Category Archives: Local Authorities

Exploring Safe and Unsafe Use of ICT Through Drama

Despite a range of excellent resources and plenty of publicity, there is still considerable concern about the dangers to young people of the misuse of modern technology – ‘cyber bullying’, access to inappropriate material, ‘grooming’ of young people etc.

Although young people, when asked specific questions about the use of ICT will give ‘correct’ answers, there is often a mismatch between their knowledge and their actions.

Borders Youth Theatre will work with a class of P6 at Earlston Primary School, Scottish Borders using drama to explore the issues involved and to devise some pieces of theatre which will illustrate the dangers of mobile phones and the internet and possible safe practice.

The drama pieces will be performed and filmed and broadcast live across Scotland via Glow.  There will be an opportunity for pupils in other schools to interact and perhaps influence the performances.

Although there is no attempt to replace the many excellent sources of information, there will some material available which schools may wish to use to follow up the project with pupils and parents.

Sign up and join us on Tuesday 26th April at 1.45pm

Stirling Council Internet Safety event

On Monday 7th March 2011, Stirling Council hosted an Internet Safety event. The event  was split into 3 seminars held at  two locations  – the Vue Cinema, Stirling and Wallace High School. This event was attended by 900 delegates and was over subscribed by 400 highlighting the growing concerns around Internet Safety.

There were four speakers in attendance:

Chief Inspector Gordon Dawson from Central Scotland Police, who described the work the Police have undertaken around the Internet including Operation Defender.

Linda Thomson of the Women’s Support Project spoke about how our culture is giving mixed messages about sex, sexuality and relationships to children and young people and creating unrealistic expectations and pressures to be hyper sexualized at younger and younger ages.

There was input from FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) who presented on risks associated with illegal downloading and how to be safe, legal and responsible.

Joe Shaw from Education in Stirling Council on “Taking Control…”, this presentation outlined how much we use technology in our day to day life, examples of technology addiction and how we can take sensible steps to safeguard our identity and reduce the risks of being targeted whilst online.

Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini and members of the Press were in attendance.

This conference builds upon the significant work already undertaken by the Education team within Stirling Council.

Safer Internet Day winner

We were overwhelmed with over 400 entries to our Glow Light Safer Internet Day competition.

The winner was Rosa H from Park Place Primary in Dundee.  Rosa’s image was displayed on Glow Light last week.

We had 5 fab runners up too.  We will feature one image every day this week on Glow  light.

Well done to everyone who entered.  A selection of entries will be showcased on this blog soon.

Safer Internet Day competition

Safer Internet Day this year is on Tuesday 8 February. We are looking to draw people’s attention to this important event by taking over Glow Light with images that support being safe online.

We need your help!

The topic for 2011 is “our virtual lives” around the slogan ” It’s more than a game, it’s your life”.

The image can be hand-drawn (then scanned), created on the computer, or a photograph.  It should convey an element of Internet Safety and gaming.

The winning pupil will have his/her image displayed on Glow light for the whole week beginning Sunday 6 February.  That means all 38000* people who logged into Glow last week will see your picture!

Log in to the Glow group for more details.

Visual art internet safety project in South Lanarkshire

The Cultural Co-ordinator team at South Lanarkshire Council are currently planning a visual art project on the theme of internet safety.

We are finalising plans for the delivery of the project but it looks like it will take place with four small groups of secondary age pupils who will work with a range of colleagues and with a graffiti artist. The idea is that pupils will create artwork based around the theme and we hope to create some resources (such as mousemats, postcards, screensavers) using their work.

We’re working with a range of colleagues including social work staff, ‘More Choices, More Chances’ workers and the South Lanarkshire Child Protection Committee.

If anyone has any ideas/suggestions or experiences which they can share to make the project as valuable as possible that would be greatly appreciated. Or if you would like to find out any further information please feel free to contact me – Steph Toms – on 01355 578 165 or stephanie.toms@ics.s-lanark.org.uk

Save the Date! Safer Internet Day 2011


In Highland we firstly celebrated Safer Internet Day in 2009, we had lots of media coverage and sent leaflets to all Parents / Carers of pupils.It was a great way to keep ‘Internet Safety and Responsible Use’ at the forefront of people’s minds.

We’ve just discovered that 8th February 2011 is the planned date for SID 2011! What will you plan to do? Check our ‘Safer Internet Day’ page  for ideas on www.highlandesafety.wordpress.com or go to the main Safer Internet Day site for further details.

