The Pokemon go game released in the UK earlier this year has attracted a wide audience and thousands of people play the game daily. The game allows players to catch Pokemon in a realistic manner through using a phones camera and real locations.
Many local landmarks are used as main features within the game bringing a lot of attention and people to a particular area. These landmarks are turned into Pokemon hotspots or Pokemon gyms. Many people walk specifically to these hotspots in order to catch certain Pokemon or fight in the Pokemon gyms.
This could cause a danger for those in the early years by drawing a lot of attention to a nursery or childcare setting if it has been chosen as a Pokemon hotspot or is located very close to one. The large amount of people playing the new Pokemon go game and accessing these hotspots on a daily basis could make any threats, dangers or safeguarding concerns from strangers more difficult to identify.
It also gives opportunity for anyone considering breaching safeguarding a reason to have cameras and phones out near early years settings. These phones and cameras could be used take photographs of children entering, leaving or playing in the nursery and this would be difficult to identify as you may assume they are just playing the new Pokemon go game.
Ensure all practitioners are aware of the threats the Pokemon go game could bring and ensure all practitioners are aware of the safeguarding policy should they expect anything untoward. Also empower the children and parents and promote ways the children can keep themselves safe such as stranger danger and staying close to an adult at all time.
If your early years setting has been chosen as a Pokemon hotspot the safest action to take is to write to the developers of the Pokemon game and ask for your setting to be removed. There have been cases of this happening so the developers will be happy to meet your needs. This way you can manage the safeguarding dangers more efficiently and reduce the footfall of people around your setting.