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1 
W874 [WCAG21 2.4.1 (A)] Add a skip navigation link as the first link on the page:
If your document has structure then you should add a skip navigation link to make it easier for accessible users to get to the page's content. To ensure detection, skip navigation links should point to a <main> element, or an element with role='main'. See Understanding 2.4.1, and Skip Navigation. <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
2 P967 [WCAG21 3.1.1 (A)] Use the 'lang' attribute to denote the primary language of the document:
You should always identify the primary natural language of a document using a 'lang' attribute on the <html> element. See WCAG 2.1 HTML Technique H57. <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
3 <head>
4 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/>
5 W605 Duplicate tag found: See matching tag on line: 22
A duplicate tag has been found with the same attributes. Although this should not affect the page, it indicates that a mistake may have been made. <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
6 W605 Duplicate tag found: See matching tag on line: 23
A duplicate tag has been found with the same attributes. Although this should not affect the page, it indicates that a mistake may have been made. <meta http-equiv="Content-Script-Type" content="text/javascript" />
7 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
8 <title>
8 Staying in Touch (including safe use of the internet and Social Media) | Next Stage 4Life
8 </title>
9 <link rel='shortcut icon'
href='https://www.proceduresonline.com/resources/logos/procedures/favicon.ico' type='image/x-icon'/>
10 <link rel="apple-touch-icon"
href="https://www.proceduresonline.com/resources/logos/procedures/apple-touch-icon-57x57-precomposed.png
" />
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href="https://www.proceduresonline.com/resources/logos/procedures/apple-touch-icon-72x72-precomposed.png
" />
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href="https://www.proceduresonline.com/resources/logos/procedures/apple-touch-icon-114x114-precomposed.png
" />
13 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
href="https://www.proceduresonline.com/trix_cms_snippets/cookie/jquery.cookiebar.css" />
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22 W605 Duplicate tag found: See matching tag on line: 5
A duplicate tag has been found with the same attributes. Although this should not affect the page, it indicates that a mistake may have been made. <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
23 W605 Duplicate tag found: See matching tag on line: 6
A duplicate tag has been found with the same attributes. Although this should not affect the page, it indicates that a mistake may have been made. <meta http-equiv="Content-Script-Type" content="text/javascript" />
24 W609 The 'content-type' HTTP header specifies a character set of UTF-8, which is different to the value
given here:
The 'content-type' HTTP header specifies a different character set to that specified in the tag. In this case the HTTP header takes precedence. <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
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46 Contents
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48 </ul>
49 </div>
49 <div id="search">
50 <form action="search/search.html" id="cse-search-box" style="margin: 0px;">
51 I899 [WCAG21 1.3.2 (A)] Layout tables must represent their content in a meaningful sequence:
Screen readers can struggle to read out tables sensibly, so it is often better to use alternative mark-up and CSS to layout content. Try disabling the table mark-up to see if it still makes sense. See WCAG 2.1 Failure F49. <table width="97%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
52 <tr>
53 <td>
53 E885 [WCAG21 1.1.1/1.3.1/3.3.2/4.1.2 (A)] User interface controls should have a label or an accessible
name:
Associate form controls with <label> tags, or use the 'aria-label' or 'aria-labelledby' attributes to label controls where it might be confusing or not possible to use a label. See WCAG 2.1 Failure F68. <input type="text" name="zoom_query" class="search_input" size="20" id="zoom_searchbox" value="Search this
manual" onfocus="this.value=(this.value=='Search this manual') ? '' : this.value;"
onblur="this.value=(this.value=='') ? 'Search this manual' : this.value;" style="margin-right: 5px;" />
53 </td>
54 <td>
54 <input type="submit" value="Go"/>
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56 </table>
57 </form>
57 </div>
57 </div>
58 <div id="topper">
58 </div>
60 <div id="printReady">
61 <div id="container">
62 <div id="content_frame_overflow">
62 <div class="content_text">
63 <h1 class="h1">
63 Staying in Touch (including safe use of the internet and Social Media)
63 </h1>
64 <div class="scope_box" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 15px;">
65 <h2 class="h3">
65 REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS
65 </h2>
66 <p>
66 <a
href="http://qualitystandards.proceduresonline.com/homes/p_quality_standards.html#ch_views
" target="_blank">
66 The Children's Views, Wishes and Feelings
66 </a>
66 <br />
67 Regulation 7
68 </p>
69 <h3 class="h3">
69 RELATED CHAPTER
69 </h3>
70 <p>
70 <a href="p_contact_parents.html">
70 Contact with Parents / Carers and Siblings Procedure
70 </a>
70 </p>
71 </div>
72 <h2 class="h2_underlined">
72 <br />
73 Contents
73 </h2>
74 <ol>
75 <li>
75 <a href="#key_principles">
75 Key Principles
75 </a>
75 </li>
76 <li>
76 <a href="#placement_planning">
76 Placement Planning
76 </a>
76 </li>
77 <li>
77 <a href="#during_placement">
77 During the Placement
77 </a>
77 </li>
78 <li>
78 <a href="#confiscated">
78 Seizure and Confiscated Items
78 </a>
78 </li>
79 <li>
79 <a href="#safe_use">
79 Safe Use of the Internet and Social Media
79 </a>
79 </li>
80 <li>
80 <a href="#support">
80 Support, Training and Resources
80 </a>
80 </li>
81 </ol>
82 <h2 class="h2_underlined">
82 <br />
83 1.
