Category: News

WIZE- Digital Wellbeing- Important Cyber Safety Information

The National Cyber Security Centre are encouraging schools and Local  Authorities to sign up for the following services :

Mail Check – supports schools and Local  Authorities with keeping messages encrypted as they are sent over the internet.  Mail check also help prevent various attacks.

Web check  -Web Check checks your websites for common web vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. The checks are designed to impose low load on sites and to avoid damaging them.

These are two pioneering services that help organisations identify potential cyber security issues and fix them promptly.

Digital Wellbeing Updates-Ofcom Annual Study on Media Habits

Reported by BBC News-Rise of the five-year-old ‘TikTots’

Children as young as five use social media, despite most platforms having rules users must be over the age of 13.

An annual study into media habits, from Ofcom, highlighted the mini social-media mavens, with a third of parents of five- to seven-year-olds revealing their child had a social-media profile.

Among the eight- to 11-year-olds who used social media, the most popular platform was TikTok, with one in every three having an account.

TikTok is a “strictly a 13+ platform”.

A spokesman for the viral video-sharing platform said: “We have processes in place to enforce our minimum-age requirements, both at the point of sign-up and through the continuous proactive removal of suspected under-age accounts from the platform.

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our community, especially young people.”

‘Really striking’

The report noted even younger children – TikTots as Ofcom dubbed them – were watching videos on TikTok, including 16% of the three- to four-year-olds.

But this could be children being shown videos by a parent or other older person and does not imply they have own accounts.

Ofcom strategy and research director Yih-Choung Teh said the findings were “really striking”.

“I have an 11-year-old and an eight-year-old,” he said, “60% of their peers have a social-media profile, which I find a bit surprising.

“Big-tech platforms set minimum ages in their terms and conditions – but it does seem that they aren’t really being enforced.”

But Mr Teh also said parents had to be aware of what their children were doing online.

“It’s not always very easy to tell what they’re watching and I think, as a parent, we have responsibilities to have a good dialogue with our kids about what they are doing,” he said.

But the survey also found 22% of parents of three- to four year-olds and 38% of parents of eight- to 11-year-olds said they would allow their child to have a profile on social media before they reached the minimum age.

Incognito mode

“Many children could be tactically using other accounts or ‘finstas’ – fake Instagrams – to conceal aspects of their online lives from parents,” Ofcom suggested.

Instagram is an over-13’s platform and offers a number of parental controls.

But across social media many children choose to have multiple profiles on the same social media app or site the survey suggested.

Two out of every three of eight- to 11-year-olds surveyed used multiple accounts or profiles on social media, the regulator said.

“Among these, almost half (46%) have an account just for their family to see,” it noted.

The survey also found one out of every five of children aged 12-17, surfed in incognito mode or deleted their browsing history.

Digital natives

The just published Online Safety Bill makes it a legal requirement for sites and platforms that show pornography to prevent children accessing inappropriate or harmful material.

But a significant minority may already be adept at working around technologies designed to prevent access to inappropriate material, the survey suggests.

One in 20 children “circumvented parental controls put in place to stop them visiting certain apps and sites (6%)” Ofcom said.

Mr Teh said those who were digital natives would often have skills beyond many of their parents.

The key was “ensuring that we have a good awareness of the online environment, what tools that we can use in terms of parental controls, but also that we have conversations with our kids about what they’re doing”.

But the study also found the children had many positive experiences online.

Despite significant concerns, 53% of the 13- to 17-year-olds told Ofcom being online was good for their mental health, while 17% disagreed.

The survey also found 70% of the adults were confident they could spot misinformation – but only 20% could correctly identify the tell-tale signs of a genuine post.

Among the 12- to 17-year-olds, these proportions were nearly 75% and just over 10%.

2px presentational grey line

Perhaps the really surprising statistic in the Ofcom research is so many people – more than two out of every three – are pretty sceptical about what they see online.

But there is one problem – they are vastly overconfident in their abilities to pick out truth from fiction.

