Husband, Dad and Leader. Trying to live life to make a difference. Head of #OurSaferSchools & #SaferSchoolsNI at @ineqegroup All views expressed are my own.
@Parkhall_IC was another of today’s certified safer schools recipients! Some inspiring words too from Ann McLoughlin, one of their inspiring staff leading the Digital Proficiency Course!
#digitalproficiency#saferschoolsni
Our forth stop of the day was to St Patrick’s Academy, Lisburn!
Their efforts towards the Digital Proficiency Course doesn’t go unnoticed 👏
Their display board just goes to show what you can do with the Safer Schools resources 🤩
@Education_NI@Ed_Authority
Our next stop was to Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Belfast.
Congratulations on your Digital Proficiency Certification 🌟
@Education_NI@Ed_Authority
Our third visit today was to Holy Trinity Primary School, Belfast .
What an amazing job this school has done to achieve their Digital Proficiency Certification, congratulations 🎉
It was also great to meet their e-safety mascot eSafetysaurus 🦖
@Education_NI@Ed_Authority
'I don't think it's practical, I don't think it works'
Child safety expert Jim Gamble spoke to #BBCBreakfast about plans to ban under 16s from some social media platforms from Spring 2027
https://t.co/GHwlALNEbt
The facts matter. In Northern Ireland, more young people are diverted from the criminal justice system than are prosecuted. In 2024/25, 1,084 cases were dealt with through Youth Engagement, and 826 via no further action compared with 674 assessed for prosecution. A system built around diversion is not a system designed to criminalise children. These figures relate up to 10 - 17 years of age.
Whilst the age remains 10 in NI (in line with England and Wales), the fact is the criminal justice system here opts to divert children from the CJS into early intervention non crime pathways. The current proposal wasn’t well thought out, evidenced or considered in the widest sense. It simply moved one cliff edge, 10 to 14. It demonstrated a lack of consistency as it also sought to exempt certain serious crimes. That undermines the principle of responding on the basis of the child’s capacity and understanding, rather than the crime type. It lacked any safety net provisions. Pushing it through rather than pausing, reflecting and building a better structured approach to children between 10 and 14 and 14, onwards made no sense. This now presents an opportunity to rethink and revise the age via a mature Youth Justice Bill. Short-cuts produce bad law.
Is your news feed becoming a "blues" feed? 📱 It’s time to take back control of the scroll. Distressing headlines can weigh heavy on young minds and our own, too.
Knowing when to lean in and when to log off is a vital digital skill.
Our latest Teach Hub poster offers practical tips to help you and the young people in your care find balance in a busy world. 🌍
Log into the Teach Hub to access this resource to share with your school community today.
#OnlineSafety #Wellbeing #ControlTheScroll #SaferSchools
As today’s launch of the Northern Ireland Curriculum comes to a close, Alistair Hamill, Lurgan College, Matthew Best, Greenisland Primary School, Karen Irwin Ballyclare Primary School and Noeleen Tiffney, St Catherine’s College are reflecting on what the new curriculum will mean for pupils and practitioners.
To have your say on the new currriculum, visit: https://t.co/Iy6t2RfmZo
#TransformED
We are beginning to welcome over 400 school leaders, educationalists and academics to officially launch the new Northern Ireland curriculum consultation today.
Stay tuned as we’ll be sharing live takeaways throughout the afternoon.
#TransformED
Is a blanket social media ban for under-16s actually the right move? 🚫📱
Our CEO, Jim Gamble, founding chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, joined BBC Breakfast to discuss the government’s plans to introduce a ban by next spring.
While the intentions are good, the reality is much more complex. As Jim highlights, a total ban risks doing more harm than good.
"We are great at the rhetoric, but not great at the reality. Harms exist, but so do opportunities." - Jim Gamble
Watch the full clip below to hear Jim break down why we need nuanced, workable solutions rather than blanket bans.
👇 Watch the interview here 👇
Is a blanket social media ban for under-16s actually the right move? 🚫📱
Our CEO, Jim Gamble, founding chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, joined BBC Breakfast to discuss the government’s plans to introduce a ban by next spring.
While the intentions are good, the reality is much more complex. As Jim highlights, a total ban risks doing more harm than good.
"We are great at the rhetoric, but not great at the reality. Harms exist, but so do opportunities." - Jim Gamble
Watch the full clip below to hear Jim break down why we need nuanced, workable solutions rather than blanket bans.
👇 Watch the interview here 👇
Online harms have offline roots. Invest in Children and adolescent mental health provision, invest in policing and education and ban advertising on social media platforms that don’t keep people safe. #SocialMediaBan