Last Updated on 1st June 2026
Welcome Back to Your May Newsletter!
Educate – Empower – Protect
Thank you for tuning in to this month’s update. We’ve packed this edition with critical safeguarding alerts, contemporary updates, and essential resources designed to keep your school community safe, informed, and proactive.
In addition to this month’s trending insights, we want to help you get the absolute most out of your digital toolkit. Keep reading to ensure you’re in the know about all things online safety from May!
News and Alerts ℹ️
Key updates and alerts as seen on your app’s news
Squishy Toy Dangerous Trend
We released a safeguarding alert on a dangerous online trend which encouraged children to microwave squishy toys to make them more pliable. The danger is that the outside stays cool, but the inside reaches boiling temperatures – and when squeezed, the toy bursts and sprays scalding gel. Children in the UK and US have already suffered severe burns, including a 10-year-old in Bristol left with facial injuries. Our alert explains the risks and how to talk to children about it. Read and share below.
Ofcom: “Still Not Safe Enough”
Ofcom’s latest Children’s Online Experiences report paints a stark picture of growing up in the online world in 2026. Smartphone ownership jumps from 56% at age 10 to 83% at age 11, making the move to secondary school the biggest tipping point in a child’s online life. One in ten children now use AI as a friend and nearly three quarters have seen harmful content online.
Read our breakdown of this guidance in your app under Online Safety News.
Poppy Playtime
Poppy Playtime is a horror game franchise rated PEGI 16, yet its characters (Huggy Wuggy, CatNap, DogDay and the Smiling Critters) are reaching children as young as preschool through toys, school book fairs and platforms like Roblox, YouTube and TikTok. Later chapters include body horror, gore and disturbing themes that can frighten young children, and fan communities create grooming risks. You can read our article which explains the risks, warning signs and provides tips on how to start a calm conversation.
✨Read more within your Online Safety News section of the App.✨
Technical Support 👩🏼💻
Updates and tips from our Support Centre.
Safer Schools Web App
Did you know you can access Safer Schools without picking up your phone?
While our platform is available on the app stores, your entire school community can also access our full suite of safeguarding tools directly from any desktop, laptop, or tablet web browser.
Why use the Web App?
Training 🗓️
Your pathway to continuous professional development
Artificial Intelligence in Education: Understanding Risks and Opportunities
We have one final training webinar before the summer holidays taking place on Tuesday 16th June at 15:45 on AI in Education, which is free to access for all our Safer Schools teachers, safeguarding leads and school staff.
Join our CPD-certified session to understand what AI is and how it can be used for teaching staff to support time efficiency and planning. You’ll better understand how children today use AI and the safeguarding, ethical and data protection considerations too.
This is especially timely for teachers in Northern Ireland following Education Minister Paul Givan’s recent announcement of a £10.7 million investment to roll out generative AI tools, training and guidance across all schools.
Resource Highlight ✨
The ready-to-use, relevant resource you need
All About Sextortion: A Collection of Resources and Guidance
With the summer holidays approaching, children and young people will be spending more time online and with that comes a heightened risk of sextortion. This form of exploitation can affect anyone, but young people are particularly vulnerable when they’re away from the everyday safeguards of school and community. We’ve pulled together a collection of resources and guidance explaining what sextortion is, how it happens, the warning signs to look out for, and where to turn for help and support.
Access a wealth of online safety teaching resources on our Teach Hub and don’t forget to share the license key with the rest of your team: EDU-SAF-SCH-TH
Community News and Updates 📢
Empowering Parents in the Digital Age – St Colman’s College, Newry
The Safer Schools team were delighted to attend the recent parents’ evening at St Colman’s College, Newry.
Alongside Joanne McGovern and Rosalind McClean, we had the privilege of engaging with a great turnout of parents and carers. It was incredibly encouraging to see families dedicate their evening to such a vital conversation around young people, technology, online safety, and modern family life.
Thank you to the school leadership and everyone who joined us for making the event such a success!
Digital Proficiency Course News
In the last four months, over 23,000 people have participated in the Safer Schools Digital Proficiency Course! We are delighted that so many people have taken part in our course and been so proactive in accessing online safety education.
Have you and your school community got onboard? The course and test are free to access within your Safer Schools app on both web and mobile devices. Encourage some friendly competition and see which class or which family member scores best on topics like VPNs, misinformation and artificial intelligence.
“In an increasingly complex digital world, knowledge and awareness are our strongest tools to safeguard young people.
If your school hasn’t yet signed up [to the Digital Proficiency Course], I strongly encourage you to explore it”
Head of ICT – Primary School
Feature Spotlight 🔦
Unlock your app’s full potential
Online Safety Guidance
Don’t miss out on the Online Safety Guidance section of your app. Here you’ll find courses split into relevant sections, e.g. Hot Topics, Harmful Content, Gaming and Artificial Intelligence. By accessing these mini modules, you’ll be able to inform yourself on the key dangers and risks associated with these online safety areas, as well as available support methods. Take some time to read through them and take the digital test at the end to prove your knowledge!
“The Safer Schools app has removed much of the pressure by providing high-quality, relevant information in a clear and accessible format. The content is practical, current, and presented in manageable, bite-sized sections, which makes it much easier to integrate into a busy school timetable.”
– Digital Learning Teacher – Secondary School
Media News 🗞️
Safeguarding and Online Safety News
💷 Porn company fined £600,000 by Ofcom over age check failings – Ofcom has fined adult site operator Youngtek Solutions Ltd £600,000 for failing to introduce proper age verification checks under the Online Safety Act between July and September 2025.
🛑 UK Social Media Ban – The UK government is expected to stop short of an Australia-style blanket social media ban for under-16s, instead reportedly planning to outlaw addictive features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay and location sharing. Keir Starmer is set to announce the proposals in the coming weeks following a consultation that drew more than 81,000 responses.
🚸 TikTok and YouTube ‘not safe enough’ for kids, says Ofcom – Ofcom has criticised TikTok and YouTube for content feeds that are “not safe enough” for children, after both platforms refused to commit to significant changes while Meta, Snapchat and Roblox have agreed to stronger anti-grooming measures.
🎒 ‘I didn’t know how to put my phone down, now I do’ – A Hull secondary school says lockable phone pouches have made a “phenomenal difference” six months after introducing a phone-free policy, with students reporting better socialising, fewer classroom distractions and improved focus on learning.
License, Links and Logins 🔑
All the information you need to access the world of Safer Schools NI at your fingertips!
Did you know…
“Seven in ten (70%) children aged 11-17 had seen or heard some form of content harmful to children”
Source: Ofcom 2025
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