St. Ninians School, Glasgow offers parents mobile phone GPS advice

St. Ninians High School in Glasgow has issued a statement to parents about the use of GPS on mobile phones and how this technology can be used to geo-locate students.

The advice reads:

“Mobile phones with global positioning facilities have an application called “Layar” which uses the phone’s in built GPS and compass features to overlay local data. The phone will show local points of interest in the direction the phone user is facing. This application also has a layer called “Tweeps Around” which can show all other local Twitter users – if they have allowed active geotagging on their phones. “Tweeps Around” allows a user to see other phone users’ Twitter ID’s, the text of their last “tweet” and their profile pictures. A phone user can then click on any one of them and select “Take Me There” which automatically opens up a Google map to pinpoint precisely where they are and note the actual address of the building. If your son/daughter is using their mobile phone for Twitter then the advice is to ensure active geotagging is turned off. “

More information is available on the St. Ninians School web site.

Mobile Phone Safety Advice for Parents / Carers

In Highland, we have a partnership approach to promoting e-safety by encouraging children and young people to use new technologies safely and responsibly. This has involved a programme of education about internet safety in our school communities.

As part of our approach we would like to offer all Parents and Carers of pupils in Highland Secondary Schools advice on the use of mobile technology. We also wish to raise awareness and specifically highlight the dangers of young people finding themselves in uncomfortable or compromising situations.

Research reported by the BBC has indicated that there is an alarming increase of instances of young people receiving unwanted images / texts or sending inappropriate images of themselves. Using phones in this way has become known as ‘sexting’, which is defined as ‘the act of sending sexually explicit images, videos or messages electronically’.  There are also future implications for young people who may not know that they could be breaking the law by receiving or sending such images. They also may be unaware that images may be circulated far and wide without their permission or knowledge.

Mobile Technology Advice – Questions and Answers

Owning a mobile phone for the first time can be very exciting and be seen as a step towards independence. As newer mobile phones become highly developed and internet accessible, they are more akin to a personal handheld computer which is constantly online, think about the same kinds of risks you would talk about with your child as if you had purchased a mini computer with integrated webcam.

What can I do to keep my child safe?

In purchasing a mobile phone, discuss firstly what your family boundaries might be, financially, insurance, theft and appropriate usage. This also may include not sharing their number with strangers or posting it on social networking site profiles.

Keep lines of communication open with your child to ensure that they are not afraid to tell you if they have received an image or are being pressurised to send any inappropriate photos of themselves. Remind them to report any images they receive to yourself or an adult they can trust. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (CEOP) Report Abuse Button is a way of them finding out about how to report concerns too. The CEOP Report Abuse button can be found at www.thinkuknow.co.uk and on many social networking sites.

Remind them to switch off location devices such as Bluetooth® and maps that automatically update where they are. However some parents may wish, at certain times, for these devices to be kept switched on so that a young person could be located in emergency situations. Keeping Bluetooth® switched off keeps the device safe from receiving unsolicited images or videos. To prevent unauthorised use it may be advisable to use a password pin to unlock the phone to activate.

Remind them of the future consequences of pictures or text messages that can be widely distributed without permission or knowledge only to embarrassingly re-surface at a later date!

Mobile phone theft is often opportunistic and it is wise to remind them that they should not leave their phone in full view unattended. Each Highland secondary school will also have a policy on using mobile phones and this should be adhered to.

Remind them of street safety; it is important to be extra careful when walking, running, crossing roads or riding a bike whilst using music players on mobile phones, browsing the internet, chatting or texting.

What is the law regarding images and ‘sexting’?

The future costs for children who find themselves the subject of a Police investigation are potentially severe. They may find themselves charged with offences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 in relation to making, possession and distribution of indecent images of children.

Ultimately this may lead to them finding themselves convicted of a serious sexual offence and placed on the Sex Offender’s Register.

What about Cyberbullying?

Being targeted by Cyberbullying, which is the use of mobile phones or technology to deliberately upset someone can be very distressing. If your child receives abusive calls or messages, it is important that they do not respond. They should report this to a parent / carer, trusted adult or teacher rather than delete the message so that evidence is kept.

Cyberbullying may also involve recording/videoing events without permission and uploading them to the internet, videoing events on mobile phones may also be a good discussion point with your child.

Where can I find further help or advice?

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (CEOP) has a dedicated website that is for all children, young people, professionals, parents and carers. www.thinkuknow.co.uk

You can also find out more about the Facebook ‘Report Abuse’ CEOP application here too. We recommend all Facebook users add this application to their profile.

