News

AM leads debate on safety of children online

Published

10 years ago

November 27, 2013

REBECCA EVANS AM, Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, has led a debate at the National Assembly for Wales on the safety of children online.

Mrs Evans brought forward the debate at the Senedd to explore the dangers facing children online following a series of tragic and high profile cases tied to internet use, and the publication of several pieces of research highlighting the challenges facing children online.

Mrs Evans told the Assembly that although the role of internet service providers, search engines and social networks in protecting children lay beyond the scope of the Assembly, “to shrug our shoulders and say that the challenges are too big, or that it is just not our job would absolve us from our responsibility to use every opportunity that we do have in Wales to equip children, parents, teachers, youth workers and so on with resilience, knowledge and support, so that they are best able to deal with the challenges faced by children online day in, day out.”

Mrs Evans explored peer-to-peer issues such as bullying and exploitation, as well as stranger dangers including online grooming, and easy access to explicit adult material which may be extreme or violent in its content.

Mrs Evans said: “Most children now have a phone with internet access and nine out of 10 of them say that there are no parental restrictions on its use. For most children, their virtual lives are synonymous with their real lives, and what happens online affects them offline.”

Tackling cyberbullying

After the recent publication of a Funky Dragon survey which found that over a third of 11 to 17-year-olds in Wales who had been bullied had suffered from cyberbullying, Mrs Evans asked the Welsh Government how it was addressing the unique challenges posed by bullying online.

Mrs Evans said: “Online bullying is relentless; it is 24/7 and it follows bullied children everywhere that they go. They carry it around on the phone in their pocket.”

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales Keith Towler has also echoed these concerns. Responding to the debate, the Deputy Minister announced that “As part of the 2013 Anti–bullying Week, from 18 to 22 November, the Welsh Government will be launching a campaign to raise awareness of cyberbullying and to highlight where to go for help.”

A force for good too

Mrs Evans ended her contribution by being clear that she “did not want to give the impression that cyberspace is a wholly dangerous and nightmarish place to be avoided at all costs.”

“In fact,” she said, “it is quite the opposite. Access to the internet can be incredibly enriching. Children can talk to other children thousands of miles away and develop global citizenship and a sense of responsibility to other people on the other side of the planet. They can have fun and stay in touch with friends, and it is a wonderful learning environment and research tool, a gateway to almost limitless knowledge, and a forum to develop skills and ideas.

“By educating children and those who protect and support them about the safe use of the internet, including recognising danger and the importance of privacy settings and content blocks, for example, we can make the internet a much safer place for them. By helping children to put what they see and experience online into context offline we can build their resilience. There is a huge amount of very good work already taking place in Wales by parents, schools, the third sector, police and others, and I would ask the Government to explore how we could bring all of this good practice together to make the internet a safer place for children.”

Mrs Evans looks forward to meeting with the Deputy Minister in order to further discuss actions to ensure the safety of children online.

Let’s talk about sexts

Modern trends such as sexting – the act of sending sexually explicit messages, photographs, or video content, primarily between mobile phones – are causing children’s charities in Wales concern.

Speaking in the debate, Mrs Evans said: “NSPCC Cymru and ChildLine have warned that many children are frequently taking big risks when making and sending sexual texts, photos and videos of themselves. They found that sexting is considered a normal, everyday activity among young people as young as 13 years old, with around a quarter of them having made photographs or videos to send on to others. Barnardo’s Cymru has also identified what it calls peer-based exploitation as an increasing trend.”

Mrs Evans warned that once the image has been sent on, it is out of the young person’s control and told the Assembly that the Internet Watch Foundation has reported that images are regularly shared around school, uploaded to social networks and sometimes find their way on to paedophile websites. In just 40 hours, an IWF analyst found more than 12,000 images of teens that were originally sent as texts on 70 paedophile websites.