83 <a name="key_principles" id="key_principles">
83 </a>
83 Key Principles
83 </h2>
84 <p>
84 It will be in the interests of the majority of looked-after children to maintain contact with
their families and friends. Staff in residential homes should support and encourage children and
young people to maintain family contacts and develop new friendships. However, any arrangements
for contact and any contact details (telephone numbers etc.) must be included in the placement
plan agreed between the Home and the child's placing authority. The placement plan should be
updated regularly.
85 </p>
86 <p>
86 Appropriate forms of contact should be promoted and facilitated for each child, including visits
to the child in the home; visits by the child to relatives and/or friends; sending and receiving
letters, emails and texts; use of social media and other forms of contact via the internet.
86 </p>
87 <p>
87 There may be circumstances where children's homes staff assess that restriction of contact is
necessary to safeguard the child. Such decisions should not be taken lightly and must be agreed
with the placing authority, where possible, except in an emergency situation, where the placing
authority must be notified within 24 hours.
87 </p>
88 <h3 class="h3">
88 Telephones
88 </h3>
89 <p>
89 Children's homes have a duty to provide access to a telephone that children can use privately.
This can include the provision of a mobile phone where appropriate and safe for the child, as
long as an alternative is in place for the child to make telephone calls in private if their
personal mobile phone is lost, out of credit or broken.
89 </p>
90 <h2 class="h2_underlined">
90 <br />
91 2.
91 <a name="placement_planning" id="placement_planning">
91 </a>
91 Placement Planning
91 </h2>
92 <h3 class="h3">
92 2.1 Planned Placements
92 </h3>
93 <p>
93 As part of the placement process, the registered person and the child's placing authority should
agree the arrangements for contact by letter, telephone / mobile, the internet and social media.
The placement plan should be updated regularly.
93 </p>
94 <p>
94 If any risks are identified, these must be addressed in the placement plan, including any
restrictions on contact considered necessary to safeguard the child and promote their welfare.
If restrictions are imposed, the arrangements should be regularly reviewed and the arrangements
changed if the risks reduce.
94 </p>
95 <h3 class="h3">
95 2.2 Emergency Placements
95 </h3>
96 <p>
96 If a Child is placed in an emergency, the Emergency Review should consider the arrangements for
contact by letter, telephone / mobile, the internet and social media.
96 </p>
97 <h2 class="h2_underlined">
97 <br />
98 3.
98 <a name="during_placement" id="during_placement">
98 </a>
98 During the Placement
98 </h2>
99 <p>
99 Children will have access to telephones (including mobiles), computers / laptops and tablets at
reasonable times, in line with what would be considered acceptable for their peers who are not
looked after. The child's Placement Plan should cover delegated authority in relation to the use
of social media.
99 </p>
100 <p>
100 At any time, if staff consider that a Child or others may be at risk from having access to
telephones, mobiles, computers/the internet or other forms of communication, they must take
steps to reduce or prevent the risk.
100 </p>
101 <p>
101 If the risk is of
101 <a href="http://trixresources.proceduresonline.com/nat_key/keywords/significant_harm.html"
target="_blank">
101 Significant Harm
101 </a>
101 (including online or
101 <a href="http://trixresources.proceduresonline.com/nat_key/keywords/cyberbullying.html"
target="_blank">
101 Cyberbullying
101 </a>
101 ), serious damage to property or of a criminal offence being committed, staff must consider
withdrawal/confiscation. Preferably, withdrawal should be by agreement with the Child; if
agreement is not forthcoming, the Home's manager should apply the same principles as set out for
searching a Child without consent, in
101 <a href="p_searching_rooms.html">
101 Searching Children/Bedrooms Procedure
101 </a>
101 .
