Almost half of all children want adults to supervise them when they use the internet, a report by Ofsted, the school inspectors, indicates.

Two out of three of those questioned want pornographic sites and chat rooms on the web to be blocked or filtered to protect them from graphic or inappropriate sites.

The survey of 686 children aged between four and 20, from varying social backgrounds, indicated that 45 per cent think adults should sit next to or near young people when they are on the internet so they can monitor what is being viewed.

Children should be taught basic internet safety to prevent them stumbling upon porn or falling prey to paedophiles, according to a quarter of those surveyed at the national children’s conference.

Dr Roger Morgan, director of children’s rights for England, said of the report Future care: Children’s advice on future care standards: “The message here is simple - children are taking their internet safety seriously, but many clearly don’t feel confident that they can protect themselves on their own. They want adults to take a greater role in overseeing their web use and to be told exactly what is safe, so that they are better prepared to steer clear of unsuitable sites. Indeed many children suggested unsafe sites should be blocked completely so they cannot access them.”

A new set of National Minimum Standards, first set down in 2001, on how children should be looked after, proposes 40 rules including allowing children privacy and only searching children’s rooms if there is danger. The young people surveyed said all 40 rules should be included when the new standards are published and they should apply to children and their parents in addition to staff, carers, trainers, and managers.

One group of children suggested that young people ‘shouldn’t be able to put pictures up of yourself’’. Other children said it was important to put the computer in a place where adults know they are using it or for adults to sit with young people so they can see what it is they are viewing. Those in children’s homes were more likely to say that they should only be able to get onto safe and age-appropriate websites.

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