Supporting children's safety online – resources
Downloadable resources for community organisations, services and practices to identify and respond comprehensively to online risks for the children and families they support.
On this page:
What is contextual safeguarding?
Contextual safeguarding is an approach to protecting children from harm occurring outside the home – such as in schools, communities, employment, online and from peers – where parents and carers may have limited control. It helps people who work with children to develop a greater understanding about the lives and experiences of children, to support the prevention of serious harms including child sexual abuse online.
Contextual safeguarding places the child at the centre, recognising that their safety and wellbeing is influenced by the environments and relationships around them, including online. It shifts the focus from considering only individual or family vulnerabilities toward assessing and intervening in other environments and situations where abuse may also happen.
Contextual safeguarding online guide
The guide is designed to complement existing safeguarding policies and procedures in your organisation, service or practice.
It includes key actions for ensuring the online lives of younger children and teenagers are fully considered when safeguarding against the risks and issues they may face. You might use this guide in initial assessment meetings, during regular check-ins, or as part of children, youth or family events. The guide can be used in staff development activities, and to inform online policies and procedures.
Download guide
Mapping activities
Use the mapping activity templates to talk about platforms, apps, websites, forums and other online spaces that children regularly use or visit. This includes AI-powered platforms such as companions, chatbots and image generators.
Once the online environment is mapped, children can indicate the spaces where they feel safe and where they may feel less safe at times. (The activities can also be found in the Contextual safeguarding online guide.)
Download mapping activities
Checklist of actions
Use this checklist to keep track of the contextual safeguarding actions you have taken. You may not need to address every action in every case or follow the same order. (The checklist is in the Contextual safeguarding online guide.)
Download checklist
Other resources
Explore keeping children safe online in communities for information and advice to prevent and handle online risks and harms, while improving online safety among families in your community.
We also have various online safety resources available in languages other than English, as well as Easy Read format advice and information.
Children in domestic and family violence situations can experience tech-based abuse in different ways. Explore our tech safety plan to help build a resource that meets the needs of the teenagers and young children you're working with who may be in this situation.
Last updated: 06/09/2026