Concerned about something you have seen or heard on schoolsportsaction.tv? If so, email safety@schoolsportsaction.tv right away or contact us using our online form.
School Sports Action TV Ltd is dedicated to the proposition that persons of all ages have the right to enjoy the benefits of the Internet without fear of deception or harassment or abuse of any kind. Furthermore, we actively support the right of all young people, whatever their age, culture, ability, gender, language, racial origin, religious belief or sexual identity, to protection from abuse. To this end School Sports Action TV Ltd follows the National School Sport Strategy Protocol for Safeguarding Children. All School Sports Action TV content and online activity is reviewed and moderated with this in mind. Content and activity which is not supportive of these rights, responsibilities and protocols will be removed.
1. Things We Do to Protect Users
Controlled Access: The content of schoolsportsaction.tv is only available to registered users, persons who have identified themselves to schoolsportsaction.tv through the registration process. This is very different from sites like YouTube which make user-contributed content available to anyone with an Internet connection and have no way of tracking who is viewing specific content. All participants in the schoolsportsaction.tv community are identifiable to the site operator and this provides both a deterrent to abuse as well as an aid to prosecuting abusers. Potential abusers are likely to avoid schoolsportsaction.tv in favor of sites with less risk of detection and investigation.
Rules and Guidelines: We provide and police rules and guidelines for all content on schoolsportsaction.tv in order to create and maintain a healthy and enjoyable online experience. Compliance with these rules and guidelines by all users is mandatory and persons who violate them can be banned from the site. These rules and guidelines also serve to educate site contributors about appropriate child safety practices and protocols and enable them to participate in the site in a manner which supports the goals and principles of the site. These rules and guidelines, which can be found in the Media Centre, are provided for all types of user contributed content.
For example, persons uploading photographs are required to omit full names (first name and surname) in photograph captions and detailed addresses are not permitted. A sample parental consent form is provided on the site to request and record parental permission to use an image of a child and record the child's consent as well. Only images of children in suitable dress are permitted. Many additional rules are enumerated in the Media Centre.
A Pro-active Role: By providing advice to schools and clubs on appropriate child sport safety protocols schoolsportsaction.tv plays a proactive in educating adults who come into contact with young people in sporting activities. For example, we strongly recommend that clubs and schools provide a clear brief and guidelines on content and behaviour for any persons taking photographs at events, including issuing identification which must be visible at all times.
Furthermore, all employees of School Sports Action TV Ltd are carefully vetted to ensure that they are of the highest character and have impeccable credentials for working in this environment. For UK employees this entails an Enhanced CRB check.
Note that there is a Safety link at the bottom of every page on schoolsportsaction.tv which provides information on reporting problems, suspicions and concerns.
2. Helping Users Protect Themselves
School Sports Action TV Ltd provides information to young people and parents about safe use of the Internet in general as well as the schoolsportsaction.tv site. This includes helpful guidelines written to the latest prevailing standards that are posted and linked in several places. The Stop it Now! Helpline Freephone number (0808 1000 900) is posted on all of the main pages where young people are likely to interact with the site.
School Sports Action TV Ltd also provides the following advice for Parents about safe Internet use in general:
• When buying a computer, ask a sales assistant which Internet safety devices are available to help manage your child’s Internet access. Install software that can filter inappropriate material and allows you to monitor what your children are doing online.
• When your children are young, place the computer where you can always see the screen. By doing this, you will help them develop a pattern of safe use of the Internet which may safeguard them when they get older and want more privacy online.
• Help your children to enjoy their time on the Internet but also encourage offline activity, for example – playing with their friends, participating in family activities and organized sports, and developing hobbies.
• Teach your children not to give out personal information about themselves such as their name, address, telephone number, where they live or which school they go to. If they’re signing up for email, chat or on a website, get them to use a nickname and make sure that it’s one that does not identify their year/date of birth or have sexual connotations.
• Teach your children not to give out personal information about their family or friends.
• Talk to your children about the need to be careful of “friends” online because they might not be who they say they are.
• Be open – take an interest in your children's Internet use and talk to them about what they’ve seen just as you might talk to them about a book they’ve read or a film they’ve viewed. Educate your children to use the Internet wisely and to become critical users, encourage them to question whether the information they are receiving from people is true.
• Let your children know that they can tell you if they become uncomfortable with anything that happens on the Internet and acknowledge that it may be difficult for them to do this. They may have said things they are embarrassed about and wouldn’t want you to know. Help them learn that we all make mistakes when growing up and that you can help.
• Ensure your children understand the danger of meeting up with someone they have only met online whether that person says they are a man, woman or child and that they should never go on their own.
• Add helpful websites like CEOP, Childnet, NSPCC and IWF to the “favourites” or “bookmarks” section of the web browser, so children can find them easily. Here are the links to these sites:
o CEOP: http://www.ceop.gov.uk
o Childnet: http://www.childnet-int.org
o IWF: http://www.iwf.org.uk
o NPCC: http://www.nspcc.org.uk
School Sports Action TV Ltd supports and promotes the five key Childnet SMART rules:
S - SAFE Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information – such as your name, email, phone number, home address, or school name - to people who you don’t trust online.
M – MEETING Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents’/carers’ permissions & when they can be present.
A – ACCEPTING Accepting e-mails, IM messages or opening files from people you don’t know or trust can get you into trouble – they may contain viruses or nasty messages.
R – RELIABLE Someone online may be lying about who they are, and information you find on the Internet may not be reliable.
T – TELL Your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.