Safeguarding children in a digital world Developing an LSCB e-safety strategy PHOTO REDACTED DUE TO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR OTHER LEGAL ISSUES Safeguarding children in a digital world Developing an LSCB e-safety strategy Contents Foreword Introduction Definition of key terms and concepts Disclaimer Developing an LSCB e-safety strategy Section 1: Developing an e-safety strategy Section 2: Developing an e-safety subgroup Section 3: Developing an e-safe infrastructure Section 4: Developing an e-safety training strategy Section 5: Monitoring and reporting on e-safety incidents Section 6: Monitoring the impact of the e-safety strategy Section 7: Sources of external e-safety support Section 8: Other sources of support Annexes Guidance on using the annex materials Annex A: Local authority case studies Annex B: Example incident flowcharts Annex C: Responding to a RIPA notice Annex D: Example LSCB training activities Annex E: CEOP: Practice guidance for teachers Annex F: Safeguarding incident case studies Annex G: Sample LSCB e-safety strategy and action plan Acknowledgements: Participants in the Becta e-safety working days Foreword 01 Foreword I am delighted to launch this e-safety strategy toolkit on behalf of Becta, to coincide with our second conference – Safeguarding Children in a Digital World. We all have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and that responsibility must apply to the online world which is such an important part of the everyday life of children and young people. New technologies open up many exciting benefits and opportunities for children and young people but they can also present some risks. Technology is becoming all pervasive, touching all areas of society, with children and young people having increasing access to personal technology such as web-enabled phones. We must ensure, therefore, that a framework is in place to help children and young people stay safe when using new technology, and to ensure that where problems do occur, children and young people (and their parents and carers) have support in dealing with them effectively. Local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) have a key role to play in this process. LSCBs must co-ordinate and ensure the effectiveness of what their member organisations do both individually and together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This document outlines how LSCBs, and their member organisations, can set priorities and put in place action plans to ensure that they are contributing effectively to e-safety. I commend the guidance given in this document to all LSCBs. It is only through a combined and consistent approach to e-safety that we can ensure that all children and young people are safeguarded from harm, wherever and whenever they go online. Stephen Crowne Chief Executive 02 Introduction Introduction Since 1998, in conjunction with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (and its previous incarnations), Becta has been providing advice and guidance to schools and local authorities (LAs) on all aspects of e-safety. Recognising that e-safety is not just the responsibility of educational practitioners, Becta has increasingly promoted the importance of a combined approach to policy, infrastructure and education, underpinned by inspection and standards, in helping to create a safe online environment for children and young people, wherever and whenever they go online. Some of Becta's previous publications have referred to this as the PIES model – see Figure 1 below. Recent years have seen the emergence of a wider strategic context into which e-safety falls, mainly embedded within safeguarding strategies. The Children Act 20041 provides the main legislative framework for wider strategies for improving children's lives, with the overall aim of encouraging integrated planning, commissioning and delivery of services to children, and for improving multidisciplinary working. This act provided the legal underpinning to Every child matters: Change for children2 which focuses on five key outcomes for every child and young person, including the requirement to 'stay safe'. Recent government research activities such as the Staying safe consultation3 and the Byron review of children and new technology 4 have promoted further the importance of e-safety. Local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) were formed in 2006, with a particular focus on aspects of the 'staying safe' outcome of Every child matters. They are the 'key statutory mechanism for agreeing how relevant organisations in each area will co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in that locality, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do'5. E-safety must therefore be part of their remit. Becta quickly recognised the need to engage with LSCBs. Following the inaugural Safeguarding Children in a Digital World Conference in February 2006, Becta produced a series of practical checklists for LAs and LSCBs in a publication titled Safeguarding children online: a guide for local authorities and local safeguarding children boards6. Becta's work in this area has continued since then, with representatives from LAs and LSCBs meeting together in a series of working days in September 2007 to discuss models of best practice for developing a core LSCB e-safety strategy (see Acknowledgements for a list of participating LAs). 1 See the Children Act 2004 [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2004/20040031.htm]. 2 See Every Child Matters website [http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk]. 3 See Every Child Matters website [http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/stayingsafe]. 4 See Byron Review website [http://www.dfes.gov.uk/byronreview]. 5 See paragraph 3.2 of Working together to safeguard children: A guide to interagency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, available on the Every Child Matters website [http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/workingtogether]. 6 See Becta publications website [http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=31051]. Introduction 03 This document, published to coincide with the second Safeguarding Children in a Digital World Conference in February 2008, is the output of those working days. Specifically, it aims to drive the e-safety agenda forward for LSCBs, offering a framework for a national standard of best practice that boards may adopt and adapt locally to meet local safeguarding needs and conditions. The content of this document broadly maps to the PIES model, as illustrated Figure 1: in Figure 1. PIES model for limiting e-safety risks This document does not intend to prescribe a 'one-size-fits-all' Policies and practices approach, but instead offers a set of (sections 1 and 2) core prompts and some sample materials to help LSCBs in developing Standards their own strategies, systems and and inspection processes which will ultimately help (sections 5 and 6) Education Infrastructure children stay safe in the digital world. and training and technology It does not set out requirements for (section 4) (section 3) LSCBs: rather it aims to provide useful principles and examples which LSCBs can draw on. We recognise that the work of LSCBs is still developing, with a recent review of progress7 stating: '…LSCBs need to ensure they continue to evaluate their own progress, identify the challenges they still face, and commit to actions necessary to overcome these challenges and improve performance' if they are to realise their full potential. Equally, LSCB approaches to e-safety will develop and mature over the coming years, and Becta will continue to support them in their work. Please note that we do not intend to update this document in print. While it offers a starting point for developing an LSCB e-safety strategy, we hope that LSCBs and their member agencies will rapidly move beyond the stages outlined here. Becta's work will therefore concentrate on supporting LSCBs in their continuing e-safety work once they have established a strategy. Hard copies of this document will not be available beyond its initial circulation, but you will be able to download electronic copies from the Becta website8. To keep up to date with the latest e-safety information, LSCBs, member agencies and others with an interest in Becta's e-safety work may like to join the Safetynet mailing list – see Section 8 below for further information. 7 See Ministerial Foreword of Local safeguarding children boards: A review of progress, available on the Every Child Matters website [http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/lscb]. 8 See Becta website (http://www.becta.org.uk/localauthorities). 04 Definition of key terms and concepts Definition of key terms and concepts In this document, as in the Children Act 1989 9 and the Children Act 200410 (and various safeguarding guidance), a child is defined as anyone who has not yet reached their eighteenth birthday. Where we use the word 'child' (or its derivatives) in this document, we mean 'child or young person'. Terms such as 'e-safety', 'online', 'communication technologies' and 'digital technologies', when used in this document, refer to all fixed and mobile technologies that children may encounter, now and in the future, which allow them access to content and communications that could raise e-safety issues or pose risks to their wellbeing and safety. The term 'safeguarding' is defined for the purposes of this document in relation to e-safety as the process of limiting risks to children when using technology through a combined approach to policies and procedures, infrastructure and education, underpinned by standards and inspection. Working together to safeguard children11 uses the following terms: • 'Board partner' means statutory organisations that are required to co-operate in the establishment and operation of the LSCB (paragraph 3.58) • 'Other members' means other relevant local organisations which should be involved in the work of the LSCB (paragraph 3.62) • 'Other agencies and groups' refers to organisations and individuals that may be involved in LSCB work on an 'as needed' basis (paragraph 3.63) • 'Key national organisations' refers to organisations such as CEOP that are involved in the wider safeguarding agenda (paragraph 3.64).