'Online safety' lessons for pupils

12 April 2012

School pupils as young as five will be taught how to stay safe on the internet, under new government plans.

Ministers want online safety to become a compulsory part of the curriculum from September 2011.

Youngsters face lessons on avoiding cyberbullies and predatory paedophiles alongside more traditional warnings about busy roads and strangers.

The move formed part of Britain's first internet safety strategy, drawn up by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS).

The plan, Click Clever, Click Safe, will be officially unveiled by Prime Minster Gordon Brown.

It outlines how the Government, industry and charities are working together to keep children and young people safe online.

The strategy aims to implement recommendations drawn up by psychologist Professor Tanya Byron, who examined the impact of the internet and video games. She found that young people have greater online access than ever before, with 99% of eight to 17-year-olds using the web.

But research found almost one in five have come across inappropriate content and a third said their parents do not monitor their online activities.

The strategy also includes proposals to independently review internet companies, charities and the public sector to check they meet new child safety standards.

Every one of 270,000 computers provided under the Government's home access scheme will include a "panic button" providing access to help. Parents will also be offered access a one-stop shop website for internet safety advice hosted by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop).

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