For many teachers and parents, safety at school used to mean visitor passes and school gates. However, with education now taking place online from the kitchens, make-shift studies and bedrooms of students, classroom safety may seem less of a concern. With a rise in incidents such as ‘lesson bombing’, it’s clear that the classroom
This is a safeguarding alert following multiple reports of a new surge in ‘lesson bombing’ during remote learning classes at schools. We have been alerted to a recent trend in ‘online lesson bombing’ from police forces, members of Our Safer Schools Community, and news reports. In one area there have been 15 recent incidents
What is this alert about? This safeguarding blog contains a TikTok alert for your immediate attention. We have been alerted to reports of the tragic death of a 10-year-old girl in Italy. It has been reported that she died after taking part in the so-called ‘blackout’ or ‘choke challenge’ on the video-sharing platform TikTok.
Many of us, including young people, use WhatsApp daily. It’s established itself as a messaging giant in the world of social media. But there are more names arriving on the scene which could put more pressure on WhatsApp as it battles to defend its privacy policy due to a recent backlash. It concerns how
Why have you received this alert? We have been alerted to the risk of potential grooming and abuse on the Avakin Life platform by members of our network. Our online safeguarding experts have reviewed and tested the game, and discovered a number of potential risks to young people. The major risk is that
TikTok has released privacy default changes to its platform. In this article, we explain what the new changes are and discuss their effectiveness. We also share our most recent TikTok safety resources. TikTok has announced a series of changes to protect children’s privacy and safety on the
The UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) have updated its non-statutory guidance on Youth Produced Sexual Imagery (YPSI), which is entitled ‘Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people’ and replaces ‘Sexting in schools and colleges: responding to incidents and safeguarding young people’ (2016). The guidance has been
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. What is Coronavirus? An explainer for Children Our animated video has reached over 350,000 views on YouTube. Watch Video on youtube
We’re sharing urgent concerns about conversations happening online on TikTok, about 'Megan is Missing’, a movie being discussed on social media and shared on YouTube. Our online safety experts have observed children and young people discussing the movie on TikTok and seeking out the link to the full film which now has over 4million
4 min read Snapchat has released its new Spotlight feature to its 67 million daily active users. In this article, our team of online safety experts unpack the risks and functionality of the new feature and provide practical advice for empowering and protecting the young people in your care on this popular platform.
Following continued coverage of the risks the platform can pose to children and young people, TikTok has announced changes to its parental control settings. This article details the changes to the parental control settings and provides an overview of existing settings you can use to protect the children in your care.
WhatsApp has now launched its disappearing messages feature and our team of online safety experts are busy testing this function. Sign up to our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter to keep up to date with alerts and changes like this one. WhatsApp has announced that they are releasing a Disappearing Messages function, which will
With over 1.5 billion downloads across 155 different countries, TikTok has soared in popularity. Some of you have recently got in touch to ask for more information about TikTok and its safety settings. To help you support the children and young people in your care, we have made a short video overview of
A recent video originating on Facebook Live depicting a man dying by suicide has made its way across popular social media platforms. We’re bringing you key facts and advice on how you can respond. When viral events happen information can travel quickly, often before full details have emerged. You should note that details, videos and
What is it? Facebook have officially rolled out their gaming platform as a brand new App. Facebook Gaming is a separate App to Facebook and is designed for users to stream their gameplay, whilst also watching their favourite streamers play the most popular video games. Although it is a seperate App, it can
What is it? Instagram, which is very popular with young people, has officially launched their latest function ‘Reels’ in the UK. It’s the latest feature to be added to the platform and lets users create short 15 second videos with popular music, different filters and effects. It is largely considered to be Instagram’s
What is Sharenting? Many parents use social media to share important moments of their children’s lives with friends and family. Some children’s digital footprints begin before they are even born, when parents share an image of a baby scan to announce their exciting news. Creating a digital footprint for a child by
What are algorithms? We all hear the word ‘algorithms’ in the news so often, and it’s normally in relation to social media. But what exactly is an ‘algorithm’? Algorithms are essentially instructions or procedures that allow computers to operate more effectively. In the online world, they are used to
Our digital safeguarding team continually review and test social media platforms In the past week, they focused on TikTok, testing its safety features and the effectiveness of the platform’s ability to monitor and remove explicit content The team used a login of a 14 year old to see what content they
Instagram is set to release a new feature called Reels in the UK, potentially by August 2020. We have been keeping track of the release and here is what we know so far. Reels is Instagram’s attempt to match TikTok’s dominance of short form video sharing. The feature is aimed at Instagram’s
“We live in a data-driven world. Almost every transaction and interaction you have with most organisations involves you sharing personal data, such as your name, address and birth date. You share data online too, every time you visit a website, search for or buy something, use social media or send an email.” (ICO,
An influencer is someone with an online social media presence and with a large enough following to market or ‘influence’ their audience to buy products, services and goods. The truth is that anyone can be an influencer, and some are famous solely for being an influencer. Popular influencers often create and sustain a
Do you receive our Safeguarding Alerts? Receive regular updates to help you safeguard children in a digital era. Creative Activity Pack As the lockdown begins to ease, we could all benefit from less screen time, give children in your care the opportunity to get away from
You may have seen recent media reports about the re-emergence of online viral challenges. We monitor these closely to make sure our network has the information they need to protect children and young people online. In the last few weeks, we have seen reports of a reappearance of the Blue Whale Challenge.
Do you receive our Safeguarding Alerts? Receive regular updates to help you safeguard children in a digital era. Creative Activity Pack As the lockdown begins to ease, we could all benefit from less screen time, give children in your care the opportunity to get away from