Students learn to be cybersafe on Safer Internet Day

Education Minister Grace Grace today welcomed improved cybersafety for Queensland state school students by taking part in a Staying Safe Online Skype session at Albany Creek State School. 

“To mark international Safer Internet Day the school’s Year 6 students learnt the latest cybersafety tips from a Kids Helpline counsellor in an online interactive chat,” Ms Grace said. 

“With Queensland leading the national push to improve cybersafety and tackle cyberbullying, it’s appropriate students use the online platform to learn about the medium. 

“It was wonderful to participate with the students this morning and see first-hand how the Skype session went,” Minister Grace said. 

The Palaszczuk Government has approved new measures to tackle bullying and cyberbullying ahead of the issue being on the agenda at COAG this week. 

Premier Anastacia Palaszczuk has committed to establishing a Queensland Anti-Bullying Taskforce to develop a new anti-bullying framework, as well as a public awareness campaign coinciding with the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence on 16 March. 

The State Government has also offered an injection of $60,000 to yourtown, which runs Kids Helpline and Parentline. 

Ms Grace said as part of the increased focus on cybersafety and anti-bullying, a cybersafety and reputation management kit would be updated and released to all principals and teachers in Queensland. 

“There will be increased promotion of our Cyber Heroes in primary schools and secondary school students will be given more information on how to clean up their digital footprint,” Ms Grace said. 

“The Education Department’s Cybersafety and Reputation Management team is also available to assist schools to tackle cyberbullying and implement measures to ensure students stay safe online. 

“The team supports schools to respond to instances of inappropriate online behaviours by investigating the incidents in the same way as face-to-face bullying. During 2017, the team resolved more than 300 cybersafety or reputation management related incidents. 

“They also actively seek to shut down social media pages or sites that contain inappropriate, offensive or threatening content involving state school students or staff, with the team successfully removing or altering over 350 pages within the last four years.” 

Team members began visiting schools five years ago and have presented more than 900 cybersafety sessions to more than 120,000 students. 

The visits will continue this year, with sessions in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Bundaberg, Gympie, Toowoomba, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. 

Ms Grace said the Department of Education also protects students from inappropriate websites through the use of special filtering software, which is managed centrally. 

“Our schools also closely monitor students' use of computers to ensure they are not accessing inappropriate sites,” she said. 

Cybersafety resources are available through the Department of Education website at https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/health/cybersafety/pages/cybersafety-qss. Additional resources are available on the Stay Smart Online website, www.staysmartonline.gov.au. 

For more information about Safer Internet Day, visit https://www.esafety.gov.au/saferinternetday. 

This year Safer Internet Day’s theme is ‘Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with you’ and promotes a range of activities to support the safe and positive use of technology. 

Media enquiries: Tania Reeves 0418 700419