Free online learning sessions available to professionals across Leeds
A series of free virtual learning sessions exploring online safety are available to professionals across Leeds as part of an ongoing NSPCC-led campaign.
The campaign is run in collaboration with Child Friendly Leeds, Kooth, the Hamara Centre, West Yorkshire Police and the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership, and the Listen & Learn sessions began this month.
Sharing details about services which can help professionals who work with children across the city become more confident dealing with online safety is the aim of the sessions, which started this month.
So far, NSPCC Senior Consultant Derek Johnstone has delivered a session looking at some of the risks to children from the online world, including grooming and viewing harmful content, while representatives from the charity’s Childline service will lead a session on Tuesday, April 22 sharing information about the resources available to children and young people.
On Tuesday, May 13, psychologist and psychotherapist Dr Charlotte Armitage will look at the impact of online devices on children’s health and wellbeing. In cooperation with BeDevicewise, Dr Armitage will also look at how the overuse of devices can contribute to a variety of problems in young people.
A session on Thursday, May 22, will see Colette Oxtoby from charity Ygam help local professionals increase their digital awareness and curiosity to understand gaming and gambling-related harms.
On Tuesday, June 3, Rhiannon-Faye McDonald from the Marie Collins Foundation will look at how technology has made children more vulnerable to abusers and what can be done to change the system and help protect children, and on Wednesday, June 11, representatives from the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit will discuss their work within the Cyber Prevent Team, discouraging young people from engaging in cyber crime and raising awareness of online safety.
Emma Hobson, NSPCC Local Campaigns Officer for the region, said: “It’s fantastic to be working with so many wonderful organisations and sharing such vital safeguarding information as part of this online safety campaign.
“Through these Listen & Learn sessions, we are looking forward to showcasing these resources to professionals and the community, and they’re a great way to help everyone across Leeds to find out more about some of the issues facing young people across the city.”
To find out more or to book a place on any of the Listen & Learn sessions, email [email protected]