Internet safety for children and young people: national action plan

Introduction

The internet is central to the lives of the majority of children and young people. We want children and young people to be protected, safe and supported in the online world and for them to be able to enjoy the internet, show resilience and take advantage of the opportunities it has to offer. Therefore, as part of The Government's Programme for Scotland, we committed to publishing a refreshed action plan on internet safety for children and young people to ensure appropriate training, support and information is in place.

This plan builds on actions set out in the Scottish Government's 2010 Action Plan on Child Internet Safety and the 2011/12 Scottish Action Plan on Child Internet Safety and Responsible Use. The commitments included in these plans were structured under three broad aims:

1. Giving everybody the skills, knowledge and understanding to help children and young people stay safe online: we will help parents, carers and people who work with children and families to understand how to help children stay safe online and how to deal with problems if they occur;
2. Inspiring safe and responsible use and behaviour: we will make it clear that individuals, including children and young people themselves, need to take responsibility for their own online behaviour; and
3. Creating a safer online environment: we will work together to make sure that children are less likely to come across or get access to things online that are not suitable for them.

This action plan aims to build on the progress already made under each of the above aims and has been developed in partnership with organisations with an interest in internet safety for children and young people.