Risk management for online learning
Recent media coverage points to increasing concerns over online child abuse during the lockdown, as our summary below shows.
In early April, a National Crime Agency (NCA) report showed a significant increase in the number of identified paedophiles in the UK, noting that the lockdown presents an increased opportunity for online child exploitation.
At Equal Education we believe in equality of access to digital learning. However, child safety is paramount and we are firmly committed to mitigating risk and keeping children safe online without inhibiting the creative learning process.
Whilst we fully welcome the government’s commitment to providing devices to children with a social worker, we urge caution behind which devices are managed and deployed. Without proper safeguards in place, this could exponentially increase the risk to vulnerable learners.
This is a pressing need and we are placed to provide fully safeguarded and managed devices within 3-5 business days (subject to demand) so that children can access resources and continue their education.
The Department of Education recently published support and advice for parents and carers about keeping children safe online.
We have provided a comparison of how our managed device solutions assist in keeping to these guidelines.
| DfE Specified Harms | Non-managed device | Equal Education managed device | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child sexual abuse | ❌ | ✔ | Our devices come with active web filters |
| Exposure to radicalising content | ❌ | ✔ | Access is restricted to safe and secure websites and apps |
| Youth-produced sexual imagery ('sexting') | ❌ | ✔ | Messaging apps are be blocked from the iPad |
| Cyberbullying | ❌ | ✔ | Device management cannot be removed from the device under any circumstance |
| Exposure to age-inappropriate content, such as pornography | ❌ | ✔ | The app store is disabled; apps are filtered by Equal Education centrally |
| Exposure to harmful content, such as suicide content | ❌ | ✔ | Active web filters and safe searches cannot be disabled |
Key media coverage
The Times, Text messages to warn families about online child abuse
The government is set to send a text message to every parent and carer in the country pointing them towards information and resources to protect children amid fears of growing online abuse.
Susie Hargreaves, CEO of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) added that criminals would be “more active” on the internet in the coming months. The IWF is due to release data at the end of this month revealing the extent of illegal online activity during the lockdown period.
Sky News, Coronavirus: Thousands of paedophiles preying on children online during lockdown
In a new assessment the National Crime Agency (NCA) says there are at least 300,000 sex abusers posing a threat, some of whom are discussing how to exploit the school shutdown.
A separate survey has revealed that 10% of schoolchildren claim they can do as they want online while they are housebound.
LBC News, Anti-crime chief warns 'sickening' paedophiles are looking to exploit coronavirus crisis
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) lead for child protection said investigators have identified offenders discussing opportunities to abuse children during the Covid-19 crisis in chats online.
Police are warning of a spike in abuse with schools closed and youngsters spending more time on the internet.
The Telegraph, Number of paedophiles in UK surges to 300,000 as police chiefs warn of online risk during the pandemic
The Lucy Faithfull foundation revealed last month that the number of paedophiles alone contacting its helpline seeking help to stop viewing sexual images of children had doubled from 43,000 to 94,000 in a year.
Rob Jones, NCA director of threat leadership, warned the risk from paedophiles online was greater than at any time as the number of children online increased, particularly now with many at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The NCA is launching a new #OnlineSafetyAtHome campaign through its education team at CEOP – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection command.
The Guardian, Coronavirus lockdown raises risk of online child abuse, charity says
The NSPCC has warned of a “perfect storm” for abusers to take advantage of the Covid pandemic, comes after Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union, said it had seen “increased online activity by those seeking child abuse material”.
“It is more important than ever for parents to have regular conversations with their children about what they’re doing online and to reassure them they can come to you with any worries.”
There have also been widespread concerns from teachers and members of the community over general safety of children during the lockdown…
Evening Standard, Fears for children not safe at home or exposed to gangs during coronavirus lockdown
Sir Daniel Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation, admitted he was “worried” about certain pupils and said teachers are making huge efforts to keep in daily contact. He said some pupils are more vulnerable to gangs, while others are at risk of losing contact with social services, or are living in homes with no books or sanitary products.
BBC News, Coronavirus: 'Worryingly low number' of at-risk children in school
Norfolk's Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead on child protection, told Newsnight that he’s working on the premise that we will see more children groomed and abused online.
The Guardian, ‘I am deeply scared for so many children’: diary of a headteacher in lockdown
One of our most vulnerable year 7 students, who had been managing only two hours a day after a long period of school-refusing, did the whole of yesterday, does the whole of today, and I actually see him smiling. For him, this could be the best thing that has happened.
One of our most vulnerable children, who is in foster care, has created a PowerPoint about happiness and he wants to share it with me. It’s touching. When we have the bandwidth, I’ll share it with the whole staff.
The Guardian, Fears for child welfare as protection referrals plummet in England