e-Safety in Schools

The Internet Watch Foundation reports that the number of websites showing and selling images of child abuse has fallen by 10%  in the last 12 months.

"These websites, although reducing in number, represent an extremely serious problem," said Peter Robbins, chief executive of the IWF.

Of the 1,536 unique domains known to the IWF as hosting images of child abuse, 74% were run for profit. The remaining sites were places abusers shared or swapped images.

In its report, the IWF said: "1,536 domains represent a problem of a scale which can be seriously targeted and significantly disrupted through international efforts." It said that about 69% of the children depicted in the images it saw were between zero and 10. About 24% involved children aged six or under. About 58% of the images seen showed the most serious sorts of abuse - involving *** or torture.

The IWF has said it and its international partners would target these key domain sellers in the next year to get abuse sites delisted and removed from the net.

The report also noted the increasing sophistication of the methods used by site owners to escape detection and avoid being shut down. Many sites scramble domain names, hide payment systems and split images across sub-domains or remote servers to evade law enforcement agencies.

To read the full report click here

A new resource from Childnet International is now available:  Know IT All for Primary Schools. This  resource has been produced specifically for the primary sector with support from Becta, the TDA and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety; KIA for Primary Schools aims to engage with primary aged children and all those working with them.

The resource has 2 main components:

1) A DVD for children with a film animation, 'The adventures of Kara, Winston and the SMART crew'. The five episodes feature the latest technologies, updated e-safety advice and seek to empower all children to make good decisions online. The resource has been designed so that as many children as possible can get the most out of it. There are optional subtitles, a BSL version of the SMART rules, the SMART rules in Widgit Symbols, and the animation will soon be made available in Clicker (an inclusive writing and multimedia tool, which offers curriculum access and a high level of support for children with a range of diverse needs).

 2) A Selection of Video tutorials for school staff form the content of the second resource, a CD ROM made up of 5 chapters designed to support the development of effective e-safety knowledge, policies and practice. We all know how important it is for everyone to have the opportunity to really understand the importance of internet safety and these tutorials seek to educate and provide useful links for schools looking to build on their internet safety provision.

This resource is available to order from The DCSF for FREE, (Tel 0845 60 222 60 Reference number: 00321 - 2009CDO - EN) Or alternatively you can view the content online here www.childnet.com/kia/primary

"Every individual has a right to be respected at their place of employment and bullying of any kind is a violation of that right, so I hope that this guidance is used by all staff members and schools to prevent cyberbullying of staff and reduce the harm and hurt it can cause.

Bullying of any kind is harmful and, as it evolves alongside technological advances we see new forms, such as cyberbullying, making their mark. I know children are not the only victims of this humiliating form of bullying, school staff are too. That is why this guidance has been produced specifically to help and support school staff tackle cyberbullying. It provides straightforward advice and will help school staff know their rights and the powers they and schools have to deal with cyberbullying"  Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families

This new Guidance adds to a range of other resources Childnet have produced for schools to help tackle cyberbullying, including the Let's Fight It Together DVD, the Digizen Interactive Programme, the "Safe to Learn - Cyberbullying" guidance, and the summary document - "Cyberbullying: A whole-school community approach".

The new guidance and Childnet's Cyberbullying resources can be found here

This new guidance comes after a recent survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the Teacher Support Network which found that one in seven teachers say they have been bullied by pupils and colleagues through text messages, emails and social networking sites and almost one in five teachers said they knew of colleagues who had become victims.

The survey of 539 school and college staff found that of those who had suffered cyberbullying personally, 63% had received unwelcome emails, 26% had offensive messages posted about them on social networking sites, and 28% were sent unwelcome text messages.

Most of the reported cyberbullying - 44% - was done by pupils, but 28% of staff said a manager or colleague was behind it. The survey also highlighted the effect cyberbullying has on its victims, with 39% saying their confidence fell, 25% saying it made them a less effective teacher and 6% saying they were forced to take sick leave because of resulting illness or stress. Nearly two thirds (62%) were not aware of any cyberbullying policy at their school.

The survey of 1,000 children aged between 7 and 14 years and 1,000 parents in the UK, reveals that 43% of parents admit they find it difficult or very difficult to extract information from their child about their day at school.

 Other important findings of the report include:

• A third of parents feel excluded by their children
• Only 16% of children proactively talk about their school day
• Children admit they want to keep ‘hassling' parents away from school life
• 82% of parents want schools to keep them better informed

However, parents are not alone in dealing with this communication challenge: almost half of children (44%) don't like sharing information with their parents; they like to keep their school day private, and over a third (37%) of children say they find it quite or very difficult to speak to their parents about their education.

As part of the "Oh, nothing much" area of the Next Generation Learning website Dr Tanya Byron (author of 2008 Byron Report) is writing a blog to share insights from Becta's research into how parents and their children discuss learning. Topics will include practical parenting tips on how to maximise communication with their children exploring uses of technology at home and in the classroom and how parents can get more involved with their child's education and have fun along the way! For more information visit Tanya's blog here

Parents and Educators can also follow the Next generation learning site here on Twitter

Shortly before 11.30pm on the1st April, the 16-year-old boy wrote: ‘I'm going away to do something I've been thinking about for a while then everyone will find out'." His friend knew the school he went to but not his address, so she told her parents, who contacted the British Embassy in Washington. The local Police had just a name to go on but narrowed the search to eight addresses. Officers were dispatched to each location, and three hours after the boy had filed his Facebook message, he was found at home " conscious but suffering the effects of a drug overdose." He has since been released from the hospital and "is recovering at home".

Thames Valley Chief Superintendent Brendan O’Dowda praised the tenacity of those involved on both sides of the Atlantic. ‘It took up time and effort but it was time and effort absolutely well spent’ he said.

This story reflects what the US's National Suicide Prevention Lifeline said in 2007, that peers are often the first to know when a teen is in trouble, so social networking sites can be a vital source of referrals to hotlines.

The advice is aimed at both parents and teen and looks at the legalities, effects and consequences sexting can have both now and on young people's futures.

The advice is based on research - conversations with police, prosecutors, and legal scholars from across America and although the advice is aimed at a US market the advice is useful and applicable here in the UK.

This follows a recent story from America which can be used to illustrate how the law applies to more than still photos on phones. Police in Massachusetts, America are "investigating charges" against three teenagers who allegedly recorded video of themselves engaging in sexual activity and then distributed the video to junior high (primary) students. WCBV TV Boston reported the story here.  In addition to the child-pornography charges, statutory *** and wiretapping charges are also being considered (the latter, if audio was involved).

"Police said the video was taken at a home, not at the school. The alleged victim, a girl under 16, told them she did not realize she was being captured on cell phone. She went to police with her parents when she realized the video was circulating," WCBV added.