Only about one in four of those surveyed could spot a fake social-media profile in practice.

And while a common trope stereotypes misinformation spreaders as clueless boomers spouting off on Facebook, digital natives are not much better at fake spotting.

Only about one in 10 of the 12- to 17-year-olds could identify the tell-tale signs of a genuine post.

And remember, the UK is among the most wired and technology-savvy countries in the world.

When it comes to media literacy, there is big work to be done.

The Online Safety Bill requires the technology giants to remove the most harmful misinformation and boost Ofcom’s powers.

Europe is also proposing new rules.

But with a problem this complex – and misinformation polluting the online conversation about everything from Covid to the war in Ukraine – nobody is under the illusion it can be magically legislated away.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60854885

RSHP Resources Update and Training Offer-ASN

 

Please click on the link below for an update on ASN Resources that have been added to the national RSHP Resource.

Briefing Information about new materials on the RSHP national resource

To take this forward, Education Scotland, Scottish Government, NHS and Rosslyn School (Fife) will present a webinar.

New RSHP Resource for CYP with complex ASN – Thursday 28th April 4-5pm

At this webinar we will:

  • introduce  this exciting new resource which compliments the main national rshp.scot resource
  • take you through the resource itself
  • demonstrate how one special school is already using the materials with their children and parents.

The webinar will be facilitated by Education Scotland, Scottish Government, NHS and Rosslyn School (Fife). To register for a place on the event please use the link below:

New RSHP Resource for learners with complex needs Tickets, Thu 28 Apr 2022 at 16:00 | Eventbrite

Digital Wellbeing – CLPL and Updates – 9th March 2022

 

Technology Assisted Sexual Harm Webinar

NOTA Scotland and the Forensic Network will host this free webinar on 29th April 2022 1pm – 3pm, joined by Stuart Allardyce, Director – Stop It Now! Scotland, Scott Hunter, Education Officer – Education Scotland and DC Stewart Fleming, Specialist Crime Division – Domestic Abuse Co-ordination Unit – Police Scotland.

Stuart and Scott will deliver a presentation on Tackling Technology Assisted Harmful Sexual Behaviour in Schools. DC Fleming’s presentation will focus on the ‘You, Me, Together’ Educational Resource which has been developed in collaboration with Education Scotland. Click on this link to access further information. Sexual Harm: Young People in Focus April 2022 (eventsforce.net)

 

NCA – Sexual Offences via dating apps used by young people

 

The National Crime Agency has published statistics on sexual offences initiated via online dating submitted to the Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS) for the period 2003 to 2021. Findings from 671 cases available for analysis during the period show that: in 3.8% of cases the victim was aged 15 years or less and 19.8% were in the 15-19 age group. More under 20s sexually assaulted after meeting offenders on dating sites – Click on this link for more information National Crime Agency

FVWL RIC HWB Guest Speaker Event

Open to all Education Staff across Forth Valley and West Lothian

5 Key Strategies to Build and Maintain Mental Resilience presented by Emma Bell

Thursday 24th March 2022 4-5pm

Do you want to remain calm, grounded and resilient in the face of pressure and stress?

Join Emma Bell- Audible Bestselling Author and Multi-Award Winning Speaker as she presents an interactive online webinar- ‘5 Key Strategies to Build and Maintain Mental Resilience’

 

‘During this interactive online webinar, you will learn 5 practical ways in which you can build your mental resilience and thrive in the face of difficulties, large and small. You’ll be inspired by stories of remarkable individuals who flourished through adversity using these same strategies, and who shared them with author of ‘9 Secrets to Thriving’, Emma Bell, during her 3-year worldwide research into what makes us resilient. You will be able to immediately apply these strategies in your own life and work, to remain calm, grounded and resilient in the face of pressure and stress. ‘

 Sign up via CPD Manager- Course ID-78205 Course Code-RICHWB1

***If you do not have access to CPD Manager, and wish to join the course,  please use the contact button (Julie Bell) on the Health and Wellbeing Landing Page ***