E-safety – Raised profile

Dr Byron has recommended the creation of a new UK Council for Child Internet Safety and is pushing to challenge the internet industry to take greater responsibility for supporting parents.

This week’s TES (28/03/2008) and The Times newspaper include interesting articles outlining the recommendations made.

Here’s a link to a good summary of the review – Summary

Ed Balls Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said: “I welcome Dr Byron’s focus on a shared culture of responsibility. Keeping children and young people safe from harm must be the priority and responsibility of us all. However, children also need to be able to learn, have new experiences and enjoy their childhoods. So we will help families strike the right balance between keeping children safe and allowing them the freedom they need by taking forward Dr Byron’s recommendations.’

The social networking site, Bebo has created Safe SocialNetworking which provides teacher’s with educational matierals regarding the use of the site.  Don’t forget that Bebo users should be 13 years or over.

Google also have also provided a short video and advice to help families take steps to protect their chidren online.  Tips for online safety.  These tips guide parents in the use of Google’s ‘Safe Search’ facilities which are easily set up at home.

There are numerous sites which provide advice on e-safety, some of which I have written of in an earlier post and with the publication of Dr Bryon’s review, hopefully schools and parents can become more confident that they are protecting their children whilst online.