Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what safeguarding guidance his Department has issued to schools in relation to students using LinkedIn profiles to look for work experience.

We want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. We want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. Activities involving employers, such as work experience, are important in giving young people the experiences they need to succeed. However, it is important that pupils are able to make the right decisions when engaging with social media and are taught how to navigate online platforms safely.

There are opportunities across the curriculum for pupils to be taught about online safety. For example, the computing curriculum covers the principles of e-safety at all key stages, with progression in the content to reflect the different and escalating risks that young people face. Pupils are taught how to use technology safely, responsibly, respectfully and securely, how to keep personal information private and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.

Furthermore, from September, through the introduction of compulsory relationships, sex and health education, all pupils will be taught about online relationships, the implications of sharing private or personal data (including images) online, harmful content and contact and where to get help and support for issues that occur online. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

The Department has also recently published guidance for schools on teaching online safety, which aims to support schools in teaching pupils how to stay safe online within new and existing school subjects, such as relationships, sex and health education, citizenship and computing. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.