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Social Networking and the Internet.
Computers, the internet and mobile phones are highly attractive to young people. They are
essential for keeping in touch with friends, for fun and for obtaining information.
Communication technology now forms a normal part of a young person’s everyday life.
Foster carers have an important role to play in helping and encouraging young people to
access the benefits of communication technology in the safest way. Foster carers do not
require extensive knowledge and experience of communication technology to be able to
help. Everyday parenting skills demonstrated by sharing an active interest, supervision, and
developing the young persons’ ability to keep safe can be very useful.
Fostering Relations encourages foster carers to assist children in developing skills in the use
of communication technology whilst taking sensible precautions to protect young people
from potential harm in the rapidly changing field of technology.
The use or otherwise of social media in all irs forms should be discussed as part of the Intial
Placement Agreement and the nature and use of mobile phones, facebook, twitter etc
agreed with the placing authority.
Due to the requirements of the law governing Looked After Children in Scotland it is
absolutely vital that no pictures or other identifying details of children in your care are
placed on any social networking site,this includes your own or your families entries.
Any infringement of this could result in the removal of the Children from your care.
If a child or a young person your caring for already makes use of social media sites
this should be fully discussed with your supervising social worker so that this
situation can be shared with the placing authority and plans developed accordingly.
Dangers of Communication Technology
• Contact online or by phone with people who may wish to harm the young person.
• Content- inappropriate and potentially harmful materials
• Exposure to excessive advertising/ invasion of privacy and identity theft.
• Exposure to risk of cyber bullying or phone bullying.
Safety Measures
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
Time limits on computer usage should be agreed with the young person and computer
usage should not be a substitute for social interaction or physical activities.
 Appropriate internet security should be installed on the computers and parental
controls should be set to avoid access to inappropriate/harmful content on the
internet.
 Carers should set clear ground rules on the use of communication technology
outlining the potential risks in a sensitive manner.
 Computers should be located in communal areas of the house rather than in a
bedroom.
 Carers should show continuing interest in communication technology and encourage
young people to be open in respect of problems they encounter using communication
technology.
SMART Tips
Foster carers should ensure that young people are aware of the SMART tips see
Kidstart.org.uk
Safe- Staying safe involves being careful and not giving out your name, address, mobile
phone number, photograph, school name or password to people online.
Meeting- Some you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your
parent’s/carer’s permission and when they can be present.
Accepting- E-mails or opening files from people you don’t really know or trust could get you
into trouble- they may contain viruses or dangerous messages.
Remember- Someone online may be lying and not who they say they are. Stick to public
areas in chat rooms and if you feel uncomfortable simply get out.
Tell your parent or carer if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.
Useful Websites on the use of Communication Technology
Online resources for parents and young people www.childnet-int.org www.kidsmart.org.uk
www.chatdanger.com
Online safety information www.thinkuknow.co.uk
Department of Education and Skills www.parentsonline.gov.uk
University of Central Lancashire, kids for kids online www.fkbko.net
Internet industry sit re: removing illegal materials www.iwf.org.uk
Information on monitoring and filtering www.pin.org.uk
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Software protection www.getnetwise.org
General information and discussing www.ivillage.co.uk
Up to date information on protection, legislation and guidance www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Charity campaigns for safe internet access www.nspcc.org.uk www.nch.org.uk/itok
www.ccpas.co.uk
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is the term used to promote and protect the overall safety and welfare of all
children. Child protection is part of safeguarding children but safeguarding is a much wider
concept which includes protecting children from harmful negative experiences such as using
alcohol and drugs, becoming involved in criminal activity and preventing any form of
exploitation, which could be emotional, financial or sexual.
The role of technology in the sexualisation of children
The internet is a natural part of life for children. It is part of the world in which they grow up;
a place to meet; to share experiences and explore; a place to learn about the world – good
and bad.
This provides children with fantastic opportunities, but some of the things they see and do
online can put them at risk. Whilst adults have always provided help and guidance as young
people grow, often on the internet they are left alone to explore and experiment.
Increasingly, young people are using this freedom to explore sexual boundaries online. They
are flirting on webcam and in chat sites or accessing pornography at the click of a mouse.
The increasing availability of internet access through mobile phones means pictures and
videos can be created and uploaded in seconds. Some young people are creating indecent
images of themselves and sharing them by email, text or social networking sites with no
control over where they may end up.
Children will always seek to push boundaries as part of their natural development but in this
new world there can appear to be no boundaries.
Whilst children need freedom to explore and experiment, it is important to recognise the
impact which technology may be having as they develop and the risk their behaviour may
bring.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection – CEOP
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is dedicated to eradicating the
sexual abuse of children. They are part of UK policing and very much about tracking and
bringing offenders to account either directly or in partnership with local and international
forces.
The approach is truly holistic. Working at the CEOP Centre today you will find police officers
specialising in this area of criminality working with professionals from the wider child
protection community and industry, secondly staff from organisations such as the NSPCC,
teams sponsored by the likes of VISA and SERCO and experts from government and
corporations such as Microsoft offering specialist advice and guidance.
