DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD
DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD ‘Working Together to Keep Children & Young People Safe’
Online Reputation, Responsibilities and Risks How clean is your digital footprint?
Safer Internet Day 2013 A Report by Dudley Safeguarding Children Board’s E‐Safety Strategy Group
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DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD
Safer Internet Day 2013 The theme for this year’s European Safer Internet Day was ‘online reputation and responsibilities’. Dudley Safeguarding Children Board facilitated a series of events between 5th and 8th February 2013, attended by over 500 professionals and young people. This report provides a brief summary of the events and the feedback from those who attended.
Online Reputation: Are you a Responsible Professional? 350 professionals attended a total of 6 two‐hour sessions during the week, exploring people’s digital identity and footprint
A Digital footprint is the size of an individual’s online presence; as it relates to the number of individuals they interact with. It is the trail of information left behind after browsing the internet, updating a blog, or sending an instant message to a friend. It therefore includes:
Digital Identity(What does your digital footprint look like?)
Postings by you Postings by others, but about you or linked to you Postings by others pretending to be you
Research indicates that 73% of children under‐five years of age and 23% of unborn children are said to have some sort of digital footprint.
The sessions looked at online reputation, responsibilities and risks. Delegates were asked a number of questions linked to the aims of the events as part of the evaluation:
86% said that were more or much more aware of how they could monitor their digital footprint
86% said that their knowledge and understanding of how they could protect their identity online has improved
83% said that their knowledge and understanding of policies and guidelines relating to social media/networking has improved
Delegates were asked to identify something they would do differently as a result of the session. Examples include:
Check/change privacy settings regularly and debate old accounts Be careful about what I post and what family post about me As a parent, monitor what my children do online and talk to them about e‐safety Lock ‘public search’ down on Facebook Limit personal information on my profile Revisit our e‐safety policies and make sure staff are more aware of keeping a clean digital footprint
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DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD
Remove people that I do not know on my social networking sites Strengthen my passwords Don’t include information about my job in my posts Set‐up a separate professional account from my personal one Consider how the resources can be used within my workplace Remind colleagues not to have service users as their friends Talk to the young people I work with about their use of sites Set up a social media awareness group at my place of work Delete any inappropriate pictures and comments
“Make sure my digital footprint is clean”
SECONDARY
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‘Wot I do online has nuffin 2 do wiv ne1 else’
Dudley’s Safer Internet Day Debate 2013
Safer Internet Day Schools Debate 13 Dudley schools took part in the Schools Debate. The primary schools were Dingle, Quarry Bank, Peters Hill, Lapal, St Mary’s, Mount Pleasant, Withymoor, Queen Victoria, Greenfield; the secondary schools were Coseley, Kingswinford, Thorns and Holly Hall.
The debates were extremely lively and followed‐up by questions from the floor which revealed a depth of knowledge among the students. The two debates produced opposite results – the primary pupils voted for the motion while secondary pupils voted against. PRIMARY
The primary schools were impressively articulate and aware of e‐safety, and they voted strongly for the motion, which is perhaps a vote of confidence in their e‐safety education, they were not fearful and felt they knew how to handle things online. They did not think parents are well informed. Children should have their online privacy respected as they have received relevant education (unlike many parents) and they are generally responsible enough to be trusted.
When asked about the right age to teach children about e‐safety, they generally thought around 7 years of age. When asked what age they should be allowed online without supervision, they felt around 8 or 9 years of age.
For the motion:
“All human beings want privacy…why should the internet be any different than using the bathroom?”
“Only a small minority of people misuse the internet so why should we all be watched?”
“If we educate people before they went online they’d be safer…it’s about education, not policing.”
“it’s a common sense approach…we are taught not to talk to strangers, so why would we be different online to how we are face to face?”
“Isn’t it up to Facebook and Twitter to put control in place so you don’t need your parents looking over your shoulder?”
Against the motion:
“How can parents care out their duty to protect you if they can’t see what you post?”
“if a young person uploaded an inappropriate image it is there for life – making it harder to live a normal life or get a job, what you do online does have something to do with everyone”
“It’s everyone’s responsibility to look out for everyone else and see that they are safe and not being bullied”
“I understand that everyone is entitled to their privacy, but safety surely comes first”
DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD
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The votes went as follows:
Young people should have their privacy respected when they’re online YES 42 NO 29 ABSTAIN 9
Keeping everything private online could put your personal life in danger YES 29 NO 29 ABSTAIN 4
We are responsible for making sure that what we post online doesn’t put us in danger YES 42 NO 20 ABSTAIN 4
Young people should be able to have freedom of speech on SNS YES 30 NO 24 ABSTAIN 9
What I do online has nothing to do with anyone else YES 20 NO 35 ABSTAIN 7
Safer Internet Day Primary Survey 330 Dudley primary school pupils ranging from 7‐11 years of age completed the Safer Internet Day for 2013. Of these:
47% use a social network like Club Penguin, Moshi Monsters, Facebook or Twitter (although 84% don’t have a Facebook profile)
34% play games, where you chat with other players (like Xbox LIVE or Runescape) 27% use Chat rooms 27% use txt messaging 24% use emails 19% use a webcam on the internet (like Skype) 39% said that they had an online character or avatar 18.9% said they had helped someone who was being cyberbullied 22% had reported something on a website (for example, told a moderator) 18% said that they have seen something on the internet that upset or worried them in the last year
The pupils were asked, ‘what stops you from having fun on the internet?’
