Louise Redknapp thinks EE's phone license initiative is a "great idea".
Louise Redknapp supports EE's PhoneSmart initiative
The former Eternal singer – who has Charley, 17, and Beau, 13, with ex-husband Jamie Redknapp – has spoken to her sons about staying safe online but she knows teenagers don't always take in everything they are told, so thinks completing the PhoneSmart programme will ensure the cautionary messages completely "sink" in with them.
Speaking about the PhoneSmart License scheme, a free online programme which allows young people to obtain the tools and confidence to use phone technology safely and responsibly, she exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "It’s like a driving licence but a phone licence but you can navigate yourself round the site and once you’ve done all the elements of it you know you can get a phone license.
"And I think it’s a good idea, well with my kids it seems to go in one ear and out the other – you don’t know how much they’re really taking in.
"But when you actually sit down and they’re reading it for themselves and they’re doing the activities – it kind of has to sink. You have to give it your attention.
"It’s a great idea. I think anyone would agree that phones are brilliant but at the same time you can be opened up to things that you’d wish to not read or see."
The free online programme, which has been created in collaboration with experts from Internet Matters, and in consultation with Home-Start, ChildNet, Marie Collins Foundation and the Anti-Bullying Alliance, teaches young people four modules including online hate, digital wellbeing, staying safe online and digital & media literacy.
The scheme takes around one hour to complete and features a range of interactive quizzes and activities and is designed to highlight both the benefits and the dangers of tech use.
Marc Allera, CEO of EE, said: "Our EE PhoneSmart Licence is designed to prepare children for the big wide world that a connected device can open up for them, and give them the tools to stay safe and be kind online.
"As the UK's best network, and with a desire to connect for good, we're playing our part in helping educate young people – not just EE customers – with a free online programme that will gives parents and guardians the confidence to prepare their child with the digital skills they need for a brighter future."
To find out more about the EE PhoneSmart Licence - which is available to everyone, not just EE customers - visit EEPhoneSmart.co.uk.
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