
Share this content on



internet matters logo
internet matters logo
MENU
Please enter your keyword
  • About us
    • Our Team
    • Expert Advisory Panel
    • Our partners
    • Become a partner
    • Contact us
    • Careers
  • Inclusive Digital Safety
    • Advice for parents and carers
    • Advice for professionals
    • Research
    • Resources
    • Connecting Safely Online
    • Fostering Digital Skills
    • UKCIS Vulnerable Users Working Group
  • Online Issues
    • Sexting
    • Online grooming
    • Fake news and misinformation
    • Screen time
    • Inappropriate content
    • Cyberbullying
    • Online reputation
    • Online Pornography
    • Self-harm
    • Radicalisation
    • Privacy and identity theft
    • Report issue
  • Advice by Age
    • Pre-school (0-5)
    • Young Children (6-10)
    • Pre-teen (11-13)
    • Teens ( 14+)
  • Setting Controls
    • Social media privacy guides
    • Gaming platforms and devices
    • Smartphones and other devices
    • Broadband & mobile networks
    • Entertainment & search engines
    • Get kids tech set up safe
  • Guides & Resources
    • My Family’s Digital Toolkit
    • Online gaming advice hub
    • Social media advice hub
    • Press Start for PlayStation Safety
    • Guide to apps
    • Digital resilience toolkit
    • Online money management guide
    • The dangers of digital piracy
    • Guide to buying tech
    • UKCIS Digital Passport
    • Set up safe device checklist
    • Online safety leaflets & resources
  • News & Opinion
    • Articles
    • Research
    • Parent Stories
    • Expert opinion
    • Press releases
    • Our expert panel
  • Schools resources
    • Digital Matters online learning platform
    • Back to school guides
    • Early years
    • Primary school
    • Secondary school
    • Connect school to home
    • Professional guidance
You are here:
  • Home
  • Resources
  • Supporting educators on issues of online safety

Supporting educators on issues of online safety

Research exploring resource needs

This report focuses on the importance of frontline services which directly support families: schools.

Most children in England spend more than 30 hours at school per week. Some families look to teachers as a source of support in many aspects of life, educational and noneducational – including online life.

Download full report Share

A female teacher smiling with 3 teen students around a work table

6 likes

Supporting educators: Full report

Key findings on current provision

Teachers felt their approach to online safety was too reactive

Educators often felt that they had too reactive an approach to tackling online safety issues, based around addressing issues with students as they arose. This raised concerns for teachers, who felt they were constantly on the back foot and found it difficult to give online safety the time it needed to be able to pre-empt issues. A lack of knowledge of online platforms and actions of students also exacerbated this problem for teachers.

Teachers believe they need more training and resources on digital safety

Some teachers stated that they felt comfortable teaching online safety, but they felt less equipped to deal with pastoral issues when they arose. This could be due to uncertainty around what issues fell within the school remit and how to discuss topics such as sexual or violent content in an age-appropriate manner.

Additionally, the constant change within the social media landscape could make it hard to keep up to date. This, combined with the unique nature of most cases, made it difficult to establish school-wide policies to guide their approach.

Current resources are used intermittently and viewed as satisfactory at best

A large proportion of those that used resources directly with smaller groups of students, used the materials more often − on a termly rather than an annual basis − when compared to their use in classes. This might be attributed to the reactive nature of online safety provision, where pastoral issues experienced by students’ prompt more targeted discussions.

The overall quality of current resources was rated as average. This lack of a clear positive response indicates that teachers felt there was room for improvement regarding the quality of resources available to them.

See findings on what teachers find most valuable and how to ensure effective resource distribution in the full report.

Was this useful?
Yes No
Tell us why

More to explore

See related advice and practical tips to support children online:

  • Advice for 0-5 years
  • Advice for 11-13 years
  • Advice for 14+ year olds
  • Advice for 6-10 years
  • Learning with tech
  • Online safety in schools
  • Vulnerable children

On site links

  • TikTok Playbook
  • Online safety teaching resources

Related web links

Free online safety learning platform: Digital Matters

  • Online issues
  • Cyberbullying
  • Inappropriate content
  • Sexting
  • Self-harm
  • Screen time
  • Radicalisation
  • Online grooming
  • Online pornography
  • Online reputation
  • Privacy and identity theft
  • Advice by age
  • Pre-school (0-5)
  • Young children (6-10)
  • Pre-teen (11-13)
  • Teens ( 14+)
  • Setting controls
  • Smartphones and other devices
  • Broadband & mobile networks
  • Gaming platform & other devices
  • Social media privacy guides
  • Entertainment & search engines
  • Connecting Safely Online
  • Resources
  • My Family’s Digital Toolkit
  • Online gaming advice hub
  • The dangers of digital piracy
  • Digital resilience toolkit
  • Social media advice hub
  • Guide to apps
  • Accessibility on Internet Matters
  • Digital Matters
  • Schools resources
  • Early years resources
  • Primary school resources
  • Secondary school resources
  • Parent pack for teachers
  • News & opinion
  • Our expert panel
  • #StaySafeStayHome support for families
Follow us

Want to read in other language?
en English
zh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germanhi Hindiit Italianpl Polishpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanishcy Welsh
Need to address an issue fast?
Report issue
Subscribe to our newsletter
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
gray logo
Copyright 2023 internetmatters.org™ All rights reserved.
Scroll Up

Download Workbook

  • To receive personalised online safety guidance in the future, we’d like to ask for your name and email. Simply fill your details below. You can choose to skip, if you prefer.
  • Skip and download