Wednesday 31 January 2018

Safer Internet Day 2018: Putting the spotlight on online safety in your school

With Safer Internet Day coming up on the 6th February, now is the perfect time to reflect on how your school is promoting online safety.

Online safety is a crucial part of every school’s curriculum, but finding ways to keep key online safety messages fresh and inspiring can be a real challenge. Here are our top tips on how to use Safer Internet Day to promote online safety, alongside some of the amazing ideas we’ve been hearing from the schools already registered as supporters of Safer Internet Day 2018.

Pupil powered online safety

Young people are often incredibly knowledgeable about technology and the online world, so why not use that expertise to your advantage? Peer-to-peer and youth-led activities run by pupils are a fantastic and popular way to spread online safety messages. For Safer Internet Day at Brooke School their digital leaders will be ‘organising a range of differentiated and interactive activities for students throughout school’ whilst at Dunbar Grammar School pupil ambassadors will be visiting local primary schools to ‘teach mini lessons’.

Get Parents Involved

Make sure online safety messages are making it home by getting parents involved. You might want to consider holding a session specifically for parents or have activities that children and parents can do together. At Eastfield Infants and Nursery School they’re holding a drop-in session for parents, whilst Hendre Infants School are giving pupils the opportunity to ‘demonstrate to their parents how they keep themselves safe online’.

Creative activities

Get young people really thinking about online safety, whilst keeping the activities fun and exciting by encouraging them to get creative. At Firs Primary School, KS1 will be rewriting online safety stories and KS2 will be ‘making their own board games’. Every year we also hear about schools writing their own songs, raps and poems or, like Turning Tides Triple T’s youth clubs, ‘creating their own TV adverts.’ In Wales, thousands of schoolchildren participated in a special creative competition to express how being online makes them feel.

Use Safer Internet Day to reinforce Online Safety Messages

Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity to really put a spotlight on online safety in your school. But remember, anything you choose to do on the 6th February should form part of ongoing coverage of online safety issues. Make sure pupils understand the importance of staying safe online throughout the whole year by returning to the topic regularly. You could also think about having a dedicated online safety display, a school charter or online safety rules which everyone agrees to follow or an online safety tip of the week in your school newsletter. At Little Aston Primary they’re using Safer Internet Day as an opportunity to ‘create a new school internet safety poster’, whilst at Feniscowles Primary their priority is to ‘reinforce the messages frequently given out in school’.

Free resources from the UK Safer Internet Centre

For a range of engaging and up-to-date ideas for your class, then the UK Safer Internet Centre have specially designed a selection of free-to-download education packs. These packs are available for ages 3-7s, 7-11s, 11-14s and 14-18s. Each pack includes lesson plans, posters, presentations, quick activities and more. There’s even a pack for parents and carers to do at home! You can also take a look at the SIDTV films produced to complement the Education Packs and focussing on this year’s theme of healthy online relationships and digital wellbeing.

Whatever you’re doing to put a spotlight on online safety this Safer Internet Day, we’d love to hear about it. Register as a supporter, like all the schools mentioned in this blog or join the #SID2018 social media campaign by creating your #ItStartsWithUs pledge.



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Tuesday 30 January 2018

1 week to go until Safer Internet Day

With just one week to go until Safer Internet Day 2018, we are truly inspired by the amount of activities and celebrations that are planned for the 6th February 2018. From football clubs to banks, schools to businesses, people all across the country are helping to create a better internet this Safer Internet Day.

In this blog we want to give you a quick rundown on how you can get involved too.

7 things to do in the next 7 days:

  1. Sign up to the Thunderclap – Help us spread the word of Safer Internet Day in a mass social media post on the 6th February
  2. Register as a supporter - showcase what you are doing to support Safer Internet Day, join over 1,000 supporters on our supporters list
  3. Join the social media campaign - #ItStartsWithUs this Safer Internet Day, share your plans to make the internet a better place on social media using the hashtags #SID2018 and #ItStartsWithUs
  4. Take the Safer Internet Day Quiz – test your students’ online safety knowledge with the Safer Internet Day Quiz
  5. Check out the Safer Internet Day Top Tips – top tips for parents and carers, 11-18 year olds and under 11s to help keep you safe online this Safer Internet Day
  6. Download the Safer Internet Day Education Packs and watch the SID TV films to incorporate Safer Internet Day into your lessons
  7. Help us spread the word – Using the campaign toolkit and suggested tweets help us spread the word of Safer Internet Day across your social media profiles!

Post this on social media:

Just one week to go until Safer Internet Day on the 6th February! Find out more about how you can get involved in making the internet a better place this #SID2018 www.saferinternetday.org.uk



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Monday 29 January 2018

Safeguarding young people online: Advice for professionals this Safer Internet Day

As Safer Internet Day is fast approaching, Kathryn Tremlett from the Professionals Online Safety Helpline offers advice on what to do if a young person comes to you with an online safety concern.

Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for teachers and professionals to have a conversation with their pupils about safe internet usage. As a direct impact of Safer Internet Day 2017 1 in 4 children aged 8-17 spoke to someone about something that had been worrying them online.

At the end of 2017, the findings from Europe-wide project deSHAME were published, revealing that young people face many barriers that can prevent them from speaking up about online sexual harassment. One statistic that stands out is 56% said they would be too embarrassed to seek help from a professional.

With this in mind, if you are a member of the children’s workforce it’s important that young people see you as someone they can approach. It can be daunting for both of you when you’re approached by a child concerned about online behaviour. Sometimes it can be difficult to relate, especially when it’s about technology you may not know a lot about.

In this blog the Professionals Online Safety Helpline (POSH) sets out what you need to remember if a young person comes to you with an online safety concern.

