What I do

I provide expert, professional help to schools to ensure they fulfill their Internet safety commitments.

I present tailored content to pupils of all ages and to parents, as well as help for staff so they feel confident to pass on the messages themselves.

My material is engaging and uses a mixture of slides, videos and real life examples to ensure the audiences understand the potential dangers of internet usage and ensure they feel empowered to apply that knowledge to help children get full benefit and fun of the internet but, above all,  keep safe at the same time.

I cover topics such as :

• Misuse of personal information
• False friendships through social networking
• Grooming
• CyberBullying
• Technology addiction

The Internet has rapidly become one of the most important aspects of people’s lives. Whether you are an active user or a complete novice, the impact on the way we communicate with each other, find information, or transact has irretrievably changed.

Our children will never know a world without the Internet. They will always assume that information is available 24 hours a day and that any question can be answered by a few clicks in Google. They have picked up their knowledge through their own curiosity and the fact that new technology does not faze them.

On the whole, the internet has provided many improvements to our way of life, but with the benefits it has also provided the means for people to abuse the access it gives to people and information.

Our children are the first generation to enter this new world, which also means that we, as parents, carers and educators are the first to have to guide them.

Many of us have not had the benefit of using the technology in our daily lives, nor can we draw on the experience of our elders as this is all new, and as such, we are having to start from scratch.

Increasingly, parents are turning to their child’s school to provide the insight. However, it is just as new to teachers so I can provide the knowledge, guidance and experience to help.

Dr Tanya Byron recently produced a document entitled “Byron Review – Children and New Technology”. In her report, she detailed many recommendations to government on how best to tackle internet safety amongst young people. A key area was around education. Teaching young people how to stay safe rather than attempting to shield them from danger provided them with the necessary skills to ensure their own safety.

In her summary she provides the following quote

“Kids don’t need protection we need guidance. If you protect us you are making us weaker we don’t go through all the trial and error necessary to learn what we need to survive on our own…don’t fight our battles for us just give us assistance when we need it.” (Children’s Call for Evidence)

Increasingly, schools are seen as the place where they should learn these skills as, more often as not, parents do not have sufficient internet awareness of computer knowledge.