Ken Corish -
E-Safety Consultant
Ken is E-Safety Consultant with South West Grid for Learning and Chair of their successful E-Safety Development Group. He has wide education experience, drawing on twenty-five years as a teacher and deputy head and ten years as an Education Adviser for ICT in Plymouth, UK. These roles not only include the monitoring of standards in ICT in schools, but also managing Plymouth’s education broadband strategy. His subsequent work around E-Safety education, intervention and school improvement has developed from a pragmatic understanding of school need. This work includes education programmes for students and staff that range from cyberbullying to protecting professional identity; creation of school improvement strategies and production of innovative E-Safety support materials. He works with a broad range of national and international organisations that include Childnet, CEOP, InSafe, NCMEC, FOSI and Internet Watch Foundation. He recently presented at the Internet Governance Forum in Egypt.
David Wright -
E-Safety Consultant
David is the E-Safety Consultant for SWGfL and has responsibility for the safety provision across the regional broadband infrastructure as well as supporting the 15 South West Local Authorities, 2,500 schools and 700,000 children with regards online safety. David has worked extensively in the area of online safety for many years not only with children, schools and wider communities but also with partner agencies such as the Police, CEOP and Childnet. David has presented at online safety conferences both home and abroad and currently chairs the National Education Network Safeguarding Group in the UK and as a member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety where he actively participates with the Council’s education and public awareness working groups. Overseas, David is a member of the National Council for the NetSmartz Workshop in the US. In January 2011, David is leading the establishment of the new UK Safer Internet Centre, alongside partners Childnet and IWF, and co funded by the European Commission.
Alan Earl -
Harm Reduction Officer
Alan Earl is a police officer currently on secondment to SWGfL from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s Internet Child Abuse Team. Alan’s secondment is looking at strengthening the collaboration between the law enforcement agencies and Local Authorities across the South West for the safeguarding of children in online environments. Alan has also served with the police in Bermuda. With years of experience of intelligence work, his current role concentrates on dangerous and paedophile offenders. Alan delivers training to educators using his wide knowledge of paedophile activity on the Internet and current issues and risks. Alan received CEOP's Childrens Champion of the Year Award in 2008. Alan also sits on the Education Advisory Boards of both CEOP and Netsmartz the education arm of NCMEC (the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the USA.
Peter Bower -
Online Safety Consultant
Peter Bower was a teacher for 29 years and was an Assistant Headteacher, with responsibility for Students and Families, in a large 11-18 Comprehensive School in Cornwall. He had responsibility for Child Protection and Children in Care and worked on a number of locality groups and local authority groups, involving working with professionals from different agencies. Peter delivers online safety sessions to schools and parents and carers throughout the South West. He is an Online Safety Consultant to South West Grid for Learning and coordinates the SWGfL EPICT Online Safety qualification. Peter represents SWGfL on the Cornwall LSCB.
Ron Richards -
Independent E-Safety Consultant
Ron Richards became a founding member of the SWGfL E-Safety Group in 2005, while Headteacher of Priory Community School, a large secondary school in Weston super Mare. More recently, he has held the challenging post of Headteacher of a Virtual School for Looked After Children in North Somerset as well as being invited to manage the council’s 14-19 broadband project.In his continuing role as a School Improvement Partner to many Somerset secondary schools, he advises on a wide range of issues, complemented by his role as a school ICTMark Assessor. Ron’s participation with SWGfL has increased, drawing on his experience of holding senior school and Local Authority management positions, resulting in his authoring of many SWGfL policies and a driving force behind the coveted 360 degree safe online safety self assessment tool.
Dr Andy Phippen -
Associate Professor of Social Responsibility In IT
Dr Andy Phippen is an Associate Professor of Social Responsibility in IT at Plymouth Business School. He has carried out research for many years on the public engagement of the Internet, the behavior of the technology sector and impact of ICTs on society.
He has worked as a research partner with the SWGfL for five years collaborating on many projects related to young people’s use of Internet technologies and the role of the education professional in the engagement of such. Recent major projects include a national study to be carried out on young people’s attitudes toward “sexting” and the largest study in the world exploring online safety policy and practice in UK schools. He lectures online safety to teacher trainees at his own University promoting awareness of both young people’s practice and professional identity and the impact of online spaces upon this. He lives in North Cornwall with his family and is vice chair of governors at St Kew Primary, his children’s school.