What to do

If a young person discloses a problem to you, here are our top tips:

  • Let them talk – The young person has come to you, give them the space to share what they want to in their way. Try to avoid the temptation to interrupt because you know what’s going on, prompt if necessary but let them do most of the talking.
     
  • Don’t make promises you can’t keep – The last thing a young person disclosing needs is promises about confidentiality which cannot be upheld. Make sure they know that you may need to talk to other people about the issue to help protect them from anything further happening.
     
  • Don’t be shocked by what they tell you – If there’s one sure way to put a young person off seeking help it’s making them feel embarrassed or ashamed about why they’re asking for help. Times change and some of the things young people do today may make us cringe sometimes, but the inherent behaviour is the same as it was when we were their age.
     
  • Trust your gut - If you have concerns, act now. Speak to the child, get support from their school and if you think they are at risk, contact the police. The National Crime Agency’s CEOP command has lots of advice at thinkuknow.co.uk
     
  • Remember your Duty of Care – All members of the children’s workforce have a responsibility to provide a duty of care for any young person they work with. Even if you’re not 100% sure whether other agencies need to be involved to help protect a young person, talk to your designated safeguarding officer. They may be better placed to help work out the next course of action.
     
  • Remember aftercare – All too often we hear about incidents where an issue has been resolved but following on from this a young person and/ or professional continues to struggle with the emotional trauma. They may not know where to go for help and pointing them in the right direction for emotional support is just as important as dealing with the incident itself.

If a child is in immediate danger

If you are concerned a young person is in immediate danger, call 999
 

The Professionals Online Safety Helpline

POSH (the Professionals Online Safety Helpline) was set up in 2011 to provide support to all professionals working with children and young people. We work with teachers, social workers, doctors, police, coaches, foster carers, youth workers and many more.

The helpline provides free, independent, expert advice on all aspects of digital and online issues, such as: bullying, gaming, sexting, fraud, and grooming to name just a few. There are many reasons that people call the Posh Helpline; from worries about a young person who’s constantly glued to their device, to someone making a false allegation about their organisation. Whether you need support or just someone to talk an incident through with, the Professionals Online Safety Helpline is open Monday to Friday, between 10am-4pm.

Tel: 0344 381 4772 email: helpline@saferinternet.org.uk

Download our free educational resources and watch our films about Safer Internet Day 2018



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Friday 26 January 2018

How to get involved in the Safer Internet Day Social media campaign

#ItStartsWithUs this Safer Internet Day – top tips for getting involved on social media.

Around the world on Safer Internet Day, millions of people will be joining the #SID2018 social media campaign.

The UK campaign will start with a mass social media post – already set to reach over 2 million people!

Look out for the custom emoji on Twitter and global filter on Snapchat – and get involved by sharing your pledge using our #ItStartsWithUs template.

Together we can create a wave of kindness online this Safer Internet Day!

Using the #ItStartsWithUs template

There are three easy steps when it comes to using the #ItStartsWithUs template:

  1. Use the jigsaw template and fill in a pledge to do something positive online. It could be a picture of the kind things you will do online or a pledge to take a positive action to make the internet a better place. The jigsaw shows how your actions fit in with the actions of those around you, to create a better internet.
  2. Take a photo of your pledge and share it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and any other social media platform with the hashtag #ItStartsWithUs
  3. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to get involved too!

Sharing your pledge

You could also share your pledge to do something good in a text post, Tweet or on your Snapchat Story!

Here are some examples of the kinds of things you can share online this Safer Internet Day!

  • This #SID2018 I will be posting kind comments to my friends online to create a better internet #ItStartsWithUs
  • For Safer Internet Day I will post funny videos to cheer up my friends #ItStartsWithUs! #SID2018
  • ​This Safer Internet Day we will be sharing positive messages with our followers #ItStartsWithUs #SID2018
  • This Safer Internet Day we will be helping to make the internet a better place #ItStartsWithUs #SID2018 

Showing kindness online

The internet provides a powerful way for us to spread kindness and respect and support our friends.

A key way to get involved in Safer Internet Day on social media is by taking action online. This could be sharing a positive comment, posting a picture to cheer a friend up, or supporting your friends when they post something online! This Safer Internet Day we want to promote a better internet, and this can be achieved by everyone taking small steps to show kindness and respect online! A better internet starts with you!

Why not join the Thunderclap? Simply sign up here.

Joining the global conversation

To follow the global conversation this Safer Internet Day, and see what people are doing around the world use the hashtag #SID2018!

Find out more about all of the ways you can get involved on social media, including example tweets and the templates you need by visiting www.saferinternetday.org.uk/social-media



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Safer Internet Day reaches 1,000 Supporters

We are delighted to announce that the Safer Internet Day supporters list has reached over 1,000 supporters!

The supporters list showcases what activities are taking place across the UK on Safer Internet Day to promote the safe and positive use of technology.

A wide range of registered supporters have pledged to get involved in delivering Safer Internet Day activities; including:

  • 699 schools, including primary and secondary schools across the UK
  • 76 charities, including the National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, Stonewall, The Mix, the Scout Association, UK Youth
  • 90 businesses, including Facebook, Lloyds Banking Group, Microsoft and Vodafone
  • 40 government, including the Department for Education, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and local authorities across the UK
  • 23 police, including Police Scotland, the Metropolitan Police, and police services across the UK
  • 72 other, including Premier League Football Clubs, teaching unions, regulators, industry bodies and more!

This collective activity will achieve a hugely positive impact. Last year, together we reached 42% of UK children and 23% of UK parents and inspired conversations across the UK about the safe and positive use of technology. 

To see a full list of registered organisations and view the map visit our Supporters List.

