CHILDREN should be taught internet safety - and how to avoid online paedophiles - as part of the national curriculum, it was claimed.

The director of the Cyberspace Research Unit at the University of Central Lancashire, Dr Rachel O'Connell, said learning about the dangers posed by the internet should be compulsory in schools.

"Online well-being should be a mandatory part of the school curriculum from the day a child starts at school," she said.

"It needs to be embedded throughout the curriculum."

She added: "Teachers need to be up-skilled in order to achieve that."

Pornography

Dr O'Connell said that while up to 92% of nine to 19-year-olds were now accessing the internet at school, a third had not received lessons on its use.

Just over half had seen pornography on the Web but only four out of 10 said they would tell their parents if something on the net made them feel uncomfortable.

Her call coincided with the launch of a new website offering internet safety tips for parents and children was launched.

The site - www.internetsafetyzone.com - brings together content from government, industry, children's welfare organisations and academics for the first time.

Backed by a é1 million Home Office awareness campaign, it was unveiled at a conference in London which will also look at the media's role in covering controversial subjects available on the web, such as suicide websites and pro-anorexia and self-harm online forums.