The Online Safety Hub is a central place where young people, parents, carers, and professionals can find practical advice about child safety online, all in one easy-to-use site. It’s updated regularly with resources from trusted organisations as part of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Keeping children and young people safe: an Online Safety Strategy for Northern Ireland.
Inside the Hub, you’ll find an adult section with core messaging and signposting on key online safety topics, a library of resources, sample policy templates, and a research and evidence bank to keep you informed. There’s also a Young Person’s Hub offering supportive, non-judgemental guidance for under-13s and teens to help them manage their online lives safely and confidently. To make it even easier to explore, the Hub offers new video tours for adults and young people that guide you through its features.
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Recently added resources
Screens, Safety and Social Media
Source: Queen’s University Belfast
Queen’s University Belfast has published new research for the SBNI on harmful and illegal behaviours experienced by young people on social media in Northern Ireland. Drawing on responses from 2,129 16-year-olds in the 2025 Young Life and Times (YLT) survey, the report found that over half had encountered harmful behaviours such as offensive content, sharing without consent, and online stalking. Young women, same-sex attracted youth, those with disabilities, and disadvantaged young people were most affected. Most harm came from people known offline, and Snapchat was the platform most associated with harmful behaviours.
The Health Minister, Justice Minister and Children’s Commissioner helped launch the research on 8 September 2025. A recording of the event is available.
Global Index on Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Source: Childlight
Childlight has published its second index report into the prevalence of child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) globally. It provides country level estimates of the prevalence, scale, and nature of CSEA. Findings estimate: about 7% of children across Western Europe are raped or sexually assaulted before the age of 18; 19.6% of Western European children report facing unwanted or pressured sexual interactions online by the age of 18; and a 1,325% rise (2023-2024) in AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
As part of the NI Executive’s Online Safety Strategy, the SBNI and PSNI launched the Trust Trap campaign in August to raise awareness of online grooming, sextortion, and abuse linked to fake profiles. Using paid ads featuring clips from the BBC’s Teen Predator/Online Killer documentary, the campaign promotes prevention, reporting, and support - reassuring victims that they are not to blame and help is available. Paid ads run on TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram for users aged 13+, while organic content reaches parents and carers via Facebook, LinkedIn, and partner networks. A partner toolkit with key messages, posters, social media graphics, and video links is available to support conversations in schools, youth settings, and communities.
Informed or Overwhelmed? Understanding the impact of news on children’s wellbeing
Source: Internet Matters
Internet Matters has published a new report on the impact of online news on children’s wellbeing. Drawing on a survey of 1,000 UK children aged 11–17 and focus groups with teens, the research shows that young people regularly consume news via social media, often encountering distressing stories, misinformation, and AI-generated content. Many have developed their own coping strategies, but gaps in media literacy remain. The report urges social media companies, news outlets, and government to act, calling for robust age assurance on platforms and support for schools to deliver media literacy education at all key stages.
CyberSafeKids has published a new report on children’s digital experiences based on insights from over 9,000 children aged 8–15 across Ireland. The findings reveal rising chatbot use, widespread access to 13+ apps among younger children, and significant exposure to harmful content on platforms like YouTube, Roblox, TikTok, and Snapchat. Parental oversight remains low, with many children not sharing online issues at home. The report calls for stronger digital literacy, parental engagement, and platform accountability.
NSPCC Learning has published a series of expert insight videos on online safety. The series includes talking head contributions from a range of practitioners and young people. The films aim to help those working and volunteering with children to explore what online safety means, recognise the risks children face, and understand how to support children’s safety online.
“Sex is kind of broken now”: children and pornography
Source: The Children's Commissioner for England
The Children’s Commissioner for England has published a report on children’s exposure to online pornography and the harms caused by this. It discusses what children are seeing and where, before the Online Safety Act’s protections came into force in the summer of 2025. The research utilises a survey of 16- to 21-year-olds and a focus group with 16- to 17-year-old girls. Findings show: 70% of survey respondents had seen pornography online; the average age a child first sees pornography online is 13; X (formerly Twitter) remains the most common source; and 59% reported seeing pornography online by accident.
The Commissioner calls for improvements in how online pornography is audited and for the government to explore options to ensure children can’t use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to avoid the age assurance process.
Viewing Generative AI and Children's Safety in the Round
Source: NSPCC
NSPCC Learning has published research on Generative (Gen) Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on children’s safety and wellbeing. Gen AI is a form of AI used to produce new content such as text and images. The report draws findings and recommendations from an analysis of NSPCC-commissioned research, available data and children’s views. Child safety risks highlighted around Gen AI include sexual grooming, sexual extortion and exposure to harmful content. The report looks at how these risks could spread and sets out potential solutions.
Pervasive-by-design : Suicide, self-harm and intense depression content on TikTok and Instagram, and how their algorithms recommend it to teens
Source: Molly Rose Foundation
The Molly Rose Foundation has published new research on social media algorithms and young people’s exposure to harmful content online. The research, conducted in the weeks leading up to the implementation of the Online Safety Act, suggests that the risks of exposure to harmful forms of suicide, self-harm and intense depression-related content on two major social media platforms, Instagram and TikTok, remain unacceptably pervasive and widespread.
Online Safety Training Needs Analysis – Children and Young People’s Workforce
Source: SBNI
The National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has published a report on online safety training needs for the children and young people’s workforce in Northern Ireland. Commissioned by the SBNI and delivered under the Northern Ireland Executive’s Online Safety Strategy, the report draws on interviews with 23 professionals and a survey of 667 practitioners across education, health, social care, youth justice and the voluntary sector.
YouTube is a household name among children and young people today, but are you aware of YouTube Kids? YouTube Kids is a separate platform that filters out videos deemed unsuitable for children and only YouTube videos that are appropriate. To learn more about YouTube Kids’ core functions and top tips on how to keep the child and young person in your care safer, visit the ‘YouTube Kids’ page in the Safer Schools NI App.
Parentline NI has launched a three-part youth-led series with Children in Northern Ireland and NSPCC. brings together teens (13–17) to share real conversations on online privacy, harmful content, AI, and mental health. Episode 1 explores why young people struggle to tell parents when things go wrong online - and offers practical advice about what actually helps when young people need support.
Safer Internet Day 2026: Free Webinars for Educators
Source: UK Safer Internet Centre
Safer Internet Day 2026 takes place on 10 February with the theme: “Smart tech, safe choices – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI”. In January, the UK Safer Internet Centre together with the SBNI and Education Authority will host two webinars for educators and professionals. These sessions will share practical ways to get involved in the campaign and showcase resources for primary and post-primary learners, covering topics such as voice assistants, chatbots, and ethical AI use, with guidance on adapting materials for children with SEN.
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