Join the list by completing the online registration form.



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Thursday 25 January 2018

How the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) makes the internet a safer place

The following blog contains content of a sensitive nature and addresses the issue of child sexual abuse.

How the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) makes the internet a safer place

By Kate*, IWF Hotline Analyst

Every time Hayley, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, receives a brown envelope through the door, her heart pounds. She throws the brown envelope in a pile with others, and vows never to look at it. Within these envelopes are a reminder of the darkest time of her life – when she was being sexually abused as a child.

Hayley and her sister were abused from birth. Both of them told the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) that they receive two to three of these brown envelopes from law enforcement each week- notifications which detail another incident where an image of their horrific abuse was shared another time by an offender on the internet. She also told us that as well as spending her life out in public worrying that anyone she encounters might have seen pictures of her, she is terrified all the time that anyone could approach her and physically hurt her.

Hayley and her sister are just two victims of child sexual abuse which the IWF has regularly helped. The IWF Hotline remains constantly vigilant, not only processing reports from distressed members of the public who have stumbled across child sexual abuse content, but also proactively searching for this content, hunting it down so fewer offenders worldwide have access to it, while stopping them from continuously sharing the images on the open and dark web.

The IWF’s journey started in 1996 in a small office on the outskirts of Cambridge. At this point, the UK hosted a whopping 18 percent of known child sexual abuse imagery on the internet. The analysts on the team got to work; by 2003 the figure fell below one percent, and it now stands at 0.1 percent.

With big internet industry partners, the IWF has made the internet a safer place where fewer people stumble across traumatising child sexual abuse content. Meanwhile, our image Hash List has allowed child sexual abuse victims to sleep better at night knowing that their images can never resurface again. This year the IWF, after developing the latest technology, will be able to better detect previously unseen images, rather than ones already on our database of digital fingerprints (hashes), which could see law enforcement across the world finding and saving new victims from abuse quicker than ever before. A third beneficiary of the IWF’s work is our Members, whose networks remain free from illegal content using a range of services, including the URL List and Keywords List.

Every time a child sexual abuse victim’s image is shared, they suffer revictimisation. As the IWF spreads its roots across the world through its international Reporting Portals, it is saving more and more victims from sexual rape and torture. Children’s lives are irrevocably changed after child sexual abuse, and the IWF is here to make sure they no longer have to fear the images of their suffering being seen and shared. The IWF’s work as one of three partners in the UK Safer Internet Centre furthers its goal to protect children on the internet by helping to prevent children getting into unsafe situations, on top of its work helping victims after sexual abuse.

Please help victims like Hayley by spreading the word about the IWF’s work. You can sign up to our Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn pages, and encourage your local schools and other organisations to get involved in Safer Internet Day.

*Kate’s name has been changed to protect her identity.



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In focus: SID2018 Educational resources for 14-18 year olds

For Safer Internet Day 2018, the UK Safer Internet Centre has created educational resources for 3-18s, including resources tailored for 14-18 year olds.

Safer Internet Day 2018 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 6th February 2018 with the slogan “Create, Connect and Share Respect: A better internet starts with you”.

The resources for 14-18 year olds aim to give young people the opportunity to discuss how going online makes them feel and the impact this has on them and others. We want to empower young people to take a lead and actively campaign on the aspects of their online lives they want to celebrate or those they want change.

Free resources for schools and other settings

The Education Pack for 14-18 year olds and complementary SID TV film provide a range of activities to help schools, youth groups and other settings get involved. In the pack you will find an assembly and script, lesson plan, quick activities, whole school activities and a poster to promote the day.

Three of the activities in the Education Pack are: 

Run a campaign

In the whole school activities there is a guide to running a campaign and a video to show young people how to create a campaign film in less than 20 minutes! This is a great way for young people to come together and make a difference. 

Show empathy online

It can be difficult to appreciate how someone may be feeling online or what impact a comment or not being included can have. Through our screens is one of the Quick Activities and gives young people the chance to identify 5 emotions a person may be feeling when online and then explore this through writing. Young people could do this after reading about something that happened online or more generally. This will help them to support others online.

My online hero

There are lots of people using the power and the influence of the internet to make a difference. My online hero is a fantastic way for young people to showcase who inspires them and celebrate the positive connections people make online. You will find this amongst the Quick Activities.

Guidance for educators

We have also created a guidance pack for the people delivering the Safer Internet Day messages in your school, youth group or other setting.

This gives further advice about how to mark Safer Internet Day and information about how to handle disclosures and sensitive topics, as well as how you can spread the word even further, including by contacting local press.

Join hundreds of organisations across the UK

You can link up with the wider campaign taking place across the UK – and globally in over 130 countries – by joining the social media campaign and registering as an official supporter.

Simply complete our registration form to become an official supporter on our website and receive your supporter certificate.

Plus download our templates to make your pledges for the Safer Internet Day social media campaign #ItStartsWithUs.

Key links

Visit www.saferinternetday.org.uk for:



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Wednesday 24 January 2018

Safer Internet Day Top Tips and Advice Pages

The UK Safer Internet Centre has launched top tips and advice pages especially for Safer Internet Day 2018.

These pages contain tips, advice and resources to help young people and their families enjoy technology and the internet together, in a safe and positive way.

Top Tips for children and young people

These pages include top tips about staying safe online as well as using digital empathy skills to promote healthy relationships online, linking with this year’s Safer Internet Day theme; digital wellbeing.

The advice pages for young people are split into two age appropriate sections:

  • Under 11s - Five top tips around staying safe online, what to do if you see something that upsets you, how to be a good friend, saying sorry and taking a step back.
  • 11-18 year olds - Five top tips exploring digital empathy and creating meaningful connections online, managing your digital footprint, thinking critically about what and who you can trust online and being in control of your online activity.

