The online world offers great educational and social benefits for children and young people, however it also comes with increasing risks. In the absence of a legislative framework for e-safety in Northern Ireland, this much needed strategy will provide essential leadership and guidance to support children and young people to take full advantage of the online world.
We were commissioned by the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland to develop the first e-safety strategy and action plan for children and young people in Northern Ireland.
The online world offers great educational and social benefits for children and young people, however it also comes with increasing risks.
In the absence of a legislative framework for e-safety in Northern Ireland, this much needed strategy will provide essential leadership and guidance to support children and young people to take full advantage of the online world while ensuring they are fully equipped to manage any risks they might face.
The strategy aims to improve e-safety by:
- Drawing on existing research and current best practice, both locally and globally, to develop an effective e-Safety Strategy and Action Plan
- Educating and supporting children and young people and those responsible for their care to develop skills and knowledge to stay safe online
- Facilitating access to age-appropriate support services including recovery services and information on how to handle online abuse if it occurs.
The development process
To inform the development of the strategy, we carried out a range of participatory activities to ensure that all key stakeholders had an opportunity to have their say, including one-to-one interviews with 42 key policy makers and lead practitioners across a range of disciplines, as well as focus groups with 36 teachers, 57 young people and 49 parents.
Support and guidance has been provided by our adult and young person's advisory groups throughout the strategy development process.
The draft document is due for consultation in summer 2016.
For further information on this work, please contact Claire Dorris, Knowledge Management Officer: [email protected].