Internet safety campaign targets region's parents (From The Northern Echo)

Internet safety campaign targets region's parents

6:00am Friday 12th February 2010 in

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PARENTS have been given training on how to keep their children safe online.

A representative from computer software firm Microsoft addressed parents yesterday at St George’s School, in Middleton St George, near Darlington, about the perils of the worldwide web.

It is the first session of its kind in Darlington, and comes in the wake of the publication of research commissioned by Microsoft which shows that 41 per cent of parents did not know whether their child had privacy settings enabled on social networking sites.

The safety session follows the killing of Darlington teenager Ashleigh Hall, who was found dead in October last year after arranging to see a man she had met on a social networking website.

Her death led to a campaign by The Northern Echo to make e-safety a compulsory part of the school curriculum.

Yesterday’s session was led by Richard Diver, whose daughter attends the school and who volunteered to carry out the training.

He said: “I work in London a lot and I think kids there are a little bit more mature when they’re using the internet.

“However, I think it’s something that is being used more and more in this area by children.

I was shocked when I read some of the statistics about what kids do online.

“I want to highlight some of the dangers and make parents aware of what safeguards there are.”

The presentation involved videos used by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and Childnet International.

As well as the dangers of internet groomers, it also focussed on cyber-bullying.

The school’s head of ICT, Paul Harbron, said: “In school, we can work closely with children and see what they’re doing on the internet, but out of school it’s a whole different situation.

“We will do anything we can as a school to provide parents with more knowledge.

“We want their children to be as safe as possible.”

Cyndi Hughes, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Darlington has been at the forefront of attempts to highlight how vital internet safety is, especially to the young.

“St George’s is providing an important opportunity for parents to get equipped with the know-how they need. The school is to be congratulated for this wonderful initiative.”