Schools face transport disruption due to Unite union strike

  • The Education Authority (EA) warns that planned strike action from Monday will cause disruption to school buses, meals, and staffing.
  • School transport, school meals and youth services would face disruption as a result.
  • The EA has asked parents to consider “alternative arrangements” to get children to school and provide them with lunch.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.

Online Safety Bill introduced into Parliament

  • The Online Safety Bill has been introduced into Parliament – which marks a milestone in protecting children from ‘legal but harmful’ content online.
  • Social media companies, search engines and other apps/websites will be required to protect children, tackle illegal activity, and uphold stated terms and conditions.
  • Additional aspects of the bill announced include criminalising cyber-flashing, tackling online scams, and requiring sites hosting pornography to verify users’ ages.
  • You can read the full story on the GOV.UK’s website.

Instagram adds parental controls for the first time

  • Instagram will start adding parental controls for the first time, globally in the coming months on a per-account basis.
  • Parents will be able to see how much time children spend on Instagram, set limits, view followers and who their children follow, and will be notified when children report inappropriate behaviour.
  • You can read the full story on Mint’s website.

Far right ‘mimicking video games to lure middle class children to terrorism’

  • Children from middle class backgrounds are being lured into extreme right-wing terrorism with online content based on violent games.
  • According to Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer, 19 out of 20 children aged under 18 arrested for terrorism offences last year were linked to an extreme right-wing ideology.
  • Most counter-terrorism activity in the UK is tackling the threat of Islamist-inspired violence but the extreme right threat is growing.
  • You can read the full story on the Guardian’s website.

One in four children in NI ‘living in poverty’

  • The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) reports that poorer children would live for 15 fewer years in ‘good health’ than children from richer backgrounds.
  • JRF said overall poverty in NI is the lowest of any country within the UK.
  • They warned rising prices and living costs make the future more worrying.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.