Mrs Evans said that after seeing calls about sexting rise by 28% last year, ChildLine has developed a “fantastic app” called Zipit, which provides witty and safe comebacks that children and young people can use to reply when faced with requests for explicit photos. She asked the Deputy Minister for Skills, Ken Skates AM, to consider how the Welsh Government could promote the app and similar resources.

Responding to the debate, the Deputy Minister asked Mrs Evans to meet with him and his officials to discuss in further detail how sexting can best be addressed.

Parents have a big role to play

Mrs Evans told the Assembly that parents were “probably the most important defence that children have against the darkest elements of the internet,” but added that they sometimes needed support to be able to fulfil that role.

She referred to research by web safety organisation Knowthenet which suggested that some parents may be failing to protect their children in cyberspace, simply because they do not understand the net speak that peppers online exchanges.

Mrs Evans said: “For many parents, their understanding of everyday slang starts and ends with ‘LOL’, but they can be sure that their children’s vocabulary is much wider. A Knowthenet survey of 1,000 parents found that the least understood term was ‘LMIRL’, which means ‘Let’s meet in real life’. Also among the least-known acronyms were ‘ASL’, which means age, sex, location and ‘POS’, parents over shoulder.”

Community

Anzac Day commemoration service held in Milford Haven

Published

12 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Tom Sinclair

IN a service held on Sunday (Apr 28), the Milford Haven Branch of the Royal British Legion led a poignant commemoration service to mark Anzac Day, honouring the valor and sacrifices of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during the Gallipoli campaign in World War I.

The service, which took place at 11:00am, on Hamilton Terrace, Milford Haven, witnessed a significant turnout.

Attendees included members of the Australian Signals and Signal Company as well as representatives of Milford Haven Town Council and the Milford Haven Sea Cadets.

The service commenced with a welcome and introduction by Lt Col Warren Coetzer, followed by a rendition of the National Anthems of Australia, New Zealand, and Wales, embodying a spirit of unity and remembrance. The anthems were a moving tribute to the camaraderie and international bonds formed in times of conflict.

***ANZAC service: Remembering soldiers who fought bravely (Pic: MHTC)***

During the service, the Ode of Remembrance was recited, a profound moment that prompted reflection on the courage and fellowship of the ANZAC forces.

The emblematic Rising Sun Cap Badge and the Union Flag were prominently displayed on the event programme, symbolising the service and sacrifice of those who served under them.

Local dignitaries laid wreaths, and a two-minute silence was observed, offering a chance for personal reflection on the cost of war and the price of peace.

**Sea Cadets and member of the public at the service (Pic: MH Sea Cadets)**

The commemoration concluded with a prayer for peace, leaving the attendees with a message of hope and a renewed commitment to the values for which the ANZAC soldiers bravely fought.

The service was not just a remembrance of past sacrifices but also a reminder of the enduring spirit of the ANZACs, which continues to inspire and guide future generations.

Community

Survey of Picton Castle reveals groundbreaking medieval architecture

Published

13 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE first ever detailed architectural survey of Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire, has revealed a medieval castle ahead of its time in terms of design and high status living. Much altered in the Georgian period, the castle was surveyed by the author, Neil Ludlow, with Phil Poucher of Heneb – Dyfed Archaeology (formerly Dyfed Archaeological Trust) and funded by the Castle Studies Trust: it reveals a sophisticated building fit for royalty.

However, the building was actually built between 1315-20 by a senior royal government official called Sir John Wogan, who held office in Pembrokeshire, Northern England and Ireland and possibly fought on a military campaign in Gascony.

While outwardly it retains much of its medieval flavour, the interiors were extensively made over during the eighteenth century so that it now presents itself first and foremost as a Georgian country seat. But beneath this veneer, much medieval work still survives – though a lot of it is tucked away behind stud-walls, in cupboards, or is otherwise obscured.

Picton’s unique layout makes it a castle of great importance and architecturally ground-breaking for when it was built in the early fourteenth century. Most castles have at least some close parallels, but Picton is effectively one of a kind. Close study shows that it resolves as a central first-floor hall, flanked by services and a chamber-block to form a very early example of the three-unit ‘H-plan’ house.

