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Five important ICT Advice documents from Becta:   E-Safety - Developing whole-school policies to support effective practice:   click here for pdf file - 62 pages     Data Protection and Security - Summary for schools:    click for pdf-file - 8 pages        Sources of information and advice on Copyright - Click here for page-link    Latest Becta publications:  Safeguarding Children online - a Guide   and   Safeguarding Children online - checklist.       Please always check out the Becta site for the latest publications.

 

'The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre works across the UK and maximises international links to tackle child sex abuse wherever and whenever it happens. Part of our strategy for achieving this is by providing internet safety advice for parents and carers and delivering a virtual police station for reporting abuse on the internet.  This includes working with parents, young people and children to safeguard their online experiences. It includes direct support to victims and their families and involves the relentless tracking and prosecution of offenders.'

'In all its work Childnet seeks to take a balanced approach. On this website you can read about the way Childnet have sought to promote the positive and highlight the creative and inspiring ways children and young people are using the medium for good.'   A helpful document: 'Buying a mobile phone? Do you know what you are getting? A checklist for parents' - Click for 3-page .pdf file.  Also:  Check out their Kidsmart Website  - a good link for children.

An intelligent solution - particularly if you have several children and/or young visitors at home:  As they claim, 'Webroot, maker of the award-winning Spy SweeperTM, now introduces Child Safe, the most comprehensive and easy-to-use solution to keep children safe on the Internet.  Child Safe provides almost limitless control for accessing any application on the PC. You can easily define a schedule to manage each child’s use of specific programs. For example, allow only the use of spreadsheets and word processing software Monday through Friday, but grant access to game playing for three hours per day on weekends after 3 p.m. The combinations are endless!

An interesting and informative site - even if their prices are a bit on the high-side:  'Cleanfeed is a high-quality, pre-filtered broadband Internet connection. Differing from conventional 'desktop' internet content filtering, Cleanfeed is filtered at source, so reducing maintenance for systems administrators. It eliminates the problems associated with delivering the Internet to vulnerable users and public environments, such as schools, libraries and the workplace.'

 

'Change for Children is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19. The programme places better outcomes for children firmly at the centre of all policies and approaches involving children's services.'

 

An excellent site for young people!  As their blurb says, "The Chatdanger website has been created to inform young people about the potential dangers and ways of keeping safe in interactive areas online, such as chatrooms, instant messenger, online games and email, and also via mobile phones. The aim of the site is very much to inform and empower users of these services, so they can use these services safely, and not at all to discourage people from using these services."  Also an excellent set of links for adults on their Resources page.

'The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) is an international, non-profit organization of internet leaders working to develop a safer internet. ICRA has long believed that self-regulation leads to the best balance between the free flow of digital content and protecting children from potentially harmful material.'  -  A lot of information for technical experts as well as advice for parents.

 

Insafe is a pan European site and has a lot of valuable information, for teachers and parents, clearly and simply presented.  As they state: 'Safety risks are much the same wherever we are – at school or home, in the shopping centre or playground, or on internet. The problem with internet and other online technology however, is that we can’t see the person at the other end of the communication. So we have to fine-tune other competencies and skills to compensate by developing what we call information literacy.'  See their recent Press Release.    See also their Glossary of Issues/Activities

 

This site is not as well known as it should be. As it claims:  'The IWF is the only authorised organisation in the UK operating an internet ‘hotline’ for the public and IT professionals to report their exposure to potentially illegal content online.'

 

Published in 2005 this site might appear a little dated but some very good research principles worth studying;  'The project explores the nature and meaning of children's internet use and maps emerging patterns of attitudes and practices across diverse contexts and social groups in the UK. It is part of the ESRC's e-Society Programme and is based at the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science.'

Four well-used documents which might help your thinking on School Policy: 1.  Computer Usage in Schools (1-page pdf file) 2.  Internet Access Policy in Schools (3-page pdf file) 3.  Identity Theft  (Article from Which? magazine - 4-page pdf file) 4.  Netiquette  (Some useful points if you are new to e-mails - 1-page pdf file)

'Making MySpace Your Space, Too.   Your tween may spend time in an online world that totally baffles you. Here's what you need to know.  Online communication has evolved. While email remains an easy, popular way to reach people, the introduction of social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Xanga have revolutionized the way that kids connect.'

 

A clear, well-presented site that covers the requirements of the Law:  'This section looks at the data protection issues that schools need to be aware of when collecting and processing personal data about pupils and other individuals.'

 

Again, another less-well-known site. 'This website is brought to you by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and contains loads of information on internet safety and safe surfing for young people. All hot topics about online safety are covered – including mobiles, blogging and gaming sites – and you can tell us if you feel uncomfortable or worried about someone you're chatting to online.'

   

'The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) is made up of law enforcement agencies from around the world working together to fight child abuse online. The aim of the VGT is to build an effective, international partnership of law enforcement agencies that helps to protect children from online child abuse.'

Last but not least - The Data Protection Act 1998 - in full, official.  A heavy document but worth glancing through. The legislation contained on this web site is subject to Crown Copyright protection. It may be reproduced free of charge provided that it is reproduced accurately and that the source and copyright status of the material is made evident to users.