Making the internet a safer place

Schools and colleges in Teignbridge are being asked to join a campaign to make the internet safer for children and young people.

Teignbridge District Council and South Devon & Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership have invited all the secondary schools in the area to take part in Safer Internet Day on February 11th.

It is part of a national campaign being co-ordinated by the charity Childnet with the theme 'Let's create a better internet together'.

Cllr Kevin Lake, Teignbridge District Council’s Executive Member with responsibility for Environmental Services including community safety, said:

“Young people have the right to feel safe online and parents need reassurance that children are being protected."

“We hope Safer Internet Day will raise awareness about the issues facing young people using the web and also provide some practical tips and advice about how they can take sensible precautions.”

Among the Teignbridge schools taking place so far are Teign School, Kingsteignton and Coombeshead Academy, Newton Abbot.

Schools are being offered a range of resources as part of campaign including leaflets, downloads and information packs.

One of the most popular is likely to be a Facebook MOT check-list where students can test how much they know about personal security on the famous social networking site.

Experts are also available to go into classrooms to talk to pupils about some of the online pitfalls and how to avoid them.

For more information visit www.saferinternet.org.