Tips and advice for parents and carers

Our top tips for parents and carers will equip you with advice and guidance on how to support children and young people online.

These tips are a great way to ensure that parents and carers are supporting their children and giving them the tools to stay safe and positive online. They highlight the importance of being involved in a child’s online life and offer ideas and support for starting a conversation about online safety.

All of the top tips can be found on the Safer Internet Day 2018 landing page. 



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Tuesday 23 January 2018

Primary schools close the gap in online safety education: latest 360 report finds

Today (Tuesday 23 January 2018), SWGfL - one of the partners in the UK Safer Internet Centre - has published its annual ‘State of the Nation’ report into UK schools’ online safety policy and practice.

The report was compiled by Professor Andy Phippen from Plymouth University, and assesses data provided by more than 12,000 education settings using the multi award-winning ‘360 degree safe’ – an online tool that enables schools to review their online safety provision and develop an action plan to bring about improvements.

The tool continues to be adopted by a lot of schools – with more than 1,500 new registrations in 2017. Of these 1,000 have embarked upon a self-review, showing online safety is still an important priority for schools.

Key findings

In general secondary schools perform better than primary schools, but the difference isn’t as clear as it once was, showing how primary schools have really engaged with online safety issues since analysis on the tool began 7 years ago.

Aspects where secondaries do outperform primaries significantly - such as filtering, password security, mobile tech policy and technical security - are perhaps unsurprisingly those that we might view as more resource intensive.

However there are a number of aspects where primaries are ahead of secondaries, notably; policy development, policy scope, governor training, governor involvement, parental engagement, and policy around digital images and videos.

Filtering and Monitoring

Reassuringly, as per UKCISS guidance on schools to provide ‘appropriate levels of filtering and monitoring’ 97% of secondary schools and 90% of primary schools have at least basic levels of these in place, ensuring children can’t access inappropriate content at school and schools are checking what children are accessing.

Data

It is also positive to see improvements in data protection policy, although with impending new GDPR rules set to be implemented in May 2018 there is still significant room for improvement. Nonetheless with 70% of secondary schools having a policy around data protection, compared to 34% last year, showing an increased awareness of their responsibilities for keeping sensitive data about pupils and the wider school community safe in their care.

Online safety training

Over recent years, the report has disclosed a lack of knowledge amongst teachers and this definitely remains the case over the last 12 months, with around 45% having had no staff training to date around online safety.

The report also concludes that, despite significant improvement (up from 30% last year) in governor involvement over the past 12 months - with 55% of secondary schools and 50% of primary schools having no training in place for governors – this is an area with considerable room for improvement.

This raises concerns that without sufficient knowledge governors are unable to challenge senior leaders in schools about their online safety practices, which may place young people at risk.

Andy Phippen, Professor of Social Responsibility in IT at the University of Plymouth said:

“In this 7th annual assessment report we can see that schools continue to make progress, in particular it reflects the progress primary schools are making from a time when online safety was viewed as very much a secondary school issue.

“This is encouraging as we know that the earlier we start with online safety education, the greater potential we have for resilient, internet savvy children.

“Despite there are some significant and worrying gaps.Training for staff is of particular concern as it is a fundamental requirement if online safety education and safeguarding are to be effective in a school. Similarly, given the important role governors play in challenging senior leadership this is an area where we would expect engagement levels to be higher.”

Ken Corish, Online Safety Director at SWGfL went on to comment:

“It is encouraging to see that on the whole schools are continuing to make good progress in raising the standard of online safety provision, however with the recent publication of the government’s Internet Safety Strategy there is still room for improvement.

“In particular it is obviously worrying that schools continue to struggle with data protection compliance, and we would urge them to familiarize themselves with GDPR, and consider implementing our own self-review tool called 360data which helps organisations test and improve their data protection policies and practices.”

Read the full report

Key Statistics

  • 97% of secondary schools and 90% of primary schools have at least basic levels of filtering and monitoring in place, ensuring children can’t access inappropriate content at school and schools are checking what children are accessing
  • 70% of secondary schools have policy around data protection, showing their awareness of their responsibilities for keeping sensitive data about pupils and the wider school community safe in their care
  • Almost 90% of secondary schools and 80% of primary schools have an online safety education programme in place in their settings, almost 50% of secondary schools have a detailed programme
  • 86% of secondary schools and 80% of primary schools address digital literacy effectively in their curricula 
  • 70% of primary schools have policy around social media, an ever increasing issue for primary aged children
  • 55% of primary schools and 47% of secondary schools have no strategy around how to engage the wider school community around online safety 
  • 55% of secondary schools and 50% of primary schools have no training in place for governors around online safety – concerning given governors provide challenge to the senior leadership on what they should be doing 
  • Around 45% of all schools have no strategy in place for staff training around online safety, a fundatmental requirement if online safety education and safeguarding are effective in the school.


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2 weeks until Safer Internet Day - key things to do now

Safer Internet Day is taking place in 2 weeks on Tuesday 6th February 2018!

Already over 800 organisations right across the UK have registered as supporters, including over 600 schools and big names such as Microsoft, Facebook, Lloyds Banking Group, the Department for Education, Welsh Government, the Children’s Commissioner for England, National Education Union and NASUWT, as well as Premier League Football Clubs, police services and charities across the UK.

We’re already seeing young people getting involved in the #ItStartsWithUs social media campaign, designing their jigsaw templates to show how they will play their part to create a better internet, while the Thunderclap is already set to reach over a million people on the morning of Safer Internet Day.

In the meantime, schools and others are using the Education Packs, SID TV and quiz to plan activities for the day, while TES have shared a helpful blog with key resources to help you get involved.

