Online safety is such an important issue for parents and families, with issues like cyberbullying and online pornography causing huge concern. That is why I am delighted that Facebook has announced a new commitment to offer a digital safety ambassador programme to every secondary school in the UK. The announcement has been made as part of Facebook's wider commitment to keep people safe online, in partnership with the Diana Award and Childnet International, with the aim of promoting online safety in classrooms across the UK. Training will be offered to thousands of pupils in secondary schools trained as Childnet Digital Leaders or Diana Award Anti-bullying Ambassadors over the next two years, extending their existing programmes so that every secondary school will have a dedicated digital safety ambassador- young people trained to provide peer-to-peer support and lead online safety initiatives in the classroom. This is great news and it is fantastic to see organisations like Facebook actively working to improve online safety.
If you are a parent, teacher or young person, here are some of the resources available on Facebook to keep young people safe online-
- The Safety Centre which has more information on Facebook's safety policies, tools and resources, as well as access to the Bullying Prevention Hub, Parent's Portal and Online Wellbeing Portal
- The Parent Portal which offers advice to adults on how to ensure children in their care are using Facebook safely and have a positive experience on the platform
- The Bullying Prevention Hub, launched in partnership with the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, is a resource for young people, parents and educators to seek support and help for issues relating to bullying and other conflicts through specific actions