The UKSIC Definitions on ‘Appropriate Monitoring’ Have Changed.
In May 2021 the UK Safer Internet changed its definitions of ‘appropriate monitoring’. It confirmed, what we at Smoothwall have known for some considerable time, that there is, alive and kicking, in every school in the UK, and around the world for that matter, an Iceberg Effect.
There are risks to child wellbeing, health, and safety that can be spotted by DSLs, teachers, and staff with eyes and ears. These are ‘above the line’ risks.
But there are very many more risks ‘below the line’ that reside in the often private digital world that consumes many of our children today and to which adults have no visibility.
What a child says, does, shares or expresses in his/her digital world, in chatrooms, instant messaging, social forums, and more can, and do, provide vital clues when something is wrong.
And unless a school has some form of digital monitoring in place to pick up on these clues and alert them to the risks, they won’t be seen. Or they’ll be seen too late.
The UKSIC has now recognised this risk and placed more emphasis on digital monitoring than ever before.