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For more information visit the CEOP main site at http://www.ceop.gov.uk/ here you will find
information for parents, carers, children and young people on such topics as grooming,
mobile phones, gaming, social networking and chat sites.
Facebook, BEBOI and the CEOP Centre
Facebook, BEBO and the CEOP Centre have joined forces to make young people safe
online by launching the new ‘ClickCEOP’ application.
Launched in 2010, all young users of Facebook, BEBO – and their parents – are invited to
add the new ClickCEOP ‘app’ to their profile. Through this app, they will be able to access
advice, help and support from the CEOP Centre. Crucially, young people will be able to
report instances of suspected grooming or inappropriate sexual behaviour directly from their
profile to specially trained investigators.
Twitter
Facebook
Bebo
Use of social networking sites
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Site
Users make
profiles and
build up a ‘web’
of friends. This
web grows
bigger as new
friends share
their friends.
Usually for older
people but also
attracts teens.
Similar to Bebo
but more
interactive
A facility to send
short messages
via the internet
similar to text
messages.
Messages are
seen by
everyone at
once.
Common Use
Everyone in
their class is
likely to be on it.
Used to chat
with people they
already know.
Too ‘childish’ for
older teens.
Used a lot by
businesses and
communities to
promote
interaction. The
police have a
Facebook page.
If you are at a
concert you can
send out a
message (a
‘tweet’) and
others who are
there can
respond
Potential Risk
Has been used
by people to
engage with
children,
particularly
under the age of
16
Tips
Make sure your
child keeps their
profile private so
that only friends
can see it.
Similar to above
but used to
contact older
teens
Again, make
profiles private.
Very open to
casually
meeting people
who are in the
same place as
you.
Children
should not use
Twitter on
mobile phones
without
supervision.
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MSN Messenger
The world’s
most popular
chat room
facility. You
make a list of
‘friends’ and
chat to ‘them 1to-1 or in
conference with
others
Talk to friends
locally or around
the world. You
can chat to
relatives in
Australia for
free, send family
pictures, and
connect a
webcam and
microphone.
Obvious
problem is that
you can
communicate
with strangers
who may not be
who they say
they are. Never
give out
personal details
and use an
alias.
Webcams can
actually be
useful to verify
identity and you
don’t need one
to watch. If you
are unsure
about
someone’s
location ask
them to hold up
a local
newspaper.
Useful websites to advise you about using social networking safely are:
www.ehow.com/how
www.thinkuknow.co.uk
http://www.ceop.gov.uk/
Cyberbullying
What is cyberbullying?
“The use of information and Communications Technology (ICT), particularly mobile phones
and the internet, deliberately to upset someone else”.
Cyberbullying behaviour can take many forms, but includes:
Text messaging
Picture or video Clips
Phone calls
Emails
The “Text Someone” service
is available to all city children
and families to report
cyberbullying via text message
Online chat rooms
Instant messaging
Websites
Social networking
Online gaming
What are the signs of bullying – look for changes in your child:
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Secretive about work on the computer
Keeping mobile on silent
Staying in their bedroom
Changes in relationships with friends
Anxious, moody, withdrawn, quiet
Seem unhappy, but refuse to say why
Complaining of headaches, stomach ache or other illnesses
Sleeping difficulties
Deterioration in school work
How can you help?
Encourage your child to talk to you or a trusted adult if there is a problem. Significant
numbers of children do not tell anyone.
Talk calmly about what is happening (even though you may feel upset yourself) and
reassure them that it is not their fault.
Listen and take what is said seriously.
Save, pictures or online conversations. This will help you demonstrate to others what
is happening and can be used by school, internet service providers (ASP), mobile
phone companies, or even the police, to investigate the cyberbullying.
Keep talking to you child and keep them involved – it is important they know what is
happening and have a say.
Talk to the school and report all incidents because research has shown that most
cyberbullying is by someone from the same class or year group.
Do not respond to the cyberbully or try to take the law into your own hands.
If you want to have a confidential conversation with an independent body before taking any
action you can ring:
Parentline plus – helping for support and advice – 0808 800 2222
Text phone for hearing/speech impairment – 0800 783 6783
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Kidscape advice line – 08451 205 204
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CyberSentinel is an e-safety product which allows parents or carers to choose online
boundaries and limits for their children. It helps protect against common dangers such as
coming across bad language or disturbing images, visiting sites that feature violence or
racism, or encountering online predators in chatrooms. It can also limit the time a child
spends online, prevent children from sharing too many personal details and stop children
from going online at night when parents are asleep.
Parents can customise settings for each child, receive email alerts if there’s a problem and
ease the rules as children get older, wiser and safe online.
CyberSentinel will be provided free for the parents/carers of all children and young people
in the city for a period of 18 months from when it is downloaded onto a home computer.
Parents will be issued with a unique “key code” via their schools, which will allow them to
download the software for free.
More details on www.cybersentinel.co.uk
Signed………………………………………………………Registered Manager
Date: April 2017
Review Date: April 2018
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