Online Safety…and all that jazz!
In this blog, Lucy de Burgh, UKSIC Assistant Project Manager and Online Safety Live Coordinator talks to us about the latest series of Online Safety Live sessions across the UK.
I’m not one for blowing my own trumpet, but right now I’m afraid I’m going to give you a full rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “When the Saints go Marching in” (metaphorically speaking)!
I’ve been responsible for coordinating our Online Safety Live programme for 5 years now and the summer is giving me a very brief lull in the proceedings to allow me to take stock and review what we’ve achieved.
Testimonials
I still feel a wave of pride whenever we receive positive comments like these:
“A really interesting and useful session. The delivery was excellent too. Thank you.”
“Great seminar – a valuable use of my time! Thank you” and
“The session was really informative, relevant and coherent. It was great to get resources to use straight away in our setting. More schools and organisations should be made aware of these sessions.”
Something for nothing
I really can’t take all the credit. In fact I can take very little what so ever, but I’m happy to ride on the coat-tails of the team every now and then. The people who should get the credit for Online Safety Live are our fantastic team of online safety consultants and specialists. To date, they have delivered a total of 300 Online Safety Live events to thousands of people working with children up and down the country, and all completely for free. There’s literally nothing else like it.
Everyone who attends a session is sent an evaluation report to complete to help us understand what they think of them. So far for 2017 we’ve received 799 evaluation responses, of those 784 people said that they feel better equipped to protect children, users and their organisation as a result of attending an event.
Unique insight
I personally I feel that, as a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre and through our Professionals Online Safety Helpline, SWGfL has a unique insight into the current trends and issues professionals, parents and young people face on a day-to-day basis.
What’s also clear is that our commitment to current research, and our work directly in schools, with the young people themselves, means we are [BC1] positioned to update the children’s workforce on all that is Online Safety. Crucially we have access to the most current information and are able to signpost towards a wide range of great, practical and well considered resources.
The burning questions
The new academic year will see a new round of events starting in the South West then continuing to Northern Ireland, the North East and the Scottish Isles. We leave no unchartered territory and will be on hand to answer your questions, questions like:
- “What are the latest apps and technologies that young people are using?”
- “Which policies do I really need?”
- “What are Ofsted looking for?”
- “How do we manage sexting incidents?”
Open invitation
Well, I’m coming to the end of my jazz solo now, but in my final blast – I realise that time is all too limited and workloads are heavy these days, but if we are in your area, and you can make it, I urge you to come along and see us.
You really will gain much more than you expect and will come away with something, something that will make you think, maybe something you will put to use in the future and best of all it won’t cost you a penny.