A former policeman and his wife are overjoyed after their revolutionary scheme to keep children safe online won a top national award.
The eCadets scheme created by Henry Platten and his wife Danielle via their Flintshire-based eTreble9 company beat rival contenders from all over the UK.
They scooped first place in the category for Making the Internet a Safer Place at the prestigious Nominet awards and were the only winners from Wales on the night.
The coup is even more remarkable considering Henry and Danielle only launched the scheme five months ago.
Nominet is the company best known for running the internet infrastructure and its annual awards are seen by the online industry as the internet Oscars.
A panel including parliamentarians and online experts judged the awards which were presented at the London Film Museum during a ceremony hosted by TV technology journalist Kate Russell.
Kate, who presents television’s popular programme BBC Click, was so impressed with the eCadets scheme that she became an honorary eCadet and wore the eCadets badge for the rest of the evening.
More than 100 schools across the UK have now signed up to the eCadets programme which is also attracting international interest.
After collecting the prestigious trophy and commemorative certificate, Henry said: “The feedback we had from Kate, from experts in the field and even from our rival nominees was so positive. They all recognised the importance of the work we are doing and the way we have enabled children to help themselves in fighting the dangers that exist online.
“This project is very close to our hearts, which is why we are particularly pleased to have won in this specific category.
“To have come so far in such a short space of time is incredible. To see our efforts nationally recognised so soon after launch is testimony to the hard work our team have put in – and especially all the young eCadets who have been working with us at grass roots level in schools.”
Though based in Hawarden, Henry, a former sergeant with Cheshire Police and Danielle, eTreble9’s operations manager, aim to see the eCadets project rolled out across the UK.
That was very much on their minds when they headed for London again at the invitation of MPs who are keen to be briefed about the scheme. Danielle went with latest eCadets recruit, Chloe Samuel, a second year student at Glyndwr University in Wrexham, who has been taken on as a social media detective.
Henry said: “The dangers posed to children using the internet have no borders, which is why we have designed the eCadets scheme to be used by children anywhere.”
The idea is that each school who signs up to the scheme will have about eight eCadets who will be trained in ways to stay safe online, whether browsing the internet on PCs, laptops, tablets or phones, using social media or playing online games.
They learn skills such as how to recognise anything unscrupulous, create secure passwords, ways to avoid and block inappropriate websites and unwanted messages.
The eCadets can then pass on the skills they have learned to their peers, who know they can approach one of the school’s eCadets any time with any concerns they have over internet usage.
Danielle added: “Children use the internet virtually every day and talk to each other all the time about what they see and learn. They often won’t mention concerns they have to parents or teachers, but they do talk to each other which is why eCadets works.
“It makes internet security a talking point among the children themselves, updates them on threats to be aware of and keeps them informed about the best protocols to ensure they stay safe.
“It is a three year scheme, which leads schools to achieve accreditation and the eCadet quality mark in eSafety.
“We can help schools achieve a positive culture change by instilling eSafety into the school culture in a sustainable way.”