If you want to share something directly with children and their parents, our advice pages for under-11s, 11-18s and parents/carers bring together our top tips and key resources and activities.

5 things to do this week

  1. Register as a supporter – and if you have already, encourage other organisations to register!
  2. Join the Thunderclap – and help spread the word to encourage others to join
  3. Spread the word – use our Campaign Toolkit which includes banners, articles, newsletter text and suggested social media posts  
  4. Join our #ItStartsWithUs social media campaign – download our templates and create your design
  5. Visit www.saferinternetday.org.uk to download our educational resources, take the quiz and see our advice pages to help you get ready for your activities on the day.

Help us spread the word by posting this on social media:

It’s just 2 weeks until Safer Internet Day on 6th Feb! Visit www.saferinternetday.org.uk for free educational resources, campaign materials and more. Together we can make the internet a better place #SID2018 @UK_SIC



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Thursday 18 January 2018

In focus: SID2018 Educational resources for 11-14 year olds

For Safer Internet Day 2018, the UK Safer Internet Centre has created educational resources for 3-18s, including resources tailored for 11-14 year olds.

Safer Internet Day 2018 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 6th February 2018 with the slogan “Create, Connect and Share Respect: A better internet starts with you”.

The resources for 11-14 year olds aims to reflect on how the online world can influence and put pressure on us and consider how we can respond to online pressure. It will also explore ways we can create more positive connections and share respect online.  

Free resources for schools and other settings

The Education Pack for 11-14 year olds and complementary SID TV film provide a range of activities to help schools, youth groups and other settings get involved. ​ ​

The pack includes a full lesson plan with accompanying resources which explores the amount of influence the online world has on us and how and when this translates into pressure. It includes engaging discussions, an ‘are you easily influenced?’ quiz, challenges and scenarios to be explored. The pack also includes an assembly which focuses on digital wellbeing and how being online can affect us. There are also challenges and activities which can be completed by a whole school/ club or small quick activities. These include busting the digital myths from the digital truths and creating a 30 digital wellbeing challenge.

All the activities can easily be adapted to suit different types of educational or recreational settings and amount of time and resources needed have been indicated.  

Guidance for educators

We have also created a guidance pack for the people delivering the Safer Internet Day messages in your school, youth group or other setting.

This gives further advice about how to mark Safer Internet Day and information about how to handle disclosures and sensitive topics, as well as how you can spread the word even further, including by contacting local press.

Join hundreds of organisations across the UK

You can link up with the wider campaign taking place across the UK – and globally in over 130 countries – by joining the social media campaign and registering as an official supporter.

Simply complete our registration form to become an official supporter on our website and receive your supporter certificate.

Plus download our templates to make your pledges for the Safer Internet Day social media campaign #ItStartsWithUs.



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Wednesday 17 January 2018

Test your online safety knowledge with the Safer Internet Day Quiz!

Calling all young people aged 8-13! Now’s the time to test your online safety knowledge and take our 2018 Safer Internet Day Quiz.

This year’s Safer Internet Day theme is, ‘Create, connect and share respect – a better internet starts with you!’ and to celebrate this we are looking at how internet users of all ages can create positive connections and develop and maintain healthy online behaviours and relationships.

From content sharing to privacy settings

The questions cover a range of scenarios that you might find yourself dealing with online, such as sharing content, commenting on online posts, uploading profile pictures, keeping up with online crazes, passwords and privacy, friendship and much more!

In the process of taking the quiz you will receive lots of helpful feedback and advice. 

Take the quiz

The Safer Internet Day quiz is designed for 8-13 year olds, but can be played by anyone, and can be used alongside the Education Packs and SID TV films or used on its own. Why not see how everyone in your family does? 

To take the Quiz visit www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2018/quiz

Remember to share your results with your family and friends to try and beat their scores.



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Monday 15 January 2018

In focus: SID2018 Educational resources for 7 to 11 year olds

For Safer Internet Day 2018, the UK Safer Internet Centre has created educational resources for 3-18s, including resources tailored for 7 – 11 year olds.

Safer Internet Day 2018 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 6th February 2018 with the slogan “Create, Connect and Share Respect: A better internet starts with you”.

The resources for 7-11s aim to help children reflect on their digital empathy skills. Children will recognise what online behaviours are positive, and can make themselves and others feel happy, and what online behaviours are negative, and can upset others, making themselves feel sad too. The activities aim to help children develop strategies to resolve online conflicts and upsets in a healthy and positive way.

Free resources for schools and other settings

The Education Pack for 7-11s and complementary SID TV film provide a range of activities to help schools, youth groups and other settings get involved.

The whole range of resources in this pack, including an assembly, lesson plan, group activities and drama scripts can easily be adapted to suit different settings and sizes of group.

Activities such as the emotion thermometer in the lesson plan encourage children to reflect on how the internet makes them feel. There are also lots of quick activities that encourage children to work in groups to consider what they would do in different scenarios, such as the ‘See it from both sides’ activity. This Education Pack also includes 3 quick drama scripts that can be used to explore the themes in a creative and inventive way, and offers the option to invite parents and carers to watch the plays and join in with Safer Internet Day too.

Guidance for educators

We have also created a guidance pack for the people delivering the Safer Internet Day messages in your school, youth group or other setting.

This gives further advice about how to mark Safer Internet Day and information about how to handle disclosures and sensitive topics, as well as how you can spread the word even further, including by contacting local press.

Join hundreds of organisations across the UK

You can link up with the wider campaign taking place across the UK – and globally in over 130 countries – by joining the social media campaign and registering as an official supporter.

Simply complete our registration form to become an official supporter on our website and receive your supporter certificate.

