eSafety: Not everything you see online is real!

One of the most important lessons you can teach young people, and some adults, is that not everything you see online is real! I’ve heard many times before that people 100% believe what they read on Wikipedia, now there is a lot of useful content over there, but you have to remember anyone and everyone ...

eSafety, Blocking search terms, blocking adult content – Will our young people then be safe online? 1

Well, what a week! I spent the weekend in Daventry with other adults in Scouting from across the UK, discussing eSafety and how as an organisation we can further empower our young people to make the best decisions in the online world. Together it was very much decided that we have to push CEOP’s (Child ...

Should you be an online ‘Friend’ with young people in Scouting?

When working with young people there will always be a ‘relationship’ formed; a relationship of trust, a connection, a friendship. Young people will look up to their leaders, they will feel they can talk to them should they need any advice or have any concerns, they trust their leaders to help them when they are ...

Photography not allowed! Due to Safeguarding? 2

Well, it’s a discussion that appears almost weekly, and it’s one myth that most definitely needs challenging. “You can’t take photos of young people.” “Photos of Scouts can’t be posted online!” “You can’t publish an individual photo of a young person.” “P.O.R. says no photos” They are all comments that I have seen thrown about ...

Would you send someone’s mobile number to your entire list of contacts? 1

E-mail is just one of the many methods of communication used to keep people up to date. We need to remember how important a personal email address is; its as personal as a mobile phone number. Not everyone wants their email address publishing to the world, or distributed to a group of people. There are ...

Who are CEOP?

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is an extremely important organisation in protecting young people both online and in the ‘real’ world. Dedicated to eradicating the sexual abuse of children, CEOP’s work is vital in the ‘always connected’ world in which we live in. Professionals who work with young people, from Teachers to Scout ...