37% said ‘people being unkind’ 26% said ‘being too young for some website’ 23% said ‘seeing things that upset or embarrass me’ 24% said ‘being bullied’
The pupils were asked ‘when you are searching for information online, how do you check whether it is truthful?’
69% said ‘ask an adult’ 45% said ‘I only used a trusted website 10% said ‘I don’t check whether information online is truthful’
Pupils were asked ‘who would you tell if something upsets or worries you online?’
Parent or carer (77%) Teacher (50%) Friend (30%) Older brother or sister (29%) Grandparent (28%) Online support such as a moderator (11%)
78% of pupils said that they had been taught about staying safe online in the last year.
For more information about the Survey contact [email protected]
DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD
Cyber bullying and e‐safety A relatively small group of practitioners attended a session with Adrienne Katz, one of the UK’s leading experts on bullying. Her book is an essential read for all educators and professionals who are concerned about cyber bullying, and includes information from Dudley children who took part in her research.
“This is a comprehensive and priceless resource for all those who share the passion and dedication of the author to prevent and tackle cyberbullying and educate our youngsters with regards to e‐safety. It provides insight into the virtual world of our young people and the realities of the impact that cyberbullying can have on their lives”
Graham Tilby, Head of Safeguarding & Review
The publication provides helpful guidance in respect of the following:
Young people in the new connected world Bullying and cyberbullying – what do we mean? New tools for bullies The kinds of bullying young people experience Meeting the needs of both boys and girls Meeting the needs of different age groups Meeting the needs of vulnerable students E‐safety: presenting a new three‐tier strategy Cyberbullying: prevention and response Protecting teachers and staff
The book provides a range of tools for practitioners and a list of useful resources and sources of help for young people, parents, professionals and practitioners.
National Resources
There is wealth of internet resources available in relation to e‐safety work ‐ this can be a minefield to navigate in itself. Dudley’s E‐Safety Strategy Group has traditionally recommended a range of resources to support professionals and organisations in working directly with children, young people and their families. They offer resources ranging from lesson plans, DVDs films and quizzes to online e‐safety toolkits, policies and procedures.
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http://www.getsafeonline.org/
www.saferinternetday.org www.getsafeonline.org
DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD
http://www. childnet.com/
http://www.carrick-davies.com/mpp
http://www.saferinternet.org/web/guest/digitaluniverse
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Resources for Young People, Parents and Professionalswww.thinkuknow.org http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/first2amillion/ http://www.childnet.com/
http://www.saferinternetday.org/we
b/guest/insafe-resources
Early Years Resources http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/topics/stay‐safe http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/documents‐
onlinetoolkit.pdf
Vulnerable Young People (PRUs) http://www.carrick‐davies.com/mpp
DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD
Guidance for Use of Social Media and Social Networking
E‐Safety Strategy & Support The multi‐agency E‐Safety Strategy Group has been meeting since September 2006. The Board’s e‐safety strategy is currently being refreshed and will be published by June 2013. If you would like advice or support from members of the group (see below) or details about DSCB e‐safety training contact helen/pryor‐[email protected]
The members of the e‐safety strategy group are:
Schools – [email protected] Looked after children – [email protected] Libraries – [email protected] Preventing radicalisation – [email protected] Community Safety – [email protected] Connexions – [email protected] Sports & Physical Activity – [email protected] Safeguarding & Review – [email protected] and [email protected] Voluntary Sector – [email protected] E‐Safety Inter‐Agency Training – helen.pryor‐[email protected] Parents Protects & Stop it Now! – [email protected] Dudley College – [email protected]
Conclusion and Key Messages
Advice & Guidance to Individual Professionals
• Check search results returned from search engines • Keep up to date with social networking settings • Remember that what you post on‐line can be seen by others‐create a positive profile • Ensure family and friends know your wishes regarding posting comments and images that
include you or your opinions • Use strong passwords on your laptop, mobile phone and social networking sites • Remember some devices you use can be shared family devices, with account settings pre‐
populated • Read and use the DSCB guidance on use of social media and social networking
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Facebook Checklist http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/ufiles/Facebook%20Checklist1.pdf Dudley Safeguarding Children Board – Appendix W http://safeguardingchildren.dudley.gov.uk/information‐for‐professionals/safeguarding‐children‐procedures/part‐d‐reference‐section/?p=2
DUDLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD
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Advice and guidance to Individual Organisations
• Make sure you have up‐to‐date Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) which include references to ‘digital footprint’ and cyberbullying
• Be clear about what you aiming to achieve if you engage with the use of social media, who you are trying to reach and how you will moderate feedback
• Brief your staff about what you expect of them in terms of issues to do with Responsibilities, Reputation and Risk (the interface between their professional and personal worlds)
• Read and implement (as much as possible) the DSCB guidance on use of social media and social networking and wider guidance in respect of ‘safer working practices’
If you would like one of the e‐safety team to come and present ‘Digital Identity’ to a staff meeting or service event please contact helen.pryor‐[email protected]
We hope this report helps you to
Keep your digital footprint clean!
Graham Tilby Head of Safeguarding & Review
Chair of Dudley’s E‐Safety Strategy Group
Acknowledgements and Thanks to: Heather Jeavons, Katriona Lafferty, Rachael McKiernon‐Doyle and
Adrienne Katz
Dudley Safeguarding Children Board
http://safeguardingchildren.dudley.gov.uk
