Online safety in schools

“The reasons behind this are complex, but one factor appears to be particularly significant: a lack of time to engage with online safety, in terms of both time with pupils and staff training time. This is compounded by the fact that planning is complicated due to the subject being split across RSHE, Computing and non-subject time interventions (e.g., assemblies). It can be particularly difficult for teachers to respond to the needs of vulnerable children, who often need a tailored approach.”

“Those which are truly engaging for children, regularly updated and dealing with the topics they felt less confident on, such as sexual content and particular platforms. While the online safety sector is working hard to continually expand its offer, it can be challenging for schools to know how to find resources they can trust and how they fit into the curriculum. The challenge is to make this process simpler.”

“Internet Matters is expanding our research on this topic by regularly exploring parents’ experiences with their child’s school through our twice-yearly tracker study. We will continue to share our findings regularly.”

“But [there’s] a lack of confidence in doing so. Internet Matters has recently kicked off dedicated work exploring what works in preventing children aged 11-13 from sharing sexual images, as well as how policymakers and industry can respond more effectively to this challenge and other forms of image-based abuse (e.g., sextortion, cyberflashing). We will be reporting on this work throughout the year, including a formal report to be published this summer.