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Exceptional Education at the Heart of the Community

Exceptional Education at the Heart of the Community

Safeguarding notice - government mobile phone alerts

Safeguarding notice - government mobile phone alerts

You may be aware that the UK government is planning to trial an emergency messaging system on all phones within the UK, with a view to using this service to warn of future potential dangers. 

It is worth alerting your children to this should they be phone owners. 

There are a number of charities and support services, including domestic violence charities, who are concerned that this will put anyone in vulnerable situations in further danger - particularly if this reveals hidden mobile phones. 

The message will appear alongside a loud alarm on millions of mobile phones at 3pm on the 23rd April 2023.

The text that will appear will say: "This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby.

"In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe. Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.

"This is a test. You do not need to take any action."

Phone users will need to click "OK" on their home screen or swipe away from the message before being able to continue using their device, and drivers are advised to not touch their phones until pulled over and safe to do so.

If you do not want the alert to go off on your phone - you should turn off your mobile phone or disable emergency messaging in the settings.