101 </p>
102 <p>
102 If any such restrictions are imposed, the Home's Manager and child's social worker must be
notified within 24 hours and consideration must be given to whether any ongoing restrictions
should be imposed upon the Child; any arrangements for ongoing restrictions must be outlined in
the Child's Placement Plan.
102 </p>
103 <p>
103 If a child is prevented from having access to a telephone, or access is reduced, it is deemed to
be a Sanction, and must be recorded as such.
103 </p>
104 <h2 class="h2_underlined">
104 <br />
105 4.
105 <a name="confiscated" id="confiscated">
105 </a>
105 Seizure and Confiscated Items
105 </h2>
106 <p>
106 As set out above, mobiles or other devices may be seized by staff if it can be shown that the
mobile/device is being or may be used to place the Child or others (including staff) at risk of
Significant Harm, this could include from their use of internet or social networking sites and
the exchange of images/video clips (so called sexting) or posting of them on such sites e.g. as
a form or cyberbullying.
106 </p>
107 <p>
107 If items are seized, they must be passed to the Home's Manager, who must record the seizure and
come to a decision about whether to confiscate the device.
107 </p>
108 <p>
108 Confiscation is reasonable where the Home's Manager considers that the device will be used in a
manner which will place the child or others at continuing risk of Significant Harm, in order to
caused serious damage to property or if there is a suspicion that the device is not owned by the
child e.g. stolen. In such circumstances, the Home's Manager should pass the device to the
Police or keep it safely in the home.
108 </p>
109 <p>
109 If the device is owned by/the property of the child, the Home's Manager may retain it until
satisfied that it will be used reasonably i.e. in a way that does not place the child or others
at risk.
109 </p>
110 <p>
110 If retained, the Home's Manager should provide the child with a receipt.
110 </p>
111 <h2 class="h2_underlined">
111 <br />
112 5.
112 <a name="safe_use" id="safe_use">
112 </a>
112 Safe Use of the Internet and Social Media
112 </h2>
113 <p>
113 The internet is an integral part of our lives, and children in residential care need to learn
how to use the internet safely and take responsibility for their own safety. This is best
achieved by providing guidance in the home environment.
113 </p>
114 <p>
114 "
114 <span class="italic">
114 Children and young people need to be empowered to keep themselves safe – this isn't just about
a top-down approach. Children will be children – pushing boundaries and taking risks. At a
public swimming pool we have gates, put up signs, have lifeguards and shallow ends, but we
also teach children how to swim…
114 </span>
114 </p>
115 <p>
115 <span class="italic">
115 … just like in the offline world, no amount of effort to reduce potential risks to children
will eliminate those risks completely. We cannot make the Internet completely safe. Because of
this, we must also build children's resilience to the material to which they may be exposed so
that they have the confidence and skills to navigate these new media waters more safely
115 </span>
115 ".
115 </p>
116 <p>
116 (Safer Children in a Digital World - Report of the Byron Review Executive Summary, March 2008)
116 </p>
117 <p>
117 Children and young people should be supported by staff in the home to use the internet and
social media safety, including to understand that when they use digital technology they should
not give out personal information, particularly their name, address or school, mobile phone
numbers to anyone they do not know or trust. Discussions should also cover safeguard young
people must consider if they plan to meet someone face to face whom they have only previously
met on-line.
117 </p>
118 <p>
118 The development of Home Internet Rules can help in setting clear boundaries, using appropriate
language, and expectations of the child or young person while in that particular placement.
