We have some helpful guides to the most popular social media services and you can also see the NSPCC's NetAware guide. 

You can also sign up to our newsletter which will share our latest blogs and highlight new trends. 

For the latest research, see this series of research summaries, created by the Evidence Group of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety.

The Independent Schools Council keep a record of safeguarding guidance which is a useful tool in keeping up to date with current issues. 

Residential care homes

There is a helpful guide to internet safety and looked after children from Brent Council which includes some information about risk assessment, agreements (including a template Acceptable Use Agreement), monitoring and supervision, and support and training.

You can also see this Social Care and Online Safety Toolkit from the South West Grid for Learning, a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre. 

The government have produced a number of documents for inspections of children’s homes which also refer to the protection of children in the online world; Children’s homes: inspection documents and Social care common inspection framework evaluation criteria. They have also produced the guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education which makes specific reference to Children’s homes.

In addition, SWGfL, a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, has developed a full-day training course and a toolkit specifically for social workers and professionals within social care teams who are involved in family assessments. The training was developed in partnership with South Gloucestershire LSCB and Social Work teams. It has been designed to be flexible and adaptable to existing assessment processes.

Boarding houses

The Boarding Schools’ Association offer online training which covers key aspects of boarders’ safety, procedures and policies, safeguarding and child protection issues. They also outline National Minimum Standards which include combating bullying, including cyberbullying. 

We offer an online self-review tool called Online Compass which can be used to review online safety within your organisation and improve your online safety practice using expert advice. 

In addition you can attend Online Safety Live training run by SWGfL, a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre. This is a programme of events designed to develop the knowledge of professionals working with young people about latest trends, the biggest trends and best resources. 

We have also produced guidance on what should be considered as ‘appropriate’ filtering and monitoring. 

You can get support with handling online safeguarding incidents by contacting our helpline, the Professionals Online Safety Helpline, on 0344 381 4772 or helpline@saferinternet.org.uk. 

We have more advice about where you can report and seek further advice on our Need Help page. 

It is important to consider what you share on social media and who you share it with. You can use our social media guides to learn about managing your privacy on social media and read our Professional Reputation guide for more information about strategies for managing your online reputation.