“I wouldn’t let my ten year old roam free at all times of the day and night in our local environment so why on earth would I allow him to do the same in an online environment?”

                                                                                 (Anonymous parent)

Here at WeScNs we are huge advocates of all things social media. Our very first chat was focused on how we could engage with young people and parents more effectively using technology. Many subsequent chats have also encompassed similar themes throughout the dialogue. However, the internet can be a dark and dangerous place for children and young people and there is increasing awareness of differences in generational usage of such spaces meaning that parents / grandparents / guardians do not always have an adequate understanding of the spaces that children and young people frequent online.

A major report from Kaspersky (2015) highlighted the frequency of children and young people being exposed to inappropriate  materials;

This negative exposure to online materials has fuelled concern around safeguarding vulnerable children and young people from the risks and dangers of entering online environments. In response to these contemporary dangers the DfE (2015) highlight issues around online mechanisms being used to groom children and young people into early sexualisation, radicalisation or extremism and have released statutory guidance for schools inthe UK to help prevent these risks. Furthermore, organisations such as the NSPCC and Mind Ed highlight significant concern around increasing frequency of reported issues of low self-esteem, mental health issues and body dysmorphia amongst children and young people as internet engagement seems to be exaggerating a culture of image obsession and online bullying.

Meanwhile parenting now requires extra skills as generational differences in the awareness of the dangers online become increasingly apparent (Pew 2016). As our younger generations happily flit from one in vogue social media platform to the next this can leave parents floundering and sometimes struggling to adequately understand the dangers associated with distinctive platforms.

On the 12^th July we will be discussing these issues and in particular seeking to explore;

• What is important for Children and Young People in learning about safe online activity?
• How can School Nurses influence a culture of safe internet use for children and young people?
• What practical tools are available in promoting safe internet use?
• How can we empower parents?
• How do we influence safeguarding measures that adequately encompass online activities?
• How do we influence local services to encourage safe spaces for children and young people to use?

Here at WeScNs we are trying something new this month as we plan to use the activity associated with this chat to create something useful that can be used in practice.  Therefore, we are devoting the whole month ofJuly to discussing these issues and hope to use the evaluation from the chat and tweeting activity throughout the month to inform service improvement in relation to keeping children and young people safe online. So please join in, complete surveys and offer your ideas as we try to generate some practical ideas that come directly from our School Nursing community!

Pre Chat prepared by @MichelleSobande