Last Updated on 4th November 2025
Your Monthly Newsletter
🤗 Welcome to our October Round Up! 👋
Welcome to your first Digital Round Up! Here we’ll update you on the latest online safeguarding news, tips and resources available to you. As everyone settles back into routine after half-term, let’s make sure our focus remains sharp on protecting the young people in our care from digital risks and challenges. This edition features our major new PSNI partnership to strengthen online safety, a thrilling article on the Horror genre, alongside key advice for World Mental Health Day. Find all the information you need inside to help ensure a safe and positive digital environment.
👮PSNI Partnership Announcement 🤝
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and INEQE Safeguarding Group have launched a key strategic partnership to directly address the increasing number of online s3xual offences impacting young people.
This initiative is focused on empowering frontline PSNI officers with the knowledge and tools they need to better protect children from digital harm. Officers are receiving expert training and access to specialised resources on issues like gr0oming, $extortion, and image sharing through the Safer Schools NI Teach Hub.
“We can’t expect our children and young people to navigate the digital world alone.This partnership will help officers feel confident and equipped to talk to them about the risks they face online—in a way that is age-appropriate, empathetic and impactful.”
– Jim Gamble,
QPM, CEO of INEQE
🧛 Spooky Scareable 😧
“Horror” isn’t just for the movie theatres anymore; it can be accessed on many platforms today, including video games and social media. Make sure the young people in your care are protected and supported by checking out our article, ‘Handle with Scare’ available to you within the Online Safety News section of your app. Learn how to spot the signs that the children in your care are in need of your support and facilitate necessary conversations around fear and safe viewing.
🕵️ Decoding 6-7 🤷
Kids across the country have been repeating “Six Seven” for months now, it’s even been named Dictionary.com’s 2025 Word of the Year! But what’s it all about?
Check out our ‘Decoding Digital’ resource: a current, user-friendly online dictionary that explains digital language, acronyms, and emojis. Stay informed and help keep the children and young people in your care safer.
Test your knowledge on other online terminology, acronyms and emojis too!
💚 World Mental Health Day 💚
Check out our recent article, The Digital Illusion: Addressing Loneliness in a Screen-First World to see how you can detect and address this issue with a child in your care. Available to you under Online Safety News in your app.
The 10th October was World Mental Health Day, but the need for support and awareness doesn’t stop there.
A recent study found that 2 in 5 (40%) people had experienced mental ill health in Northern Ireland. (HSC NI)
Find out what you can do: through your app, you have access to an abundance of resources to help you navigate how to understand and support young people who struggle with poor mental health. Read through the Online Safety Guidance section to learn specifics on topics such as eating disorders, self-harm and peer support under Health & Wellbeing.
📰 Latest News Stories 🗞️
🔒 ‘Stricter regulations’ needed when signing up online, Stormont told – Young people in Northern Ireland have urged Stormont to implement stricter online sign-up regulations to prevent abusers and bullies from easily creating fake, anonymous accounts that facilitate grooming and exposure to inappropriate content.
⚖️ Abuser first person jailed under Online Safety Act – A vile online groomer was sentenced to 20 years in prison after becoming the first person in the UK to be convicted and jailed under the new Online Safety Act for the specific crime of encouraging a child to self-harm.
🛍️ Scammers using AI to lure shoppers to fake businesses – Scammers are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to quickly create highly convincing, identical fake shopping websites and deepfake promotions that effectively lure shoppers and steal personal or financial data on an unprecedented scale.
🔞 ChatGPT will soon allow erotica for verified adults, says OpenAI boss – The announcement broke that the company will soon allow ChatGPT to generate erotica for age-verified adult users, fulfilling the principle of “treat adult users like adults” after implementing new safety tools
