CHILDREN AND vulnerable adults are being helped to stay safe when surfing the web as part of eSafety week 2014.
Oldham Local Children Safeguarding Board (LSCB) is running a series of events and competitions from February 10-14 to encourage people to think about their online privacy, security and viewing.
The events will work with a variety of ages from primary school children to older people – two age groups who can be particularly at risk when online.
Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Public Health, said: “Learning to be safe online is a crucial skill is important to learn from a young age.
“The sooner you know your child is safe on the web, the sooner you both become confident about it.
“ESafety week is not about dwelling on the risks or scaring people into action – it’s about giving young people and vulnerable adults the tools to know how to confidently deal with situations they may feel uncomfortable with.”
The national scheme aims promote responsible internet use and highlight issues, especially for young people and vulnerable adults who may not be fully aware of the risks.
Potential risks of the internet that are addressed include children accessing sexual content that is inappropriate for their age, and older people can be at risk from cyber-criminals.
The week’s events are:
Monday: A competition for nursery children to make a ‘sock-puppet-pocket’ for their parent’s mobile phone. As well as being asked to think about how to stay safe on the computer, they will take their crafty creation home and let their parents know about the council’s eSafety efforts.
Tuesday: Primary school pupils will be asked to make a video, song or play as part of a competition to advise their grandparents how to stay safe online. They will send their videos to the LSCB, where the best entry will be selected by Oldham Youth Council to be used in future training.
Wednesday: Secondary school pupils will make a video about how to stay safe online and be aware of the risks of sharing too much on social media. The competition will be launched and judged by the Youth Council.
Thursday: Vulnerable adults and residents with learning disabilities will take part in a workshop to design a poster on the risks to look out for when they’re on the internet.
Friday: ‘Let Children be Children event’ will showcase a variety of age appropriate and easy-to-use resources that schools can take advantage of to help young people make safer choices about themselves, their online use, personal relationships and self-esteem.
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