The Professionals Online Safety Helpline (POSH) continues to serve as a critical resource for professionals working with children and young people, offering support on a range of online safety issues. This 2023-24 casebook analysis, based on 2,219 recorded cases, highlights the evolving challenges faced by schools and professionals in managing online harms, particularly in relation to cyberbullying, online impersonation, reputational damage, and unauthorised use of school branding.
Key Findings
- Online reputation concerns were the most frequently reported issue (1,717 cases), followed by bullying (1,515 cases) and impersonation (158 cases).
- 76% of cases were linked to TikTok, highlighting the platform's prominence in online safety reports submitted to the helpline.
- Schools and professionals continue to struggle with what they perceive to be social media platforms’ slow response times and inconsistent enforcement of their own guidelines, leading to frustration and repeated escalation.
- The helpline plays an essential role in content takedown efforts, reporting 4,064 URLs across various platforms, with an impressive 94.2% removal rate.
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