Plus download our templates to make your pledges for the Safer Internet Day social media campaign #ItStartsWithUs.

Key links

Visit www.saferinternetday.org.uk for:



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Friday 12 January 2018

Join the 2018 Safer Internet Day Thunderclap

Help to make Safer Internet Day 2018 the biggest yet by signing up to our Thunderclap.

Last year our Safer Internet Day Thunderclap had a global reach of nearly 8 million people. This kick-started the social media campaign and led to #SID2017 trending all day on Twitter in the UK! You can help us reach even more people this year by signing up to the Thunderclap.

Join the Safer Internet Day Thunderclap

What is Thunderclap?

Social media is very fast moving and posts can often get lost within a timeline. To help us achieve maximum impact on Safer Internet Day, Thunderclap schedules the same message across Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr from everyone who signs up to support.

Signing up for our Thunderclap will mean that on the 6th February 2018 a message of support will go out automatically from your account at 8.30 am. 

What will be shared from your account

When signing up to the Safer Internet Day Thunderclap you will have the chance to approve the message before you agree to it being shared to your account.

Today is Safer Internet Day! Create, connect and share respect this #SID2018 – RT to show your support http://thndr.me/juM25P

Get involved in Safer Internet Day on Social media

Find out more about how you can get involved in the #SID2018 social media campaign at https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2018/social-media



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Thursday 11 January 2018

In focus: SID2018 Educational resources for 3-7 Year Olds

For Safer Internet Day 2018, the UK Safer Internet Centre has created educational resources for 3-18s, including resources tailored for 3-7 year olds.

Safer Internet Day 2018 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 6th February 2018 with the slogan “Create, Connect and Share Respect: A better internet starts with you”.

The resources for 3-7 year olds aim to facilitate discussion with the youngest internet users, at a level which is age appropriate and reflects the diverse range of experiences they will have had online so far. Some children within this age range may be online without ‘knowing’ it i.e. watching their favourite cartoons or movies on services such as Amazon or Netflix, but will still spend the majority of their time offline. Others will be able to name specific games or websites that they frequent, and will have a deeper understanding of what being online means, through using a range of devices at home, or through having older siblings.

The learning outcomes within this pack therefore extensively cover life offline, as well as online, and focus on the children’s immediate family and friends, and familiar surroundings, in order to introduce the concepts that are being explored this Safer Internet Day – such as our connections, our emotions, our personal interests, and what it means to keep ourselves safe.  

Free resources for schools and other settings

The Education Pack for 3-7 year olds, and complementary SID TV film, provide a range of activities to help schools, youth groups and other settings get involved. These activities are practical, easy to organise, and transferrable to any educational setting – classroom or otherwise.

Activities include listening to this year’s SID story, “The 3 Little Monsters and the School Competition,” and recreating the activity that the monsters take part in; practical activities that look at the relationships we have with the important people in our lives by using wool or straws and paper plates to create a web of connections; sorting activities that identify situations where we must stay safe off and online; recording acts of kindness from our friends; hand and footprint activities to recognise the adults who help / care for us, and our favourite internet services; collecting favourite objects and talking about why they are special and asking questions about our friends’ interests; and a quiz for the older children to see how they react to different online scenarios, to name a few.

Guidance for educators

We have also created a guidance pack for the people delivering the Safer Internet Day messages in your school, youth group or other setting.

This gives further advice about how to mark Safer Internet Day and information about how to handle disclosures and sensitive topics, as well as how you can spread the word even further, including by contacting local press.

Join hundreds of organisations across the UK

You can link up with the wider campaign taking place across the UK – and globally in over 130 countries – by joining the social media campaign and registering as an official supporter.

Simply complete our registration form to become an official supporter on our website and receive your supporter certificate.

Plus download our templates to make your pledges for the Safer Internet Day social media campaign #ItStartsWithUs.

Key links

Visit www.saferinternetday.org.uk for:



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Wednesday 10 January 2018

Professionals Online Safety Helpline update: Oct - Dec 2017

The Professionals Online Safety Helpline provides free support to members of the children’s workforce in the UK with an online safety concern. In this blog Kat Tremlett, Helpline Practitioner, offers an insight into the type of cases the helpline has been dealing with over the last 3 months.

The final quarter of 2017 has continued to see a rise in contacts to the Professional Online Safety Helpline, with 24% more than over the same period in 2016.

Abuse of Privacy

During this quarter we always see a rise in contacts about privacy abuse. This is due to the number of Christmas productions taking place in educational establishments across the UK, many of which were filmed by parents.

The most common query goes along the lines of “It’s come to our attention that a parent filmed our school nativity play and has now posted this online. Other parents are annoyed that images of their children are being viewed without their consent being given, what can we do?”

The answer to this question is usually fairly straightforward, as most social media platforms have functions for reporting privacy violations which parents can use in respect of their child if they’re under the age of 13. Those over the age of 13 can make a report themselves.

We’d always recommend trying to prevent this issue in the first place by making sure that consent forms are sent out prior to performances and parents are made aware both via communication before the performance and at the event about whether or not they make take photos/ videos.

Some schools  choose to provide their own footage to parents that are available on request and password restricted. Either way, it’s always worth reminding parents not to share footage on social media without first gaining permission from other children and/ or their parents.

Illegal Content

One particular piece of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) this quarter led to a spike in contacts about illegal content. Fortunately, because of the good relationships we have with industry, we alongside the IWF (Internet Watch Foundation) were able to assist with the removal of this content from all platforms quickly.

This case prompted calls from concerned professionals up and down the country and a public outcry on social media. It’s important to note that the victims concerned with this content are safe and an arrest has been made in association with the footage.

