e-Safer Suffolk

e-Safer Suffolk aims to raise the awareness of children, young people, families, vulnerable adults and those who work with them, about online safety issues and how to safely enjoy the internet.

It is a multi-agency partnership led by Suffolk County Council, the Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership, Suffolk Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Vulnerable Children in a Digital World report: informed by the experiences of children in Suffolk

A new research report about Vulnerable Children in a Digital World launched in February at Westminster by Margot James, the Minister for Digital, was informed by the views and experiences of children and young people in Suffolk who had completed the annual cybersurvey.

Suffolk County Council and our partners played a significant role in the development of the cybersurvey created by online safety and bullying expert Adrienne Katz, and this is acknowledged in the report. It was through analysing the results that Adrienne Katz who is also one of the co-authors of the report first noticed the emergence of vulnerable groups of children whose online experiences differed from their peers.

Data from the cybersurvey has provided the evidence based for several academic peer reviewed studies and been submitted as evidence to parliamentary sub-committees at the House of Commons and the Lords. This report was commissioned by Internet Matters which provides advice and practical guidance for parents and carers on using the Internet and social media.

• Research report on the Internet Matters website
• Academic summary of the research

2017 Suffolk Cybersurvey: key findings

• Parental influence makes a difference - children do value what their parents and carers say, and they continue to follow their advice as they grow older
• A one-size approach to online safety education won’t work - advice and support must be based around the age and needs of children and young people
• Content causes more harm than screen time - children and young people are increasingly seeing more and more ‘harmful’ content sometimes within 30 minutes of using the internet

 Find out more about the 2017 annual cybersurvey of children and young people in Suffolk.

 The cybersurvey is administered by the Strategic Online Safety Group (e-Safer Suffolk) in partnership with Youthworks Consulting Ltd. 

Worried that someone may be at risk online?

Developments in internet technology present excellent opportunities for adults, children and young people. However access to the internet and social media leads to situations and contact with behaviours that pose new or increased risks.

For example: 

• cyberbullying
• online grooming
• sexual exploitation
• exposure to harmful content such as pro-anorexia and self-harm websites, hate speech, violence, homophobia and racism
• various frauds including identify theft, scams and fake goods.

If you have a concern about a child or vulnerable adult contact Customer First on 0808 800 4005. If you have an immediate concern dial 999.

If you're concerned about something that you've seen on the internet, or behaviour that your child has experienced whilst online you should report abuse to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).

Support for e-safety leads and DSLs

A vital part of developing and maintaining an e-safety culture is to ensure that your organisation has an e-safety lead. This role needs to have the authority to call upon others in your organisation to safeguard children, young people and adults at risk of online abuse and harm.

e-Safety Lead training

The e-safety leads training programme is delivered by the safeguarding service within Schools' Choice. The aim is to enable people who take on this work to feel confident when dealing with online safety situations. All nominated e-safety leads within Suffolk should access the training as it provides a useful introduction to their role.

For details of the latest training, visit the Schools' Choice website or email services@schoolschoice.org

360 Degree Safe online safety review tool

360safe.org.uk is available for education settings who want to explore how your well their organisation is performing in relation to online safety policy and practice.  This online self-assessment tool provides a continuum for education settings to look at how they might move from a basic level provision for online safety to practice that is aspirational and innovative.