Respect for All Review Online Bullying Subgroup Minutes: March 2024

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government - Support and Wellbeing Unit, (chair)
• Education Scotland
• National Parent Forum of Scotland (NPFS)
• respectme
• Youthlink Scotland
• NASUWT
• Education Scotland
• Child Protection Unit, Scottish Government
• No Knives, Better Lives
• Support and Wellbeing Unit, Scottish Government (secretariat)

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The chair welcomed attendees and introductions were made.

The chair highlighted that the Scottish Government is updating its national anti-bullying guidance, Respect for All and advised subgroups had been set up to consider online bullying, recording and monitoring and prejudice-based bullying in more depth.

Online bullying – discussion (paper 1)

The chair provided an overview of the discussion paper which set out the current guidance on online bullying, recent evidence around online bullying and the change of context since 2017.

The chair invited comments from members. Some points raised were:

• Worth including reference to the Online Safety Act although changes will not come into effect for another couple of years.
• Potentially impacted by UN Cyber Crime Treaty.
• Need to be mindful of end to end encryption and encrypted client hello – which put more of the ownness back on the user (young person).
• Encrypted Client Hello means web addresses that are filtered usually will no longer happen
• Need to be mindful of advancing technologies. For example, AI is creating a new bespoke set of challenges and bullying taking place on virtual reality games. Worth referencing these.
• Knowledge and understanding of technology differs between adults and young people.
• Need to be mindful of equalities and inclusion lens when reviewing the guidance. Other groups may be more vulnerable in this space.
• The impact of what happens to a child when they retaliate online can be damaging. This sometimes breaches the Communications Act and they could get charged, so effectively the person experiencing bullying is penalised. Need to look at from all sides and communicate this to parents.
• Parents may not be aware of what goes on in the background to many of these online games and how these platforms work.
• Some measures to keep young people safe comes with the threat of digital exclusion which in itself is bullying. This is complex for schools to address as the situation could start out with school times however could bleed into the school day and may involve young people from other schools/countries.
• Online/offline bullying is the same but online possibly requires an additional lens to take account of the different nuances (no escape, anonymous, worldwide etc).
• World Anti-bullying Forum youth panel discussed online bullying and raised some interesting points. respectme agreed to share the resources/videos from the forum.
• Need to do some work with children and young people to follow through on the implementation of Respect for All.
• All of this work needs to be framed in the context of children’s rights.
• Section 129 in the Communications Act 2003 (which will be repealed by section 179 in the Online Safety Act 2023) states it is illegal to cause annoyance inconvenience or needless anxiety to another through electronic communications.
• Algorithms can lead users to content which might influence their decisions and behaviour online.

Action: SG to take online bullying section to prejudice-based bullying subgroup once drafted.

Action: respectme agreed to share resources from the World Anti-bullying Forum.

Welsh government have an online platform in which they analyse online issues and worries, particularly relating to online bullying. A link to the website can be found here.

University College London carried out research claiming technology is not causing the harm, however the user being the enabler. Young people were suggested misogynistic/violent content based on their searches. The following link shows how young people's views are being shaped online Safer-scrolling.pdf (ascl.org.uk)

Scottish Government’s Parents Club have launched an online safety platform to help support parents/carers. A link to the website can be found here.

respectme shared the following link which helps support children to stay safe when it comes to online bullying Online Safety for Parents and Carers - respectme.

The chair asked members for specific changes to the current guidance on online bullying within Respect for All. Some points raised were:

• Helpful to set out the different types of online bullying but more importantly linking to the behaviours and impact. And how we support the young people carrying out those behaviours and those experiencing the bullying.
• A lot has changed since 2017 but critical to capture where we are now and include more information on the law in the guidance.
• Ensure this is a live document as context changing all the time.
• Include guidance on reinforcing good cyber habits – strong passwords, not sharing, careful about what you put online, good online habits.
• Important for children and young people to be involved in this aspect of the guidance and explore their thoughts on what the different response to online bullying might look like.
• Response – look at cyber hygiene (passwords, backups, safety etc) and bullying behaviour and how we respond to that. On device and for your own wellbeing (emotional impact).
• Teaching young people how algorithms work and the law behind what might apply to some of their behaviour they see as just a silly joke/bit of fun. Educating them in a general way - peer education is a good way to do this.
• We can’t look to schools to fix this. Real threat that schools become the catch all. There is a role for schools to support health and wellbeing in the broadest sense.
• Need to look at language. Previously young people asked for the word ‘online’ to be used as they didn’t see it a separate ‘cyber’ space. However, cyber resilience is used in the curriculum so it’s important to show that link.
• Need to embed in curriculum and ethos. It’s about more than the knowledge and skills that kick in when there’s an incident. Need to include a preventative whole school approach including a curricular base.
• Any sort of investigation into things that happened online outwith school day is not for schools and there isn’t that capacity in the system anyway.
• Safeguarding issue – teachers cannot and should not be taking phones off pupils to investigate. It is illegal for a teacher to look at a young person’s phone without permission.
• Teachers have a legal responsibility. A lot of misconceptions around the digital law, especially those under 13 years of age.

Action: SG agreed to draft a proposed structure to the updated online bullying section and circulate for comment.

Action: SG to speak to SYP about further detail behind the consultation in December, particularly whether any points were raised around language.

AOB

No other business was raised. The chair thanked members for attending and closed the meeting.