These could include:
118 </p>
119 <ul>
120 <li>
120 Time limits;
120 </li>
121 <li>
121 The type of sites or specific sites that the young person is permitted or not permitted to
use;
121 </li>
122 <li>
122 Agreement to explain or show carers what they are doing online at any time;
122 </li>
123 <li>
123 Any behaviour that is unacceptable e.g.: bullying, gossiping;
123 </li>
124 <li>
124 If the young person accesses social networking sites, agreement to share who their online
';friends' are, ensure privacy settings are appropriately set and establish the type of
activity that is acceptable;
124 </li>
125 <li>
125 The need to tell someone if inappropriate content is accessed or they are upset by anyone
while online;
125 </li>
126 <li>
126 The need to ask before carrying out certain activities e.g.: setting up an account on a games
site, joining a social networking site;
126 </li>
127 <li>
127 It is recommended that the Home Internet Rules are displayed or kept near to the device that
the child uses most frequently to access the Internet;
127 </li>
128 <li>
128 The Home Internet Rules should be reviewed and, if necessary, revised at regular intervals;
128 </li>
129 <li>
129 Carers' role in helping children and young people to learn how to use the internet safely is
extremely important and they must ask for support and/or further training if they lack
confidence in this area;
129 </li>
130 <li>
130 If carers have any concerns about children's online activities they should report it to the
child's social worker;
130 </li>
131 <li>
131 Computers with internet access should be located in a publicly accessible areas;
131 </li>
132 <li>
132 Carers and social workers need to be aware that most social networking sites impose age limits
on their membership. Facebook, for example, currently denies membership to anyone under 13
years old. YouTube states that their site is not intended for under 13 year olds to view and
that members must be over 18 or have parental/guardian consent to add content to the site. It
is therefore inappropriate for children under 13 years old to use social networking sites;
132 </li>
133 <li>
133 Young people who wish to post images of themselves on websites must be made aware of the risks
involved. In some cases it may not be safe for children to post images on social networking
sites such as Facebook or Twitter. This must be assessed by the child's social worker on an
individual basis;
133 </li>
134 </ul>
135 <p>
135 Furthermore, young people should be warned about the risks of taking sexually explicit pictures
of themselves and sharing them on the internet or by text. It is essential, therefore, that
young people understand the legal implications and the risks they are taking. The initial risk
posed by sexting may come from peers, friends and others in their social network who may share
the images. Once an image has been sent, it is then out of your control. It could be shared with
others or posted elsewhere online. The Criminal Justice and Courts Act (2015) introduced the
offence of Revenge Porn where intimate images are shared with the intent to cause distress to
the specific victim.
135 </p>
136 <p>
136 Social networking sites are often used by perpetrators as an easy way to access children and
young people for sexual abuse. The
136 <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/9/section/67/enacted" target="_blank">
136 Serious Crime Act (2015)
136 </a>
136 has introduced an offence of sexual communication with a child. This applies to an adult who
communicates with a child and the communication is sexual or if it is intended to elicit from
the child a communication which is sexual and the adult reasonably believes the child to be
under 16 years of age. The Act also amended the Sex Offences Act 2003 so it is now an offence
for an adult to arrange to meet with someone under 16 having communicated with them on just one
occasion (previously it was on at least two occasions).
136 </p>
137 <p>
137 In addition radical and extremist groups may use social networking to attract children and young
people into rigid and narrow ideologies that are intolerant of diversity: this is similar to the
grooming process and exploits the same vulnerabilities. The groups concerned include those
linked to extreme Islamist, or Far Right/Neo Nazi ideologies, Irish Republican and Loyalist
paramilitary groups, extremist Animal Rights groups and others who justify political, religious,
sexist or racist violence.
137 </p>
138 <p>
138 Children may be drawn to adopt a radical ideology through a failure to appreciate the bias in
extremist material; in addition by repeated viewing of extreme content they may come to view it
as normal.
138 </p>
139 <h2 class="h2_underlined">
139 <br />
140 6.
140 <a name="support" id="support">
140 </a>
140 Support, Training and Resources
140 </h2>
141 <p>
141 There are a wide range of organisations, which offer advice, support and information on internet
safety issues. Below is a short list of some of these resources.
141 </p>
142 <p>
142 Web sites:
142 </p>
143 <ul>
144 <li>
144 CEOP - This is the web site of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP),
which delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the exploitation of children. It
provides advice to parents, carers and children on Internet safety, an online reporting
facility (Click CEOP) and the Thinkuknow web site (see below);
144 </li>
145 <li>
145 Thinkuknow - These resources help young people, parents and carers and teachers to learn about
the risks that young people may encounter whilst using the Internet. Developed by the Child
Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) the Thinkuknow web site also includes a
facility for young people to report online abuse;
145 </li>
146 <li>
146 Childnet International - This web site provides a range of resources to help children and
young people to use the internet constructively and to protect children from being exploited
in the online environments provided by new technologies.
146 </li>
147 </ul>
149 <p>
149 <br />
150 <br />
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158 I899 [WCAG21 1.3.2 (A)] Layout tables must represent their content in a meaningful sequence:
Screen readers can struggle to read out tables sensibly, so it is often better to use alternative mark-up and CSS to layout content. Try disabling the table mark-up to see if it still makes sense. See WCAG 2.1 Failure F49. <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
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When using mouse/pointer event handlers on elements that can be accessed by keyboard, ensure that you provide an equivalent keyboard handler. See WCAG 2.1 Failure F54. <input name="printMe" type="image" onclick="printSpecial()" value="Print this Page"
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