Sheffield start-up launches educational social media platform as children spend more time online at home

Natterhub, which is based in Sheffield, released the interactive platform a month earlier than planned and made it available for free to help children stay safe online during the current crisis.

The platform has been created for teachers and was originally designed for classroom use.

But it has now been altered for home use too and is being offered for free to support teachers, parents and carers.

“As children are at home, they are inevitably spending more time online”, explained Manjit Sareen, co-founder and CEO of Natterhub and a parent of two young boys.

“This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the internet offers valuable learning opportunities as well as entertainment.

“But with this, there are also increased risks for children, especially for those who do not have the necessary guidance and education as they may be vulnerable to inappropriate information or cyberbullying. Sadly, we do expect to see an increase in the number of children being targeted online during this time.

“It was clear to us that whatever the challenges, now was the right time for us to launch.”

Natterhub is part of TwinklHive, a business accelerator for emerging start-ups that was launched in Sheffield last year by the education publisher Twinkl.

It is created for children aged five to 11 and enables teachers to make a safe, online community, for their pupils, while using a scheme of work to increase their understanding of the internet.

Former assistant headteacher Caroline Allams, co-founder and CCO of Natterhub, said: “We know that the internet is a really vital tool for everyone at the moment and a way for children to stay connected to the world and each other.

“We don’t want people to be afraid to use the internet, but we do want them to have a safe space to learn so that they can thrive online. It is not enough for children just to be safe, they need to know how to navigate their online lives and be aware, savvy, and sceptical about what they read.”

For more information visit the Natterhub website.

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