If you come across CSAM please do report this to the UK’s national hotline, the IWF, who will be able to remove the image and prevent it from being uploaded again: https://report.iwf.org.uk/en

Online Reputation

Professionals’ main reason for contacting the helpline continues to be regarding reputational issues. This quarter the focus of complaints has largely centred on fake accounts created to humiliate members of staff and/ or public shaming by members of local communities based on inaccurate and often false allegations. We always encourage staff to investigate any allegations, regardless of the way they are raised.

Where complaints become personal and threats are directed at individuals, it’s worth noting that in general social networking sites do not allow targeted abuse of a named individual and there are reporting routes available for this.

Anyone who continues to be directly targeted in this way should report it to the police.

The Future

The UK Safer Internet Centre’s response to the Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper commends the emphasis of a collaborative approach to online safety and, in light of this, it’s important to once again emphasise the need to continue to work together in the pursuit of keeping everyone safer online.



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Tuesday 9 January 2018

Advice for parents - what to do if your child sees something upsetting online.

Along with the many positive things which young people may see or experience online, they may also encounter things which may worry or upset them. This could be anything from a scary picture or hateful comment, to something which is intended for an adult audience or potentially even illegal content.

There are a number of ways that young people could find such content; they may stumble upon it by following links,, downloading unknown files, misspelling website addresses or even by knowingly looking for it. However if they come across this content it could leave them feeling worried, confused or upset. Just last week a popular YouTuber came under fire for posting a video blog with scenes which could may have upset younger viewers.

So how can I prevent my child from seeing this type of content?

Parental controls can be a helpful way to reduce the chances of your child seeing harmful content but they should never replace having open conversations about what your child is doing online. Our conversation starters can help get you started.

There are a variety of different tools which you can use to block content from your child’s device.

Firstly, you can place parental controls on your home wifi which will cover all devices accessing the internet. These controls are provided free of charge by your internet service provider and you can find out more information on how to set these up by visiting our guide for parents and carers.

There are also parental controls provided by your child’s mobile phone network and there is information on how to do so on Internet Matters.

You can also make use of parental controls at a device level. To find out how visit our Parents Guide to Technology and the Internet Matters interactive house tool.

What can I do if my child has seen something upsetting online?

Here are our top tips for supporting your child:

1. Don’t get mad, get curious

Remaining calm and asking questions like ‘how did you get to that?’ or ‘what did you click on?’ will help you to understand how the content has appeared in the first place. Children will often remember the immediate response from an adult and remaining calm and open will show them that you are someone they can turn to for help.

2. Try not to place blame

It may be that your child has clicked on something by mistake or even gone looking for the content on purpose but it is still important to remain calm and be supportive. Children are curious and may hear about things from others that they later search for without realising what they will be exposed to.

3. Know where to go for more information

Going online does come with its risks and some of these can often feel like daunting topics to cover with children but there is a wealth of information to support you. Visit the UK Safer Internet Centre’s Parents and Carers page for tips, advice, guides and resources to help keep your child safe online. The NSPCC also provide advice on their website for talking about difficult topics. Netsafe also have a great guide to helping young people who have been exposed to upsetting content online.

If you want advice on a specific situation then you can always contact a parents helpline:

  • NSPCC – The NSPCC helpline is for anyone who is worried about the safety of a child 0808 800 5000 help@nspcc.org.uk.
  • YoungMinds – YoungMinds is a UK charity who focus on the wellbeing and mental health of young people 0808 802 5544.
  • Family Lives - Family Lives is a national family support charity providing help and support in all aspects of family life 0808 800 2222.

4. Know who your child can go to for help

There are lots of ways your child can get support if they see something upsetting online and it’s important to make them aware of the different avenues of support. In addition to family and school support, children can contact helplines for advice:

  • Childline – Childline is a confidential service offering support to children under the age of 19 with any issue they are concerned about either online or by the phone 0800 1111.
  • The Mix – The Mix offer advice and support for anyone under the age of 25 either online or by the phone 0808 808 4994.
  • Papyrus – Papyrus is a charity which seeks to support young people who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts 0800 068 4141.  

If you work with children and have an online safety concern you can contact the Professionals Online Safety Helpline (POSH) via helpline@saferinternet.org.uk or 0344 3814772.



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Friday 5 January 2018

4 ways schools can get involved in Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day is being celebrated globally on Tuesday 6th February with the theme ‘Create, Connect and Share Respect: a better internet starts with you’.

The aim is to inspire a national conversation about using technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively.

Schools play a crucial role in ensuring the success of the day, by running engaging activities that spark conversations among children, parents, carers, staff and the wider community.

Last year over 1,600 organisations got behind the day, including 1,177 schools, and collectively we reached 3 million UK children. Most importantly, as a result of the day, the majority of children said they felt more confident and 1 in 4 children said they spoke up about something that had been worrying them online.

Safer Internet Day provides a key opportunity to showcase the work going on in your school throughout the year to empower children to use technology safely and positively and to create a real ‘buzz’ about this issue.

This year we already have over 300 schools registered as supporters, and the day is set to be the biggest yet.

But how can your school get involved? Read our 4 ideas.

1) Run activities in your school for pupils, parents and staff

Use our free Education Packs and SID TV films to run activities for children and young people in your school. The resources are tailored for 3-7s, 7-11s, 11-14s and 14-18s and include lesson plans, assembly presentation and script, films, posters, quick activities and more.Our pack for teachers and educators provides more ideas too.

We also have an Education Pack for Parents and Carers which you can share directly with parents and carers to help them begin conversations with their families and find out more about using technology safely.

Safer Internet Day is a good moment to provide staff with training and support and you can highlight the UK Safer Internet Centre’s helpline for professionals (www.saferinternet.org.uk/helpline) as well as advice and support available. You can use this free INSET presentation to run a session for staff.

