Sir, I fully support Dr Tanya Byron when she calls for independent monitoring of progress in implementing the recommendations from her review into online safety, (“Internet safety plan cannot wait, warns children’s adviser”, Sept 14). However, I find it surprising that on the back of her frustration with the Government’s supposed lack of progress in implementing her work she is now launching a new internet safety campaign for schools, which surely will only add to the confusion she highlighted in the first place.

In her review Dr Byron states that “much energy is wasted through unnecessary duplication and inefficiency”. Why then is she not recognising the work of the UK’s national centre for protecting children, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, which she called “extensive and successful”?

We would welcome working with Dr Byron. However, this is not the time for new initiatives. Rather, we need to get behind what has been successful, what is working already and support teachers and the wider child protection community.

Helen Penn

Head of Education

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre

Sir, I have two sons aged 9 and 6 and, like many parents, have daily experience of the challenges around their internet use. Dr Byron (times2, Sept 15) gives some good advice but there is also an “elephant in the room” that no one ever seems to tackle. This is the younger and younger age at which children start surfing the net.

Forget “10-13”, as in Dr Byron's example — many children can surf before they can read. Particularly if they have an older sibling, children will be accomplished surfers by the age of 6 or 7, even if their computer time is strictly limited.

For this age group, it’s not good enough to say “warn them about the dangers” — it’s not like crossing the road. I don’t want to talk about grooming or pornography with my just-6-year-old. Nor do I think his world view would allow him to make much sense of identity theft or hacking — and I’m glad. Surely at this age we should be trying to preserve our children's innocence? Even 10, I feel, is very young for many of these issues. Our youngest children need to be shielded, not scared into distrusting everything — and everyone — they come across.

Juliet Chalk

London SE10

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