10 June 2010
Beatbullying welcomes the government’s decision to conduct an independent review of child protection and social work in England led by Dr Eileen Munro. Charlotte Aynsley, Beatbullying’s Director of Practice and Head of Safeguarding said that 'all too often agencies and local authorities were bogged down with bureaucracy when it came to safeguarding and hopefully this will free them up to do their jobs'.
However, Charlotte also said that she would be 'very concerned if this left online safety out in the cold' and left everybody prioritising responsive and targeted safeguarding and not considering the overall safety of children in the online environment; after all, the online environment is the "21st century playground". 'We have made great strides in protecting children in the online world and I would not like to see this go to waste. We run the risk of millions of children not having the necessary safeguards and protections they need in the online world. Our research shows that nearly one in three 11-16 year olds have been the subject of online bullying, therefore it's absolutely crucial that children’s online safety remains a key agenda both nationally and locally'.
Beatbullying will be continuing to work very hard to ensure that the profile of children's online safety remains of paramount importance.