The gatehouse – unusual in buildings of this kind – led onto an equally unusual ‘grand stairway’ to the hall; a second ground-floor entry probably led to an external kitchen and bakehouse.

The castle’s spatial disposition, access and circulation are meticulously planned, while the domestic appointments show a remarkable level of sophistication for the period, including what appear to be vertical serving-hatches between the ground floor and the service rooms above. At second-floor level, the east towers and gatehouse form two integrated suites of residential apartments either side of a chapel, in a manner firmly rooted within royal planning. The opposite pair of towers, at the west end, seem to have been united internally to form a residential chamber-block, for Wogan’s officials and guests, possibly served by latrines in the former west tower; the present partition walls are later.

Neil Ludlow told The Pembrokeshire Herald: “The enigmatic castle at Picton in Pembrokeshire is best-known for its magnificent Georgian interiors. But beneath this veneer is a medieval castle, from around 1315-20, with a unique layout. A towered hall-block with a pioneering ‘H-plan’, it reveals elements derived from royal planning, and sophisticated domestic arrangements including serving hatches between the floor levels. These innovations show it to have been a castle that was ahead of its time.”

Castle Studies Trust Chair of Trustees Jeremy Cunnington added: “The Castle Studies Trust is delighted to have funded the first ever detailed survey of Picton Castle and to have learned so much more about the medieval form of this unique building.”

Dr Rhiannon Talbot-English, Director at Picton Castle Trust told this newspaper: “Picton Castle has always been something of an enigmatic mystery: hidden gothic alcoves and arches, secret spiral staircases and untouched medieval Undercroft. Picton Castle Charitable Trust is extremely grateful to the Castle Studies Trust for its generous financial support which has enabled this research to be undertaken and we look forward to sharing this new knowledge with the public in a new exhibition about the early castle.”

Community

Solemn tributes at Freshwater West for WWII maritime tragedy

Published

13 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Tom Sinclair

IN an emotional gathering at Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire, the public and veterans convened on April 29, to honour the memory of the 85 souls lost in the tragic sinking of Landing Craft, Gun (LCG) 15 and LCG 16 during a brutal storm in April 1943.

The memorial service took place near the scenic, surf-popular beach, where the community assembled to reflect on the calamity that struck during a perilous wartime operation.

The service highlighted the sacrifices made by those aboard the LCGs, as well as six valiant crew members from the HMS Rosemary, who perished while attempting a daring rescue amidst the tempest.

Originally designed as Landing Craft, Tanks (LCTs), LCG 15 and LCG 16 were converted at Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard to support amphibious operations by equipping them with heavy artillery.

Their redesign included the installation of two 4.7 inch guns intended for use during D-Day, suggesting that, had they survived, these crafts and their crews could have played a pivotal role in the Normandy Landings.

The crafts were en route to Falmouth when they encountered severe weather off the coast of Freshwater West.

Compounded by their flat-bottomed design, which was ill-suited for rough seas, both vessels tragically succumbed to the stormy conditions.

Denied shelter at Fishguard, they were compelled to continue towards Milford Haven, a decision that ultimately led to their sinking.

Today, the wrecks of LCG 15 and LCG 16 lie as protected war graves, and a poignant memorial stands overlooking the beach, a testament to the bravery and enduring legacy of the men lost to the sea.

Visitors to the memorial site at Freshwater West, which also hosts another commemorative marker at Thornton Cemetery in Milford Haven, can reflect upon the harrowing experiences faced by wartime naval personnel and the profound impact of their service.

The event served not only as a remembrance but also as an educational experience, particularly for younger generations unaware of the perils faced by their forebears during such tumultuous times.

The memorial at Freshwater West remains open to the public, offering a place for contemplation and respect, against the backdrop of one of Wales’ most beloved surfing beaches, where the echoes of history resonate with the sounds of the waves.