Childnet International www.childnet.com advice and guidance and a specific section called ‘Know it All’ advice for Parents and Carers.

General mobile phone advice and safety www.mobilephonesandsafety.co.uk

Also, check with your preferred mobile phone service provider, they may have further advice and guidance on specific networks and internet access.

What should I do if I am concerned about a child?

Tell someone what your concerns are – speak to a teacher, a doctor, a social worker, a police officer or school nurse.

Phone 01463 703488

or contact the National Child Protection Line on: 0800 022 32 22

For General Enquiries e-mail:CPAdmin@highland.gov.uk

Protecting Highlands Children, for information on the work of the Highland Child Protection Committee

www.protectinghighlandschildren.org

Northern Constabulary promotes Online Safety through Facebook

Northern Constabulary is urging Facebook users across the Highlands and Islands to add a new application to make them safer online.

The Force today made the ‘app’ available on its official Facebook site www.facebook.com/northern.constabulary to help protect children and young people in the Highlands and Islands.

The UK’s national law enforcement agency dedicated to child protection – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre) – and Facebook, the biggest social networking site, have joined forces to develop the initiative.

For the first time, it will give all Facebook users in the UK – and especially those aged between 13 – 18 years – direct access to CEOP’s advice and reporting centre ‘ClickCEOP’ giving them the very latest help on online safety as well as a dedicated facility for reporting instances of suspected grooming or inappropriate sexual behaviour.

The access will be provided via an ‘app’ that users can add or bookmark so it appears on their profile, as not only a constant source of help and reassurance for them but also as a strong visual signal to their friends, family and others that they are in control online.

The Force is also using the Twitter service to provide the public with a direct link between Northern Constabulary and the public. The service will be used to update members of the public with information on road closures, advice during major incidents, appeals for information and crime prevention advice to name but a few.

You can “follow” the Force’s tweets by visiting www.twitter.com/NorthernPolice and signing up to the Twitter service if you do not do so already.

The Facebook ‘app’ http://apps.facebook.com/clickceop will be backed by a new CEOP profile – ClickCEOP – that will look to engage with young people to help raise the profile of online safety. The move is also being supported by an advertising campaign on Facebook that will encourage take up. This will include an automatic advert appearing on every profile of users aged between 13-18 years inviting them to add the app.

A Force spokesperson said: “The internet is an amazing place where we can connect with each other and have fun, but we know that young users of social networking sites can be vulnerable.

“This announcement by CEOP represents a significant step forward in keeping young people safer on Facebook and we would urge all Facebook users in Highlands and Islands to add this application. If you are a parent on Facebook, add the app and encourage your children to do so too.

“This will act as a visible deterrent to offenders and your child will receive regular online safety tips from CEOP, so you can feel reassured that they are better protected online.”

As well as adding the ClickCEOP app, there are a number of ways in which young people can stay safe when using Facebook:

* Make sure privacy settings are set to private so the only people who can see your page and information are your friends

* Some people lie about who they are online so only add friends who you know in the real world

* Block or delete people who upset you or send nasty messages

* Tell a trusted adult if you have a concern about something that has happened to you online

Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre said: “Today represents a huge step forward. By adding this app, Facebook users will have direct access to all the services that sit behind our ClickCEOP button and this should provide reassurance for the many parents whose teenage children use Facebook.

“We know from speaking to offenders that a visible deterrent could protect young people online. We urge all Facebook users not only to add the app, but also to bookmark it so that others can see that they’re in control online. Our dialogue with Facebook about adopting the ClickCEOP button is well documented ¿ this is a good day for child protection.”

Joanna Shields, Facebook’s Vice President for EMEA said: “Nothing is more important than the safety of our users, which is why we have invested so much in making Facebook one of the safest places on the internet.

“There is no single silver bullet to making the internet safer but by joining forces with CEOP, we have developed a comprehensive solution which marries our expertise in technology with CEOP’s expertise in online safety.

“Together we have developed a new way of helping young people stays safe online and backed this with an awareness campaign to publicise it to young users. It is only through the constant and concerted effort of the industry, police, parents and young people themselves that we can all keep safe online – whether on Facebook or elsewhere.”

CEOP’s new Facebook page will contain polls, news alerts and status updates. The page will look at topics that teenagers care about, such as celebrities, music and exams and will link these subjects to questions about online safety. The CEOP page will also give users the option to add the new ClickCEOP application.