The Byron Review: response from Naace

In our response to Staying Safe we used the term e-safety to refer to safe and responsible use of information and communication technologies and services, including mobile phones and the internet. We emphasised that children and young people generate as well as receive content and messages and that they can and should contribute to the e-safety of others in addition to protecting themselves from online harm. It is Naace's view that e-safety should be a standard part of the agenda for any organisation that is concerned with the well being of children and young people.

Video gaming

What are the benefits of video games to a) children and young people, b) society, c) the economy?

The Review will doubtless receive detailed evidence from the variety of organisations involved in research in this area. Naace suggests that this evidence points away from the stereotypical picture of a solitary games player isolated from the rest of the world. A more realistic assessment recognises the huge growth in gaming which requires interaction with other users, often in real time and therefore using an online link.

Successful gamers will demonstrate many of the skills and attitudes required in twenty-first century businesses and public services, such as a collaborative approach to problem-solving, adaptability, enterprise and reduced fear of failure, and confident use of new technologies. While recognising the importance of other kinds of activity in the development of healthy, rounded citizens, Naace considers that this aspect of play brings significant potential benefits.

What are the opportunities presented by video games to a) children and young people, b) society, c) the economy?

There is a comparatively long tradition of children using technology-based models in schools, especially through the use of devices controlled from a computer and through computerised simulations. Indeed, these kinds of modelling have been a requirement for all children since the introduction of the National Curriculum in England nearly twenty years ago. Technology plays an important role in children's learning, partly because it allows for experimentation with different options and provides opportunities for learning from experience with scope to reverse unsuccessful decisions and to try out different strategies and solutions. As the scale of investment in the production of games for the commercial market continues to grow, a challenge for education is to provide curriculum-related simulations with similar high technical and artistic standards. There are good examples of practitioners in schools exploiting commercially produced games to deliver aspects of the curriculum in ways which pupils find compelling. More high-profile promotion of this approach to teaching should help us to realise some of the potential of video gaming in children's learning. At the same time, strategies to encourage the development of high quality games with clear educational relevance are needed. Ideally, more games would reflect a sophisticated understanding of the kinds of learning children undertake in their schooling; drill and practice are not sufficient.

What do a) children and young people and b) parents think and feel about the potential and actual risks of playing video games?

For both children and adults, it is easy to confuse technical knowledge and e-safety awareness. It is important to recognise that many children and young people have significant experience and expertise in the use of gaming and communication technologies. However, they may also be naïve, adopt safe practices or display a misplaced sense of confidence. In dealing with children and young people, adults need to take account of this variety while building on whatever experience individuals have previously gained.

Many parents have anxieties about their lack of knowledge in the area of e-safety, often underpinned by a lack of confidence about ICT generally. Besides increasing parents' understanding of the online activities which children and young people enjoy, and the associated risks, it would be helpful to raise their awareness of features in software products that can be used to reduce any danger that their children might be exposed to. For example, parents could be better informed, and therefore reassured, about using parental controls in games consoles to restrict online voice chat. At the same time, like practitioners in schools and other settings, parents need to understand that filtering and other controls can reduce but not eliminate the risk of inappropriate encounters with people or materials, and that other strategies for fostering e-safety are needed.

Naace strongly favours an approach based on risk management, with adults and children alike developing an understanding of risk, knowing how to reduce not only the likelihood but also the impact of unfortunate experiences, while keeping these in proportion and not losing sight of the benefits of new technologies in learning and in the wider world. If children are able to recognise that something has gone wrong and are confident about what steps to take, adults can feel some reassurance about the level of exposure to risk.

The Internet

What are the opportunities presented by the Internet for a) children and young people, b) society, c) the economy?

There is a tendency to focus on the enormous range of information which is available via the internet to support children's learning. This is undoubtedly a wonderful resource, though it highlights the need for the development of information skills to ensure that young people are discriminating and aware in their choice and use of content. Children who become sophisticated users of on-line information will be an asset in the world of work and are more likely to participate positively in civic affairs.

Naace has always promoted the view that our young people should become active users of technology and creators of content, rather than merely being passive consumers. The internet, especially with the development of so-called Web 2.0 tools, makes it easy for children to generate and share content, to communicate and collaborate, and to participate in a wide-range of activities in which account is taken of their views. Clearly there is huge potential for young people with experience of these tools to exploit their skills in business contexts and to develop habits of civic participation. In significant ways, the social networking websites which are popular with so many young people have similar characteristics to the learning platforms and e-portfolios which are at the heart of the Government's Harnessing Technology e-learning strategy. When we try to think about the potential of the internet, it is vital that we look beyond opportunities to broadcast to children, and develop models of children as purposeful authors, communicators and collaborators.

