Online safety

‘Young people should be able to use the internet without worrying about being shown inappropriate material, or being abused or bullied.’
– young person, as reported by the NSPCC Participation Unit

Potential risks for young people

Online safety risks for young people can include, but are not limited to:

• posting personal information that can identify and locate a child offline
• sexual grooming, luring, exploitation and abuse, and inappropriate or unwanted contact
• exposure to inappropriate content, including pornography, racist or hate material or violent behaviour
• glorifying activities such as drug taking or excessive drinking
  
  

What online safety means in sport

Activity in the online world can affect a young person’s enjoyment or performance in sport, both positively and negatively.

Negative experiences online could ultimately affect a young person’s willingness to take part in sport. So it's important that your club or organisation takes precautions to minimise these risks.

Creating a safer online environment

Follow these steps to help ensure a safe online environment for children and young people:

• have an online safety policy and/or acceptable use statement
• have specific procedures and specific codes of conduct for young people and staff to follow
• ensure that everyone involved – including coaches, volunteers, administrators, parents and children – understands and complies with their responsibilities within these policies

Social networking services, more commonly referred to as social media, allows users to create their own content and share it with a vast network of individuals.

Online social media sites – such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – enable interaction between groups of people with similar interests and hobbies.

Social media users establish an online ‘profile’ on a social media site or app (on mobile devices), containing information about themselves. This might include personal information such as their name, photographs, social activities or hobbies and interests.

What social media means for sport

Social media provides unique opportunities for sports organisations to engage and develop relationships with people in a creative and dynamic forum where users are active participants.

It's widely used to promote sports activities, campaigns and events. Groups, clubs and other sports organisations also use it to communicate with coaches, officials and participants (including young people) regarding club news.

With the development of mobile devices, it opens up new ways for organisations and young people to communicate quickly and more informally.

Potential risks to young people

The same potential risks that are found in the online world – see the tab above-left (or below, on mobile devices) – apply to social media. Additional risks include:

• bullying or berating by peers and people they consider ‘friends’ – in sport this can include negative comments or reactions to their performance or achievement
• being encouraged to create or share inappropriate or harmful material of themselves or others, including sexting (sexual images or video)
• encouragement to take part in violent behaviour or harmful trends
• communicating with people they don’t know, including potentially dangerous individuals
  
  

How to minimise the risks

• ensure staff and volunteers have a general knowledge of the types of technology, sites or applications young people may be using
• address the safeguards that affect young people by developing clear guidelines for them to follow
• develop guidance and advice for staff and volunteers to ensure that interactions with users take place in an appropriate manner
• be clear about what you want to achieve by using social media
• make sure staff and volunteers are aware of this when choosing to post or share content
• develop an acceptable use statement and/or online safety policy for your club or organisation that includes social media
  
  

You also need to have procedures and specific codes of conduct in place to promote a safe online environment for children and young people.

The digital world is rapidly evolving – here, we highlight sport-specific resources for safeguarding children online, and point you towards the parts of the NSPCC website where you can keep up with what you need to know about online safety.

Help for young people

• Online and mobile safety – Childline's advice for children and young people on using the web
  
  

Information for parents and carers

• NSPCC's online safety pages – helpful information on talking to your child about staying safe online
• Net Aware – information and advice for parents from the NSPCC and O2
• Share Aware – encourages parents to understand online safety and talk to their children about keeping safe
  
  

CPSU resources

• Keeping children safe online – webinar
• Photography – guidance and advice on risks, policies and procedures
• Sample online acceptable use statement
• Sample online safety policy 
  
  

Further NSPCC resources

• Keeping children safe online course – an online introductory course for anyone working with children, developed by the NSPCC and CEOP
• Online abuse – guidance on identifying abuse, and where to access relevant support and resources to help
• Online safety advice – helpful advice and tools you can use to help keep children safe whenever and wherever they go online
• Sexting – advice on talking to children about the risks of sexting and what you can do to protect them
  
  

Other useful resources and websites

• Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) – a UK law-enforcement command dedicated to tackling sexual exploitation of children, which also provides education and awareness resources on the Thinkuknow website
• Childnet International – a non-profit organisation working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children
• Cyberbullying and children and young people with SEN and disabilities: guidance for teachers and other professionals – guidance to help professionals understand the issues around cyberbullying for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
• Good club guide to social media – best-practice advice from the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA)
• Good practice guidelines on the use of social networking sites by British Gymnastics clubs and club members – provides recommendations for BG club members and parents on the use of social networking sites as they relate to that individual’s role in a BG club
• Sexting in schools and colleges – responding to incidents and safeguarding young people – a guide produced by UKCCIS on responding to disclosures, handling imagery, preventative education and working with parents
• UK Safer Internet Centre – offers a wide range of advice and resources on how to stay safe online, whether you are a young person, a parent or carer, or are working with children
  
  

Publications

• Cyberbullying and its impact on young people’s emotional health and well-being research. The Psychiatrist 37(5): pp 167-170 – Helen Cowie (2013)
• Victims’ voices: the impact of online grooming and sexual abuse research. Universal Journal of Psychology 1(2): pp 59-71 – Helen C Whittle, et al (2013)