Organisations have a legal responsibility towards those learners, staff and volunteers that are defined as Vulnerable, this will naturally include children and young people and adults with disabilities. Their needs and abilities may be different and require specific support in order to keep them safe whilst ensuring full access to resources and activities online. The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 provides a definition of vulnerable adult but each organisation will need to assess their own provision and demonstrate an appropriate response to risks. More guidance can be found on the Excellence Gateway.
A vulnerable Adult is any person receiving Health Care or under care or service for:

  • Learning difficulties and/or disabilities
  • Physical or sensory impairment
  • Neurological difficulties including Autistic Spectrum condition or ADHD
  • Mental illness including dementia
  • Old and frail
  • In Custody or under a probation order
  • Lifestyle issues

General issues applying to all learning providers
A number of national organisations are working to identify the specific vulnerabilities of disabled learners in a range of teaching and learning contexts. Some of the issues identified by the JISC TechDis service include:

  • communication - e-safety guidance and policies are often written for inspectors rather than for learners. Acceptable use policies are often an online box that someone ticks without any real understanding of what they are agreeing to or why.
  • scope - e-safety policies may be framed in the narrow context of the organisation. Whilst it is easy to ban social networking sites lack of supported exposure may increase vulnerability outside the teaching and learning context. Many of the most serious e-safety issues relate to activities like online banking and commerce that won't necessarily be covered within curriculum areas.
  • inductions - the learner's induction to the IT systems need to include user friendly guidance on e-safety principles. Whilst an excellent range of resources exist for pre16 learners these are not necessarily age appropriate or theme appropriate for post 16 and adult learners.
  • risk assessment - all learners are individual and therefore have individual vulnerabilities but different disabilities can predispose learners to specific vulnerabilities.

Work by JISC TechDis and partners has begun to map some of these but this work is at an early stage and any organisations with specific expertise would be very welcome to get in touch with their regional support centre or contact JISC TechDis directly.
Learners with disabilities have general vulnerabilites that can be exploited by those with malicious intent. These include:

  • willingness to trust others online who claim they have a similar disability
  • tendency to be attracted to online dating sites
  • a sense of identity that fosters close cross generational relationships.

Sensitivity is required in recognising these characteristics, celebrating the positive opportunities they afford but also helping the learner to avoid the heightened risk of exploitation that they may afford.
In addition to general vulnerabilities, specific vulnerabilities can result from different disabilities such as

  • Deaf learners - understanding abstract e-safety concepts such as phishing, scams etc
  • Learning difficulties - understanding that a "friend request" online doesn't guarantee friendliness.
  • Blind learners - recognising the tell tale signs of a scam email or dodgy website when limited to what a screenreader reads out. The use of or repeat of passwords by screen readers and navigation through 'captchas'.
  • Dyslexic learners - passwords written on diaries because they can't remember the complex sequence required.
  • Learners with Aspergers syndrome - communicating effectively in discussion lists without misunderstanding.

These are just examples of a wide range of vulnerabilities that might apply to disabled learners. Organisations may have different responses (it would be inappropriate for there not to be a range of good practices) but the starting point has to be to acknowledge the issues and audit existing provision.
Residential Settings and Specialist Colleges
Technology has had an considerable impact on the lives of people with difficulties and/or disabilities and offers many benefits. It is crucial that they have access to relevant enabling technology to express themselves, communicate and share their ideas and aspirations while being able to protect themselves online. This is as relevant in their time in education as in their own home.
Monitoring and supervision may be acceptable and relatively straight forward in a learning environment but may seem more intrusive in someone's own home.
Special circumstances

  • Residential setting - does guidance and policy include recreational and personal use of the internet, do teaching and support staff have the knowledge and skill to be able to support the policies
  • While there may be considerable training given to teaching and support staff within the college setting, the care and other support staff may not have the opportunity to access this training. Similarly, there may be legal e-responsibility issues with some care staff who do not understand or realise the consequence of their own behaviour online. (file sharing etc)

·  Does the risk assessment address particular vulnerabilities and are there age appropriate and relevant resources readily available. (link to presentation by Alistair McNaught, JISC Techdis)

  • Provider ethos? Do your policies and guidance promote adult status, independence and respond to learners own views. Do the learners or service users have an opportunity to shape and add to policy and e-safety guidelines.

Different contexts create different threats and different criteria to weigh up in risk assessment. Colleges will need to reconcile technical issues and pastoral responsibilities by taking a strategic rather than individual approach. Learners with differences are increasingly attending mainstream FE colleges and participating in college life. The possibility of their differences giving rise to targetted cyber-bullying needs to be addressed and responded to as part of the transition process.
Most importantly how will they be communicated to the learners and their understanding checked? Link to Communicating effectively
JISC Techdis, Natspec and other resdiential providers are working together to develop resources for guidance for providers of accomodation for vulnerable adults.
There are a number of projects in place which are looking at devloping curriculum resources for LLDD. These projects are not due to report back till the middle of 2012.
Resources
LLD - Linkage/Landmarks College LSIS funded Natspec Framework
Presentation for raising the issues with staff
National Star College Presentation on esafety
National Star college AUP
RSC SW Ofsted Safeguarding in Specialist Colleges
Oakwood Court Learner made Induction
Foxes Academy eSafety on mobile learning
SMOG Calculator
RSC SW Presentation on esafety
Useful Age-Appropriate Videos and resources
ThinkUknow SEN materials including videos with BSL