This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Education Safeguarding Professional, Zarine Power for the attention of all schools.
Online Safety
Ofcom has published the final version of its Protection of Children Codes and Guidance which will apply to providers of online services and platforms likely to be used by UK children. The child safety measures, designed to help protect children and young people from harmful content online, will require relevant providers of online services to complete and record children’s risk assessments by 24 July 2025. From 25 July 2025, they should apply the safety measures set out in Ofcom’s Codes to mitigate these risks. The safety measures include: safer feeds, with algorithms configured to filter out harmful content from children; effective age checks; and all sites and apps must have processes in place to review, assess and quickly tackle harmful content when they become aware of it. If companies fail to comply with their duties under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom has the power to impose fines and in serious cases, can apply for a court order to prevent the site or app from being available in the UK. There are five volumes setting out Ofcom’s decisions, together with a number of regulatory documents and guidance.
Read the news story: New rules for a safer generation of children online
Access the publications: Statement: protecting children from harms online