to Use Social Media
• HM Government: Consumer Guidance for Smart Devices in the Home (PDF)

We hope educational settings find the briefings to be useful and would welcome feedback from DSLs.