DE - Delivery of a Mobile Application to Provide Advice and Guidance to Keep Children Safe Online

The contract will provide an app which will meet the core principles and guidelines outlined in the Online Safety Strategy for NI 2020-25 through the provision of timely and evidenced based support for children, parents, carers and school staff including members of the safeguarding team. By incorporating parents/carers and school staff the aim is to give them the knowledge and tools needed to support children to stay safe online. The app is envisaged to be a digital library of safeguarding resources created for local school communities. It is about keeping children and young people safe online. Inside the app, there will be digital safeguarding information, practical advice and guidance, researched and written by online safeguarding experts. It should be interactive, with engaging content which is easy-to-access, simple to understand and intuitive to use, providing age-appropriate, credible, and relevant content and resources for the entire school community. A customised version of the app will be available for the school community. This will include resources and lessons for teachers, parents and carers and access to training for school staff and pupils. For pupils, there will be access to practical advice and tips to stay safe online. It will include guidance on creating strong passwords on devices and setting the best privacy settings on social media and gaming platforms. Young people can get advice about healthy relationships and trusted adults. The app can also provide advice on issues such as bullying, mental health or losing control of an image you have shared. The app will help parents and carers in the digital world that children and young people occupy through giving the tools needed to better protect them. All app users can stay up to date with all the latest safeguarding news and access the latest articles on relevant topics and trends in the online world. Parents and staff will also be sent the latest in safeguarding updates and alerts. Push notifications will ensure notifications go straight to the users phone to make sure they never miss what they need to know. There will be downloadable resources, designed to educate and facilitate conversations on on-line safety topics.