Professionals Online Safety Helpline Publishes Online Reputation Guidance
The Professionals Online Safety Helpline has released new guidance to support schools with online reputation concerns.
The latest guidance has been published after new data from the Professionals Online Safety Helpline revealed that 46% of contacts to the helpline involved concerns around online reputational issues.
The newly published guidance issued by the Professionals Online Safety Helpline intends to support school leaders, governors, federations, and trust leaders within schools in England. The guidance helps schools navigate online reputational issues and better understand what resources they have available to help manage these situations. The guidance includes information on:
- Responding to online posts
- Online reputational issues that can be successfully reported
- Other routes to resolution
- Support available
The guidance considers multiple situations involving reputational concerns, including dealing with negative online reviews, online community groups and how to address concerns around images published outside of the school. Educators can also find information about reporting trademark violations and accounts involving impersonation attempts.
Further Information
Alongside the latest guidance, the Professionals Online Safety Helpline provides a series of resources to support educators or professionals working with young people. Recent resources include support around sexual harassment, making reports to social media platforms, how to handle impersonation attempts, and what to do following an incident of sexting. These can be found from the SWGfL website, who operate the helpline as part of the UK Safer Internet Centre.
Alongside this, any professional working with young people can get support with their online safety concerns by contacting the Professionals Online Safety Helpline. The helpline can be contacted by emailing  helpline@saferinternet.org.uk or by calling 0344 381 4772.