Moray Council created a new Communities (CLD) Service in April 2021. The Community Support Unit combines adult and family learning, youth work and community development.

About Moray Council

In 2020 Moray Council reported a population of 95,710. It is the eighth largest council by land area in Scotland. Moray covers an area from the Cairngorm mountains to the Moray Firth coast of the North Sea. Its main towns are Elgin, Forres and Buckie. The remaining population is in smaller rural and coastal communities.

The improvement issue

During the COVID-19 pandemic, more children and young people began to communicate virtually. They did so in all parts of their lives. This led to an increase in reports of online bullying.

Priority two of the of the Children’s Services Plan 2020 to 2023 is to reduce the incidences and impact of bullying. Moray Council ensures that "children and young people are safe and free from harm".

What Moray Council did

In 2022, Moray’s lead officer for public protection approached NSPCC Scotland. They provided information about how to keep children and young people safe online.

The lead officer brought together relevant stakeholders to form a reference group. Group members benefited from inputs from professionals, including:

• community learning and development
• social work
• education
• health improvement education
• Police Scotland
• the Violence against Women and Girls Partnership

This helped to inform a shared understanding of the issues and agree a way forward. The group developed an approach for which had two priorities:

1. Sessions for professionals supporting young people that highlight the risks of communicating online.

2. Increase the confidence of parents and carers in supporting their children to be safe online.

'Let’s Chat' online safety campaign

Moray Council worked with stakeholders to develop the ‘Moray Let’s Chat Online Safety’ campaign.

The campaign informed practitioners, parents and carers of the risks of communicating online. It encouraged open and honest conversations between adults, children and young people. The campaign also promoted further learning and support services.

Parents and carers had access to information on:

• the importance to have regular, positive conversations about communicating online
• that you do not have to be a tech expert to help keep yourself safe
• practical tips and guidance on how to report any concerns
• information on different parental controls options
• how to model good behaviour with online activity and social media use
• further information and support from partners involved in the campaign
• a promotional leaflet that signposted to advice on keeping children safe online

Most of the activities took place online. Face-to-face interactions took place within schools, community groups, at community events and festivals. This helped with engagement with parents and other significant adults, such as grandparents.

Events

The campaign took part in five public events. This included:

• family day at RAF Lossiemouth
• Keith Show
• a stall at Baxter’s
• the children’s services plan launch event

Across these events, partners engaged with 359 individuals to offer tips and advice.

Workshop topics

Topics discussed during the workshops include:

• gaming
• grooming
• livestreaming
• mental health and wellbeing
• online bullying
• online friendships
• online pornography
• parental controls
• persuasive design
• screen time vs screen use
• sharing nudes
• social media

Attendance at workshops

So far, 229 people have attended regular parent and carer workshops. These took place online and in person. The sessions offer an introduction to online risks. They give tips on how to manage or reduce these risks. They include time at the end for questions.

What the sustained impact has been

Parents, carers and professionals have the knowledge and skills to support and protect children and young people from harm online. Feedback from parents and carers indicated that keeping children safe online was a growing concern.

Participants learned that there were age limitations across social media platforms. As a result, they said they would add parental controls. They also plan to reduce their own usage to support the campaign.

Feedback from the launch event was positive. Eighty-five percent of attendees said the event increased their knowledge of online safety.

Parents and carers who attended practitioner insight sessions said they were very likely (75%) or likely (25%) to recommend the workshops.

Feedback from the events highlighted a desire for online safety to be discussed in schools. Partners have been working to develop age-appropriate sessions for primary and secondary schools.