Inclusive sport design lowers barriers to physical activity
20 April 2023

This year, for the first time, New Zealand will host the International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity.
With distance learning now in place in Aotearoa, most learners are dependent on virtual connections, which makes cyber safety of paramount importance. Education Gazette asks online safety organisation Netsafe about how students can be supported to stay safe online.
As the nation retreated into lockdown, teachers, families and whānau were focused on reminding children and young people how to stay physically safe. Now that we’re getting used to staying at home, social distancing and washing our hands, it's time to focus on how to keep our children and young people safe online as well.
Schools and kura have an important role to play in supporting learners to have safe and positive online interactions. They are well positioned to be proactively working with learners and their families and whānau about digital safety.
Online safety organisation Netsafe has emphasised the need to be mindful of protecting ourselves online during this time when the use of digital tools to communicate and interact with one another is significantly higher than usual.
“Reports from around the world indicate there has been an increase in abuse and harassment online due to COVID-19,” says Martin Cocker, Netsafe chief executive.
“It’s a good time to remind people of their rights and responsibilities under the Harmful Digital Communications Act,” – that it’s illegal for anyone to send or publish threatening, offensive or sensitive material and spread damaging rumours.
According to the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, a digital communication should not:
There can be serious consequences for breaches of the Act, including a prison term or significant fine, and it is important that everyone is aware of this. Teachers can keep these principles in mind as they support children and young people to build their understanding of safe and positive digital citizenship through their daily interactions online.
Online bullying (also known as cyber bullying) is when a person uses digital technology to send, post or publish content with the intention to harm another person or a group. This behaviour is often aggressive, is repeated, and involves some kind of power imbalance between the people involved. According to Netsafe(external link), online bullying can take many forms like:
The Netsafe website offers lots of useful tools and resources to help stay safe online. These can be used by teachers, families and whānau, and include:
The Bullying Free NZ website(external link) has lots of useful guidance, resources and tools for schools(external link) to use to prevent and respond to bullying behaviours, including cyber bullying(external link). The website also has a section for parents, families and whānau(external link), which includes guides, tips, and how to get help.
Netsafe research tells us that most parents appreciate support from schools regarding online safety information.
“Permanent and open dialogue with parents will provide schools with a better idea of the type of information and resources parents need, which can help them to build closer relationships with their children. Further, the important role of peers in supporting each other with online issues suggests that teachers and parents need to work together with young people to build a mutually supporting network that is based on trusted relationships.
“We encourage adults to have open conversations with young people about the responsibility that goes along with ownership of a connected device, such as:
BY Education Gazette editors
Education Gazette | Tukutuku Kōrero, reporter@edgazette.govt.nz
Posted: 3:01 pm, 15 April 2020
20 April 2023
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