Online Safety Training

This course is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of online safety. Through a series of modules, you will increase your awareness of online safety and how this relates to the home and school environments. You will understand more about the risks children and young people can be potentially exposed to when online, and some of the issues surrounding digital technologies. There will also be information on what you should be reporting and to whom.

In the first module of the course we will look at what we actually mean by online safety. Certainly, there are many benefits to the online society, but the internet and areas such as online gaming and social media can also have a level of danger that we need to be aware of. The internet is one of the most important advances in human history but it does not come in a ‘lite’ or ‘child friendly’ version, so we need to empower our children to know the correct way to use it.

By the end of this module, you will have looked at the meaning of online safety, the importance of raising awareness and the importance of governance and safeguarding.

This module defines what we mean by certain key terms and introduces some of the basic ideas surrounding online dangers.

It is important that we all have a common understanding of what we mean when we use a word like ‘risk’ or ‘appropriate’ as these are key to informing and supporting young people.

Social media and the video-based platform YouTube have become part of the social world for many children and almost all teenagers. Despite the age limit required to have accounts on these online communities, many younger children now use social platforms to keep in touch with friends and talk to the world. This module will introduce the main social media sites and discuss how each one is used. The module then goes on to look at other issues, such as the proliferation of false news.

Extremist groups are known to use the internet and social media to spread propaganda. Despite the attempts by some social media platforms to identify and remove accounts that support or promote terror and extremism, the problem persists. Young people and children are particularly vulnerable to these groups, and it is important that safeguarding includes anti-radicalisation efforts.

This module is a basic introduction to anti-radicalisation and the Government’s counter-terrorism Prevent duty of care.

The effect of video games on the behaviour of children has been the subject of many studies and even more media speculation over the years. While gaming may make good copy for the newspapers, it is important that we focus on real issues and dangers, and understand where the rhetoric ends and the real problems begin.

This module attempts to put a little perspective on the danger games present, and offers a rational approach to safety when using the chat feature of some games.

This section introduces some of the risks to children from cyberbullying and pro anorexia websites, along with fake news.

It is vital that online safety-related incidents are reported quickly and to the right people. This module details what you should and should not do if an incident occurs.

By the end of this module, you will have a clear idea of the path to follow if you need to report an incident. You will also be able to avoid accidentally infringing the law and what to record as evidence.

This module covers how to keep children, who have always grown up with technology, safe online.

This part of the training will assess how well you have understood the content of your course by asking a series of questions about what you have learned.

Once you have passed your assessment, you will be able to download your certificate. Your pass rate will be 70% but don’t worry if you do not pass the first time, as you can take the test multiple times.