Reflection and planning tool
This tool helps community organisations, services and practices assess risks and plan a holistic approach to online safety.
Children and young people are safer online when their communities create safe, inclusive environments and take steps to safeguard them from harm. But where do you start? Use the tools on this page to identify opportunities for improving online safety in your community.
On this page:
About the modules
The questions in these three modules will guide a review of your strategies for preventing, recognising and dealing with online abuse. They will also suggest ways you can reduce stigma and empower others in your community to take safeguarding action.
- Protect children from online harm
- Support families to keep children safe online
- Lead online safety initiatives in your organisation
eSafety has consulted with child safeguarding experts and community representatives to create these modules, taking into account the diverse needs of children, young people, parents and carers.
The advice should be read along with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, as well as your child safety policies and other applicable national, state and territory laws, policies and procedures.
How to use them
Each module will take about 30 minutes to complete as an individual, or slightly longer as a team.
The modules can be completed in any order. This allows you to focus on areas that are most helpful for you. Where you start, how many you do, who you involve and how you use the information will depend on various factors including:
- the profile of your community
- the current knowledge and skills in your organisation, service or practice
- the structure of your organisation, service or practice
- your role – for example, social worker, health practitioner, faith leader, sports administrator, manager of a not-for-profit organisation or a volunteer at a charity.
Ways to use the modules:
- As an individual exercise, to think about the way you work in settings with children, young people and families.
- As a team exercise, to discuss and prioritise the safeguarding commitment and actions of your organisation, service or practice.
- As a leadership exercise, to assess how your organisation, service or practice is meeting its aims and obligations, including compliance with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
Take this short quiz
The quiz will help you decide the best order for completing the modules and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of your online safety practices.
Module 1 – Protect children from online harm
This module is for staff and volunteers who interact with children and young people, or who develop programs for children, young people and their parents or carers. The module includes:
- practical tips for keeping children and young people safe online
- steps to build a culture of consent around taking photos and videos of children
- help for reporting online harms.
Download module 1
Module 2 – Support families to keep children safe online
This module is for people who design and deliver programs or services for children, young people and parents or carers, and those responsible for keeping children safe online. The module includes:
- information and support to stay up to date on emerging online risks and safeguarding practices
- resources for you to share with children, young people and families.
Download module 2
Module 3 – Lead online safety initiatives in your organisation
This module is for community leaders, child safety leads in organisations, and policy makers. The module includes:
- support for community and organisation leaders to understand the role they play in keeping children and young people safe online
- strategies to embed online safety into existing ways of working including policies, programs and the delivery of services.
Download module 3
Example of online safety practices in community settings
This example of good practice may help you apply the advice in the modules to the settings and activities of your own organisation, service or practice.
Laura works in a council setting supporting the wellbeing of children, young people and families. The community she works in was recently shocked by a case of child sexual abuse involving another council staff member who groomed the child using an online chat service. She wonders what she can do to protect children and young people in her community?
Laura can start by learning more about online safety issues like child sexual abuse online, ‘sextortion,’ image-based abuse and cyberbullying. She knows that children, young people and families trust her to help them if they have challenges. Often the counsellors and support staff in her parenting programs get questions about online safety. She decides to take small actions to protect her community.
Laura puts information on the council website about keeping children safe online. She shares information with parents and carers in her community to help them feel confident to have age-appropriate conversations about grooming and sexual abuse online. She wants to make it easier for children and young people to come forward to report online sexual harms, so she shares tips with parents about dealing with online harms – things such as talking openly about issues like nudes, relationships and online activities, and why just banning kids from devices is not the most effective solution.
She shares the eSafety parent webinars, allowing parents and carers to select the topics that are most relevant to their experience. She also makes sure that families in her community that speak languages other than English have access to online safety information including the ‘Online safety for every family’ resources.
Laura’s work in this area also helps her meet her organisation’s obligations under the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (Standard 8 related to online safety) to keep children and young people safe online. After a few months she notices that more staff are having conversations about reporting online harms, and that parents and carers are reaching out for support.
Last updated: 22/10/2024
