Supporting Safer Internet Day - 9 February 2010

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) today (Tuesday 9 February 2010) joins other organisations throughout Europe in supporting Safer Internet Day, which aims to help protect young people online.

SQA offers the first National Qualification in the EU relating to internet safety. The qualification is for anyone who regularly uses the internet and wants to protect themselves while they're online. It's particularly suitable for young people, small businesses and online shoppers. It has been developed in collaboration with a number of external partners (including BT, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), Microsoft and Strathclyde Police).

It is the first ‘e-only’ qualification SQA offer, whereby there is no traditional teaching and almost no paperwork involved. A comprehensive Learning and Teaching pack is available online as is the assessment of the knowledge part of the Unit.

SQA Chief Executive, Dr Janet Brown, said: 'SQA is proud to be the first UK awarding body to offer a formal qualification in Internet Safety. We fully support Safer Internet Day and recognise its increasing importance not only to keep internet users safe but to help them get the best of the internet as an information tool for study and research.'

SQA’s Internet Safety qualification is one of a suite of products in this area. Others include a National Progression Award (NPA) in Digital Literacy, which introduces learners to a range of different digital tools, productivity software and digital communication methods. Another is a NPA in Social Software, which provides learners with the confidence to access and use the internet safely and develops their use of the internet as an information tool for study and research.

Safer Internet Day is organised by Insafe each year in February to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world. The topic for 2010 is "Think B4 U post!".

Children and teenagers will be made aware that they can control their online identity, by using the privacy settings offered by social networking services, selecting friends online that they can trust, publishing their own photos after thinking carefully about the potential consequences, and pictures of their friends with their permission.

In 2009 Safer Internet Day was celebrated through 500 events in 50 countries all over the world.

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