Charities' tips to keep deaf young people safe online

We've joined forces with Childnet International to create new resources for deaf young people to stay safe online, ahead of Safer Internet Day tomorrow. 

Deaf children can miss out on informal learning, such as playground talk about internet and social media use, and often have lower literacy levels than other children their age. This means that they might need extra help to use the internet safely, especially as information on privacy and safety features can be difficult to understand.

Our Chief Executive Susan Daniels said: “Deaf children and young people are particularly vulnerable to bullying both on and offline. It is really important to everyone at the National Deaf Children’s Society that young people receive the right information and advice at school, and we hope these new tools we've created will help them to stay safe and be smart online.”

For the first time, we've created lesson plans for secondary school teachers on subjects like safe social networking, cyberbullying and sexting. We also have a webpage for parents with tips on what they can do to keep their child safe online, and a flyer aimed specifically at deaf young people.

Safer Internet Day 2016 will take place on 9 February with the theme 'Play your part for a better internet!'  Hundreds of organisations get involved and use the day to promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.