5.7.1 Safeguarding Children and Young People Online

When this policy refers to 'online', this means somebody using a device to gain access to the Internet. How somebody accesses the Internet or 'gets on line' will vary massively especially as technology is changing so rapidly; the list below is a starting point of different means of getting online. However this is certainly not exhaustive and will change over time:

• Computers, PCs, Laptops, iPads, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) etc.
• Mobile phones, Smartphones, 3G phones etc;
• Through WiFi connections available in restaurants, cafes, hotels etc;
• iPods, MP3s etc.
• E-mail, Instant messaging, Texts, Blackberry Messenger;
• Social networking sites e.g. Facebook, Twitter;
• Video hosting websites e.g. Youtube;
• Games consoles e.g. Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Nintendo Online;
• Chatrooms and Blogs;
• Webcams.

Byron (2008) classifies the online risks to children in terms of content, contact and conduct. Byron goes on to say that to reduce risks means achieving three objectives:

Objective 1: Reduce Availability

Reduce the availability of harmful and inappropriate content, the prevalence of harmful and inappropriate contact and the conduciveness of platforms to harmful and inappropriate conduct;

Objective 2: Restrict Access

Equip children and their parents to effectively manage access to harmful and inappropriate content, avoid incidences of harmful and inappropriate contact and reduce harmful and inappropriate conduct;

Objective 3: Increase Resilience

Therefore any e-safety policy should address these strategic objectives.

The following questions are helpful to assess how e-safe your organisation is:

Does your organisation........

1. Have a nominated e-safety coordinator?
2. Have the necessary acceptable use policies?
3. Check that appropriate e-safety procedures and practices are in place and working?
4. Use an accredited supplier for internet services?
5. Include e-safety as part of your inspection evidence?
6. Keep a log to record and monitor e-safety incidents?
7. Raise awareness of e-safety issues by holding workshops and events?

Do all your staff and volunteers........

1. Understand e-safety issues and risks?
2. Receive regular training and updates?
3. Know how to support youngsters with new technologies?
4. Know how to report and manage issues or concerns?
5. Know how to keep data safe and secure?
6. Know how to protect and conduct themselves professionally online?
7. Take the opportunity to consult with children and young people?

Do your children and young people........

1. Understand what safe and responsible online behaviour means?
2. Get opportunities to learn about e-safety?
3. Get the opportunity to improve their digital literacy skills, e.g. how to search safely and effectively online?
4. Know the SMART (Safe, Meeting, Accepting, Reliable, Tell) rules?
5. Get the opportunity to give their views about staying safe online?
6. Know how to report any concerns they may have?

Can your parents and carers........

1. Understand e-safety issues and how to manage risk?
2. Understand their roles and responsibilities?
3. Receive regular training and updates?
4. Understand how to protect their children in the home?

To assist Police in any subsequent investigations, where possible, staff who are made aware of online abuse or inappropriate activity should try to preserve copies or records of offending material and obtain any relevant passwords to accounts or websites, where possible.

Sexting is a term which many young people do not recognise or use, therefore it is important that when discussing the risks of this type of behaviour with children and young people the behaviour is accurately explained.

Sexting (some children and young people consider this to mean 'writing and sharing explicit messages with people they know' rather than sharing youth-produced sexual images) or sharing nudes and semi-nudes are terms used when a person under the age of 18 shares sexual, naked or semi-naked images or videos of themselves or others, or sends sexually explicit messages. They can be sent using mobiles, tablets, smartphones, laptops - any device that allows images and messages to be shared.

Sexting may not be criminally motivated and can be consensual, but creating or sharing explicit images of a child is illegal, even if the person doing it is a child. A young person is breaking the law if they:

• Take an explicit photo or video of themselves or a friend;
• Share an explicit image or video of a child, even if it's shared between children of the same age;
• Possess, download or store an explicit image or video of a child, even if the child gave their permission for it to be created.

Any incidents that come to light should be handled carefully, bearing in mind both that possession of the images may constitute an offence in itself, and the child or young person whose image has been shared is at risk and may already be subject to an exploitative relationship.Any incidents that come to light should be handled carefully, bearing in mind both that possession of the images may constitute an offence in itself, and the child or young person whose image has been shared is at risk and may already be subject to an exploitative relationship.

If images or video of children engaged in sexual activity or in revealing poses are known to have been posted online, the following guidelines should be followed:

• The Police should be contacted immediately. The police will be in a position to make judgments about how matters are pursued in relation to offences and offenders. Where young people are voluntarily sending/sharing sexual images or content with one another the police may use the 'outcome 21' recording code. This allows the Police to record a crime as having happened but for no formal criminal justice action to be taken. Crimes recorded this way are unlikely to appear on future records or checks, unless the young person has been involved in other similar activities which may indicate they are at risk
• The discretion about whether to disclose non-conviction information rests with each Chief Constable managing the process.
• The nominated person for child protection/safeguarding should initiate an Early Help Assessment (EHA). Through the EHA process judgments will be made about the best means of supporting the child;
• Sites or networks on which the images appear should be alerted to the existence of illegal material. It is important that material online be removed as soon as possible, but staff must not put themselves at risk of illegality. Once the matter has been reported to the police their advice on this must be followed;
• Any young people who have themselves posted potentially illegal material should be told to remove the items, and warned that police action may follow if they do not. Through the EHA process, parents may also be involved;
• In some cases there may not be an obvious means of flagging or reporting the image Even in these circumstances the existence of the image should be notified to the network provider and police action may be necessary to ensure its removal or engage the co-operation of the young person who has control of the image;
• The incident should be logged through the organisation's own monitoring / line management procedures;
• Appropriate educational/pastoral work should be undertaken with all young people involved.

With effect from 29 June 2021, section 69 Domestic Abuse Act 2021 expanded so-called 'revenge porn' to include threats to disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.