Archive for the 'In the News' Category

CEOP urges Facebook to adopt Panic Button

Published on 13 April 2010 in E-Safety, Facebook, In the News, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The ongoing campaign for Facebook to adopt the CEOP Safety Button has been pursued further by Jim Gamble, CEOP director. This has come following the tragic death of 17 year old Ashleigh Hall who was murdered by a man she met on the social networking site. Jim Gamble met with Facebook creators in Washington to push the use of the Panic Button on every possible page.

As stated by the BBC: ‘Speaking after the four-hour meeting, Mr Gamble said Facebook was “one small step from doing the right thing” but had not agreed to his demands outright.’

It has however been recognised that they are looking to improve their position in child safety online. This will hopefully result in CEOP, Facebook and other social networking sites working together to tackle e-safety issues that give the internet a bad name.

In MFRS we have ensured that the correct e-safety provisions are in place by creating an E-Safety and an Acceptable Use Policy, as well as a Social Media Policy. There are five staff who have been trained to cascade ThinkUKnow training to all staff, particularly those who come into contact with children and young people who will then in turn be able to help, educate and advise Children and Young People about E-safety.

MFRS strongly believe that every effort must be made to safeguard children and young people when using new and emerging technologies, including social networking. Whilst we wish to make use of the potential engagement social networking enables with the public, we believe it is equally important to educate and inform on how to use the internet safely. By training the Youth Engagement staff to deliver the ThinkUKnow training, they will be able to use the presentation as part of the programmes that MFRS run such as Beacon, Prince’s Trust and EARLY. Furthermore they will be able to provide support for parents and carers and other staff.

3/4 children admit secretly visiting social networking sites without their parents knowledge

Published on 18 December 2009 in E-Safety, Facebook, In the News and Social Media. 0 Comments

According to research by Professor Tanya Byron, clinical psychologist and television presenter, three quarters of children are visiting social networking sites in secret without their parents knowledge. In fact her research shows that a massive 90% of parents believed they had banned their children from sites such as Facebook and Bebo, but unbeknown to them, their children were still using the sites. A similar percentage allowed their children to use social networking unsupervised.

Click here to read the full article from the Telegraph.

This research highlights the key issues surrounding social networking. The answer is not to ban children from using these sites, but in fact to embrace it and bridge the gap between your knowledge and theirs.

  • Set up the computer in a family room where you can always see what is on the screen.
  • Sit down with your children and set up social networking sites properly – using all the security features.
  • Familiarise yourself with it so you know exactly what is on there and how to change it.
  • Talk about it with your children so that they do not feel embarrassed or scared when they have a question or need advice.

Following simple steps like this will bridge the gap and stop children from sneaking onto sites such as Facebook and Bebo, and using them unsafely, putting themselves in danger.

Internet Safety in Schools

Published on 8 December 2009 in E-Safety, In the News, Links and Publications. 0 Comments

Internet Safety is to become a compulsory part of primary education in 2011 it has emerged today.

The campaign ‘Zip it, Block it, Flag it ’ intends to encourage children to not give out personal information on the web, block unwanted messages on social networks and report any inappropriate behaviour to the appropriate bodies. The campaign will used as an online ‘Green Cross Code’ which children and parents will follow to protects themselves online.

Zip it, Block it, Flag it!

By starting the education at a young age, there will hopefully be less and less incidents as the children grow older and internet safety will become common practice.