Warwickshire News Mine

Warwickshire County Council is giving the opportunity for all parents of 80,000 school age children a free e-safety product for in-home use which protects PCs from the many dangers of the internet such as cyberbullying and chat room predators.

CyberSentinel, made by Forensic Software Limited and already used in over 1,500 UK schools, will made be available to download free for parents by the county council to help protect and enable children to thrive online, at school and in the home.

The new software is being officially launched in Warwickshire by Professor Tanya Byron, leading clinical psychologist who has presented BBC series including Little Angels and The House of Tiny Tearaways.

Professor Byron has presented the Government with an independent review of the risks to children from exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games. She has since worked to develop a cross-Government action plan setting out how the recommendations of the Byron Review will be implemented.

Professor Byron said that many schools are already helping children to remain safe online, and it will be “immensely reassuring” to parents that they can now benefit at home from software packages such as CyberSentinel.

She added: “Parents may be tempted to prohibit the internet use of their children, but this is not the answer and may be counter-productive by causing family arguments and underhand behaviour. Using an effective internet safety package like this, combined with open discussions on e-safety will help maximise children’s online freedom within safe boundaries.”

CyberSentinel recognises and monitors keywords that signal danger, providing extra protection for instant messaging, chat rooms, social networks and other sites. It is the first time a product has offered protection spanning subjects such as cyberbullying, gambling, suicide, self-harm and grooming

Parents can control the software remotely from any computer, specify their own settings and see what their children are doing online. It blocks inappropriate internet sites, checks outgoing and incoming information and detects any problem immediately.

The county council’s ICT Development Service has two key targets for 2009 - one is to raise standards in encouraging internet usage, and the second is to safeguard children online.

The company’s e-Safety product Policy Central Enterprise (PCE) is already used in 250 county schools.

John Parmiter, Warwickshire County Council’s Head of ICT Development, said: “We already have stringent e-safety protection in our schools and this software is an extension of that. This product will allow children in Warwickshire to enjoy exploring the internet safely while giving parents that all-important peace of mind.

“This is just part of our package of the safeguarding measures we take to ensure that children and young people are safe and secure whether at home, at school or at play.”

According to recent research carried out by CyberSentinel, 76 per cent of parents admit regularly leaving their children – some as young as five-years-old – alone to surf the internet. More than 51 per cent of parents are worried about their child using unsuitable websites.

Link to WCC