Ulster Unionist Party Children and Young People’s Spokesperson Sandra Overend MLA has welcomed the publication of the Safeguarding Board Northern Ireland’s research report ‘An exploration of e-safety messages to young people, parents and practitioners in Northern Ireland’, following its launch at Parliament Buildings on Wednesday evening.
Speaking following the event, the Mid-Ulster MLA commented:
“As an elected representative, as well as a parent with a long-standing interest in the online safety of our children and young people, I am particularly pleased to see the publication of this Safeguarding Board report on the Exploration of e-safety messages to young people, parents and practitioners in Northern Ireland.
“I welcome the recommendations arising from the report, particularly something that I have been calling for, for some time: a cross departmental internet safety strategy. I have continued to press the Department on this issue, most recently meeting with the Junior Ministers in November 2013 to urge them again to advance such a strategy. At that meeting we also discussed the need for an e-safety forum that should undertake to address any shortfalls that were apparent.
“With technology continuing to develop at a rapid pace, there is no time to sit on our hands when it comes to e-safety, and therefore I was especially pleased that the Director of the National Children's Bureau, who was commissioned to carry out the research, emphasised the point that there is no reason why movement on this issue cannot move very quickly indeed.”
Mrs Overend continued:
“It is of course essential for parents to play their part in e-safety – As parents we were reminded of this yesterday, our daughter's thirteenth birthday, when she asked us if she can now open a Facebook account. It is important that government plays its part in helping parents, teachers and those with responsibility for our children in various organisations, to educate and protect them from the dangers that exist online, in a strategic and coordinated manner.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the on-going work of the NSPCC on internet safety, with the research they have carried out, the programmes they have delivered and the awareness they’ve raised. They have been very influential in highlighting areas of concern and will be an important asset in moving the process forward, along with many other organisations that value the importance of this issue.”
Sandra concluded,
“It is important that government works in a joined up manner on this issue and rises to meet the challenge of co-ordinating effective governmental responsibility for e-safety."