2) Join the Safer Internet Day social media campaign

​Join the conversation at #SID2018 and download our #ItStartsWithUs templates to make your pledges. Why not use the jigsaw design to create a display in your school for Safer Internet Day?

3) Encourage children and young people to take the lead

​Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity to give children and young people a voice and encourage them to take the lead.

Ideas include:

  • Getting young people running activities, from leading an assembly to running a campaign – or even a parent or staff session!
  • Giving pupils the opportunity to have their say in a pupil survey or consultation
  • Creating a video with young people’s tips and perspectives
  • Encouraging them to reach out – whether to local police, your MP or a business – to see how they can work collaboratively to achieve a big impact for SID in your area.

4) Showcase what your school is doing

Help showcase the fantastic things you are doing by joining hundreds of schools on the supporters list. Simply complete the registration form to receive your supporter certificate and showcase your school’s activities and logo on the UK Safer Internet Centre website.

You could make a splash in your local community by contacting your local press, inviting your MP or other officials to your school, and showcasing your activities to other schools and organisations in your local community. Find out more in our Pack for Educators, which includes a template press release.

Together we can make #SID2018 the biggest yet! 



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Thursday 4 January 2018

Children’s Commissioner #lifeinlikes report into experiences of 8-12s on social media

The ‘Life in likes’ report launched today by the Children’s Commissioner for England is based on a series of focus groups with 32 children aged 8 to 12 years.

The report gives an insight into the role of digital technology in children’s lives and the impact this can have on their wellbeing.

The report reveals the positive role of technology in children’s lives, enabling them to be creative and play games. It found that children had strategies about how to cheer themselves up or calm themselves down using social media, from getting funny Snapchats from a friend to watching slime videos on Instagram.

Kam, 10, Year 6: “If you’re in a bad mood at home you go on social media and you laugh and then you feel better”

Alina, 11, Year 7: “If you’re like really stressed or something and you watch a really satisfying slime video it makes you like calmer”

However, the report also revealed the risks and pressures that children and young people can face when using social media. From relationship break downs to the peer pressure they can face to reply quickly, get likes and appear ‘pretty’ or ‘cool’.

Harry, 11, Year 6: “When you get 50 likes it makes you feel good cos you know people think you look good in that photo.”

Aimee, 11, Year 7: “You might compare yourself cos you’re not very pretty compared to them.”

Billy 9, Year 5: “When you get a buzz, and then you go to get it but you don’t. And then you get another buzz and another buzz, and another buzz. And then you’ve just got to go get it, and then you just go off course with your homework.”

Freddie, 9, Year 4: “It can make you sad when someone lets out one of your biggest secrets like where you actually live or who you love”

The report reveals that the beginning of secondary school is a key transition moment when children are more likely to begin using social media and can face heightened pressures.

The context: number of children using social media

The 2017 Ofcom report found that almost a quarter of 8-11s (23%) and three-quarters of 12-15s have a social media profile, revealing the rapid increase in the number of children who have a social media profile at each age:

  • 12% by 9 years
  • 28% by 10 years
  • 46% by 11 years
  • 51% by 12 years
  • 72% by 13 years
  • 89% by 15 years

Despite, this less than two in five parents of 5-15s (38%) whose child has a profile on Facebook or Facebook Messenger are aware that 13 is the minimum age requirement for setting up a profile, with awareness lower among parents whose child has a profile on Instagram (21%), Snapchat (15%) or WhatsApp (7%).



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Wednesday 3 January 2018

Setting online safety resolutions with your family

New Year is a great time to make some new resolutions. Here are some ideas of online safety resolutions you could make as a family in 2018.

Have an open and honest conversation

The easiest way to get involved with your children’s online lives is through discussion. You might like to start by asking them about what they enjoy doing online, or take a look at our conversation starters to help you start a discussion. However you choose to do it, resolving to talk with your children regularly about their internet use is a fantastic way to help keep them safe online in 2018.

Create a family agreement

This is a great way to think about your internet use as a family and to help make sure that everybody understands the importance of staying safe and positive online. Take a look at our free family agreement template and guidance to come up with an agreement that works for you and your family.

Take a look at your accounts, whether gaming, social media or email

This is a really practical resolution that might help start a conversation with your children about their digital footprint. By taking a look at  accounts, you can check your privacy and security settings and review what each member of your family has shared online in 2017 (or even further back!) and whether you’re happy for it to stay there. You could also consider whether you’re still using old accounts and think about deleting or deactivating any that you don’t use anymore.

Play and use the internet together

The internet has lots of exciting things to see and do – why not resolve to spend some time as a family exploring the online world together? You could play some of your child’s favourite games or research a topic you both find interesting. This is a great opportunity to make sure that everyone is aware of the safety features offered on different games or to talk about what information we can trust online.

Know how to report and block

There are lots of really useful tools online to help you deal with behaviour or content that is upsetting, and it is important that you as a parent know where to go to if your child needs help reporting or blocking online.  For 2018 a good resolution might be to look at the different options for reporting and blocking available on the sites your family use and to make sure that everybody understands them and feels confident using them. More information about reporting can be found on our social media guide, these have guidance about a range of sites including Snapchat, Instagram and MovieStarPlanet.

Get involved with Safer Internet Day 2018!

Last but not least, why not resolve to get involved with Safer Internet Day 2018. Coming up on the 6th February, Safer Internet Day will be celebrated globally and this year is focussing on the theme ‘Create, connect and share respect: a better internet starts with you’. You can register as a supporter of the day or download some of the free resources and videos made especially for parents and carers to use on the day.



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