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Hector's World! - UK's dedicated centre for
tackling the sexual abuse of children launches new online safety
programme for 5-7 year olds
CHILD EXPLOITATION
AND ONLINE PROTECTION CENTRE News Release issued by The Government
News Network on 8 May 2008
Children as young
as five years old are the focus of a new online safety programme
being launched today, Thursday 8th May 2008, by the Child
Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.
OFCOM research indicates that 59% of 5-7 year olds access the
internet at home and that 21% do so unsupervised. Now building on
the success of the organisation's Thinkuknow education
initiative, which has already reached over 1.7 million children
and young people between the ages of 8-16 years, the UK's
Centre for tackling the sexual abuse of children is now reaching
out to parents of much younger children with vital 'safety
first' advice.
Hector's WorldTM comprises five state-of-the-art, animated
episodes. It takes children on a journey with Hector and his
friends as they explore issues such as personal information,
trustworthiness, making positive choices online and how to be open
with a trusted adult when they use the internet.
The animation has been adapted for a young UK audience following
successful running of the programme in New Zealand and is backed
up by a series of free resources available to parents and teachers
via the dedicated CEOP education website - thinkuknow.co.uk. All
materials have been developed in consultation with Becta and with teachers.
Jim Gamble is Chief Executive of the CEOP Centre and holds the
ACPO lead for child protection in the UK:
"We know that children are now using the internet at an
increasingly young age. Recent research, coupled with feedback
from our own youth panel and our work with parents, show that
children are exploring the online world from as young as five
years old.
"Teachers have asked us for this material because it is
never too early to start giving children 'safety first'
messages: in the same way that we teach small children to cross
the road safely, there is a need to ensure that young children
learn good habits for a future life online. If we give them early
lessons in a way that is engaging, relevant and fun, we can help
to safeguard young children online not only now but well into the future.
"We are delighted that working in partnership with New
Zealand's internet safety group, NetSafe, has enabled us to
bring the inspirational and engaging characters from Hector's
WorldTM to UK children. We hope that every primary school in the
UK will open its doors to Hector's World for the benefit of
all 5-7 year old students."
Liz Butterfield is Managing Director of Hectors WorldTM - a
charitable subsidiary of NetSafe:
"Learning how to protect your personal information online is
a fundamental skill for children today, especially considering the
downward trend in the age children first access the internet.
Hectors World offers the 'building blocks' of the skills
and values children will need online".
Niel McLean, Executive Director of Institutional Workforce and
Development at Becta, the government's education technology
agency said:
"We face a careful balancing act when it comes to young
people online - no matter what their age. We should definitely
encourage their enthusiasm to embrace the opportunities the
internet offers but we must also ensure that they explore and
develop their skills in a safe way.
"CEOP's Hector's World programme is a welcome
addition to the support and guidance surrounding e-safety that is
currently available to parents, carers and teachers. It's
vital that the work to educate children about the benefits of
technology continues with innovative and engaging schemes such as this."
Notes to Editors
1. Hector's World is available at http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/hectorsworld
<http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/hectorsworld>
2. The CEOP Centre is the UK's dedicated policing
organisation focused on tackling the sexual abuse of children. It
delivers a totally holistic approach combining as it does
specialists from across UK and international police forces as well
as the wider child protection community such as the NSPCC and
industry such as Microsoft, SERCO, VISA, Ford, Vodafone, PayPal
and Lexis Nexis.
3. Over the last year, CEOP has removed 131 children from sexual
abuse, arrested 297 suspected child sex offenders, and processed
around 1 million images of child sexual abuse. Since its launch in
2006, CEOP's ThinkUKnow education programme has reached 1.7
million children and young people between the ages of 8 and 16
years across all parts of the UK. (for further information see http://www.ceop.gov.uk/downloads/documents/ceopannualreview2008.pdf
http://www.ceop.gov.uk/downloads/documents/ceopannualreview2008.pdf
4. About Becta: Becta leads the national drive to improve
learning through technology. We do this by working with industry
to ensure we have the right technology for education in place. We
also support the education sector to make the best use of
technology so that every learner in the UK is able to benefit from
its advantages and achieves the best they can.
5. CHILD ABUSE IMAGES, NOT 'CHILD PORNOGRAPHY'
Use of the phrase 'child pornography' actually benefits
child sex abusers:
a. It indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the
victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser
b. It conjures up images of children posing in
'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse
Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has
been abused. This is not pornography.