Manx Telecom Launches Island-wide Online Safety Roadshow for Year 6 Pupils 

Manx Telecom has organised an online safety roadshow that will visit primary schools, who have opted in for the initiative across the Isle of Man this autumn. This will bring expert-led sessions to the Island’s Year 6 pupils. The company has coordinated the programme with primary schools across the Island and is bringing in UK children’s online safety charity Childnet to deliver the sessions, which run in late September. 

The roadshow is aimed at the age that matters most. Year 6 is the final year of primary school, when children begin preparing for the greater independence that comes with secondary school, online as well as off. Ofcom research shows that children’s online activity increases sharply as they move from primary to secondary school, and the sessions are designed to give children the skills and confidence to think critically, stay safe and know who to turn to, wherever they go online. 

Sessions will be delivered in schools by Childnet’s specialist educators, whose programmes are used in classrooms across the British Isles, with Manx Telecom’s community van, Bluey, joining the tour. Parents and pupils don’t need to do anything: participating schools will contact families directly with details. Alongside the school visits, Manx Telecom will host dedicated sessions for parents at its headquarters in Braddan. 

Gary Lamb, Chief Executive Officer at Manx Telecom, said: “We take our responsibility as the Island’s leading telecommunications provider seriously. We’re proud to keep people connected, but we accept that connection comes with responsibility, especially where children are concerned. Keeping young people safe online isn’t a job for parents alone, schools alone, or companies like ours alone; it works when everyone plays their part. That’s why we’ve organised this roadshow with schools across the Island and brought in Childnet, genuine experts in this field, so the Island’s children get the best guidance there is, at exactly the age they need it.” 

Amy Lockwood, Deputy CEO and Education Manager at Childnet, said: “Year 6 is a brilliant age to have these conversations. Our sessions cover the things children are actually dealing with: keeping personal information private, being kind online and dealing with unkindness, thinking critically about what they see, understanding that people online aren’t always who they say they are, and knowing exactly who to tell when something doesn’t feel right. We’re delighted to be working with Manx Telecom to bring the programme to children right across the Isle of Man.” 

The roadshow sits alongside the practical tools Manx Telecom already provides for families. Every Manx Telecom fibre home comes with a Nokia Corteca router with advanced parental controls, managed from an app: family profiles for each child’s devices, screen-time schedules, internet bedtimes, website blocking and a pause button. The features are available to new and existing customers at no extra cost. For younger children, parents can also add a talk and text only SIM to their contract, keeping a child reachable by call and text with mobile data fully blocked. A fixed fibre line into the home, with these controls built in, remains the most reliable and manageable way to bring the internet into a family home.