Coronation Street Star Kym Marsh has teamed up with internet safety charity, Childnet International, to launch a new guide that keeps parents, teachers and young people well informed about how to stay safe and legal when downloading and accessing music, films and TV on the internet.

Autumn has been a busy two months for the Education Team at Childnet, with the four strong team presenting to 4882 pupils during September and October covering schools in Kent, London & Greater London, East & West Sussex, Rochester, Surrey, Eastbourne, Sheffield, Essex, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to name a few!

Childnet is pleased to support the fourth national Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) awareness day, and the re-launch of the IWF's website, designed to make it even easier for the public to report suspicious content on the web and providing up-to-date information about their work and how they operate.

Childnet's Youth IGF Project was created to include the voice of children and young people at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). Following chairing a successful workshop including a panel of youth participants at the IGF 2009, in August 2010, Childnet convened members of the Youth IGF Project between the ages of 14 and 18 to meet to discuss access, diversity, security, openness and privacy in preparation for attending the IGF 2010 in Vilnius.

Childnet was presented with a special award at last night's Nominet Internet Awards, recognising Childnet's International Engagement as part of the Youth IGF Project.

Childnet has been named as a finalist at both the upcoming Nominet Internet Awards and also the ISPAs, the UK Internet Industry awards. Childnet’s Know IT All suite of resources has been shortlisted for the making the Internet safer category at the Nominet Internet Awards and also in the ISPAs Internet Safety Award category. Childnet’s Youth IGF Project 2009 has also been shortlisted in the empowering young people and citizens category of the Nominet Internet Awards.

Childnet’s Film Competition 2010 is a creative challenge designed to inspire children and young people to celebrate the internet, encouraging them to develop a deeper understanding of the notion of digital citizenship and to share their ideas about staying safe online.

Childnet, the South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL) and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) have been selected by the European Commission to form the next Safer Internet Centre for the UK starting from January 2011.

The 20th November 2009 marked the 20th Anniversary of the publication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, much has changed since 1989, and Derek Wyatt MP, has led the call that this milestone gives an excellent opportunity to look at the Convention to address the different world in which children and young people today are growing up. At Childnet, we have long championed the opportunities that the Internet and other digital networks afford young people, and are pleased to have signed the petition calling for the UN to work with legislators around the world to examine and assess whether the Convention on the Rights of the Child fully addresses the needs of children in the digital age.

Safer Internet Day 2010 will see the launch of a new toolkit of internet safety resources for secondary teachers. The Know IT All for Secondary toolkit has been developed to provide secondary school teachers with clear and practical resources covering key issues relating to developing young people’s skills in keeping safe online as well as equipping them to deal with risks. This comprehensive resource has been developed by children’s charity Childnet International, with the support of the TDA and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety and Becta.