There is a growing belief that converging technologies will result in most children and young people bringing their own equipment to school, or at least using it in the context of anytime, anywhere learning; the same internet device could be a tool for learning, leisure and social life. Some schools are accepting the need to reappraise their approach to mobile phones in recognition of this.

It should also be noted that internet communications have revolutionised social participation for some of those with autism and related conditions.

What are the potential and actual risks to children and young people who use the Internet and how should the Review approach defining and measuring those risks?

One of the key points to emphasise is that new opportunities create new risks. A list which appears to be definitive will need regular review and updating. The current focus on cyber-bullying and the risks of unwise disclosure on social networking sites exemplifies how quickly new issues can arise. While a list of current perceived risks will be useful, perhaps the Review could "define" a set of risk assessment questions for users of new tools and technologies.

What do a) children and young people and b) parents already know about the potential and actual risks of using the Internet?

As we said earlier, many children and young people have significant experience and expertise in the use of gaming and communication technologies. They may also be naïve, adopt safe practices or display a misplaced sense of confidence. It is important to recognise this variety rather than make over-generalised statements about children's knowledge.

Many parents have anxieties about their lack of knowledge in the area of e-safety, often underpinned by a lack of confidence about ICT generally. Some are aware of filtering and other controls, though not necessarily confident about implementing them. Naace considers that most parents would welcome and benefit from risk assessment information which described risks proportionately and also explained how impact could be reduced if things should go wrong.

What are the range of mechanisms that exist to help children, young people and parents manage the potential or actual risks of engaging with the Internet?

For most of the aspects of communication technology which give rise to e-safety concerns, there is a significant spectrum of views about the best way to manage risks. At one end, many parents, teachers and managers seek the apparent security of either banning or locking down the technology and restricting the content available. The opposite view is that children have to learn to live with these materials and tools and can only develop safe and responsible practices by having some exposure to them in a supportive as opposed to protective environment. Some look on the development of school-focussed services such as wikis and blogs, with some of the features to be found in social networking sites, but with robust access controls, as a sensible compromise. Others believe that this is a hopeless effort to ignore the tide, and that young people need to learn with and about the real tools they are likely to be using out of school.

Naace inclines to the view which values practical experience supported by adult involvement, with reasonable precautions taken to minimise risk. As we said earlier, practitioners and parents need to understand that filtering and other controls can reduce but not eliminate the risk of inappropriate online encounters, and that other strategies for fostering e-safety are needed.

At the same time, Naace recognises that large numbers of parents and practitioners in schools feel genuine anxiety about adopting this approach, whether it is through concern about harm to those for whom they are responsible, or fear of litigation following an incident in school. Effective risk reduction strategies will not succeed in a climate of fear.

What opportunities exist for children, young people and parents to learn about safe, responsible and fulfilling Internet use - and do they help?

Naace is pleased that Ofsted's Self-Evaluation Form for schools includes a reference to learners adopting "safe and responsible practices in using new technologies, including the Internet". It is important that inspectors rigorously test this element of self-evaluation in their visits to schools, and Ofsted should brief their teams accordingly, ensuring that they have sufficient knowledge of ICT to make a secure judgement.

Naace welcomes the increased emphasis on internet safety in the revised Key Stage 3 programme of study for ICT. In primary schools, there is a need for a similar renewed emphasis on e-safety, with clear guidance as to what children should be taught and in which years. PSHE (personal, social and health education) is an appropriate but not exclusive context for developing the skills and self-esteem needed to promote personal e-safety and responsibility for the well being of others.

Naace is clear that e-safety for children is a whole-community issue, and that schools and children's services have a role to play in sharing their expertise with parents and others who are concerned with the well-being of the young.

Many public service organisations and some businesses have produced a variety of guidance material for different audiences covering most aspects of e-safety; much of it is available online. Most of this material has been of an impressive standard, and has a valuable role to play in developing the knowledge and professional development of young people, parents and practitioners. Contributors include local authorities and regional broadband consortia, charities and national agencies, broadcasters and government departments.

The sheer scale and diversity of this guidance material now risk creating problems for its key audiences. For example many web pages with links to e-safety resources can appear bewilderingly long or be restricted to a seemingly random selection of what is available. There is a danger that those in need will not find their way quickly and easily to the most appropriate sources of information and advice.

It is unrealistic to think that any one website will be seen as a universal one-stop shop for e safety guidance. Different audiences will always take different routes according to habit and preference.

Naace is keen that all the major stakeholders consider whether they can agree to a common set of standards for organising, signposting and annotating links to e-safety guidance material. These standards would of course be voluntary and sufficiently flexible to cater for different target audiences. By presenting a familiar structure to readers, there would be a much greater chance of the most appropriate being used. Naace would be happy to contribute to a stakeholder meeting to investigate this proposal further.