Questions & Answers
Can a user report anonymously?
No. There are several reasons why we (and the safeguarding experts we
collaborated with) believe that anonymous reporting is not a good idea.
The main reason is that anonymous reports are open to abuse and could
themselves be used as a form of bullying or targeted harassment against
students or staff. Also, more information is often needed so a contact
- even if their identity is protected by your safeguarding officer - is
required to investigate matters further. It also allows your organisation
to determine whether multiple reports were sent by a single person, or
by multiple people.
The National Crime Agency's CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection
Command) also do not allow anonymous reporting via their site.
Who has access to the reports?
Only the person or people you designate in your organisation will have
access to the reports. They are not stored on servers accessible by Statistics
24 at all. As soon as a report comes in via an encrypted connection, the
details are packaged up into an email and securely sent to an email address
of your choice. We recommend you choose the email address of a safeguarding
officer or team.
How are reports of concern delivered to the organisation?
The reports are sent via secure email to an address of your choice, usually
a safeguarding officer. As long as your email server supports it, the
email is sent securely and encrypted using the TLS protocol. This ensures
that no third party can snoop or tamper with any messages as they travel
from our sending server to your receiving server.
According to a recent Google report, over 90% of email servers support
TLS encryption including Google GMail. If your email server does not support
TLS then the reports are sent using normal email protocols.
What is captured by the screenshot?
If the user chooses to include a screenshot with their report (especially
useful if the issue concerns online chat, social media message or a video
call) then a snapshot of the currently active browser tab is taken. This
image, the page title and the URL are sent in the report. No other browser
tabs, windows or parts of the devices desktop are captured. The user gets
to see a preview of the screenshot before it is sent to ensure it captures
what they are concerned with, and can turn it off again if they wish.
Can I choose the options in the drop-down list on the report form?
Yes. The drop-down list of items a user can choose from can be customised
for each organisation. For example, some schools may want the user to
indicate which year they are currently in. Others may want a list of reasons
why the user is sending the report of concern (e.g. online bullying, inappropriate
behaviour, concern for another student). Or the drop-down list can be
turned off if you don't need it.
You can also choose a custom message to appear once the form has been
submitted. The default message says: "Thank you for sending your
concern. Someone will deal with it as soon as possible and be in contact
if necessary. All details are emailed to your organisation and kept in
the strictest confidence. No details are stored or accessible by Statistics
24."
If you would like it to say something else, for example additional contact
information or include a timescale for replying to messages, just let
us know.
Will the person know I have sent a report about them?
No - not from Statistics 24. Even if you are in a video call with someone
and use the safeguard reporting feature to capture a screengrab, the other
people in the call will not know.