Jan. 9, 2024
Over the years, Safer Internet Day has become a landmark event in the online safety calendar, with schools across the world getting involved to create a safer environment for all online. Now in it's 21st year, the day is celebrated in over 170 countries worldwide. From cyber-bullying to social networking, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and chooses a topic reflecting current concerns, this year having the theme of Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online. The UK Safer Internet Centre offer a variety of free resources here and there are many ways to get involved.
At 2Simple, we’re celebrating Safer Internet Day in a variety of ways. First of all we're making our Safer Internet Resources free to all, so that everyone can benefit from them whether they subscribe to Purple Mash or not. We also have resources available for parents, as well as resources for schools looking to host an online safety evening.
There are lots of ways to get younger learners thinking about online safety. After reading Mo and Jaz's Story as a class, you could work together and answer the questions in the Mo and Jaz's Story Quiz. Your students can play the Emotions Memory Game, linking it to the story, and then have a go at drawing their own emotions with our Emotions Paint Projects.
With this age group you could plan and hold a debate about whether AI is a good or bad tool, using our debate planning template. Alternatively, children might enjoy designing an influencer which will get them thinking about how they might become influenced by things they see on the internet.
We've also made some popular guides free to download in preparation for Safer Internet Day, helping adults get up to speed ahead of the big day, ready to discuss and explore all aspects of online safety with children.
If you're thinking of hosting an online safety evening for parents and carers, this is the 1-page document for you! We run through our top 9 tips for how to run your event smoothly, from the research and analysis to the format of the night to following up. It's all there, one one sheet.
As the title suggests, this is one for parents and carers, although all the information is still relevant for teachers as well. This document aims to support you in enabling your children to grow into responsible digital citizens who are capable of keeping themselves safe online and getting the best out of the internet. There are tips and advice for each of the key areas of online safety for primary-aged children.
This is one for teachers. The extensive curriculum map looks at the government framework for online education and the objectives for each key stage then and breaks it all down into manageable objectives for year groups, giving examples and suggesting resources along the way.
If you're a Purple Mash subscriber, we would recommend allowing your class to create their avatar on their account. To create your avatar, simply click on the image next to your name and start creating! Give your class up to 20 minutes to get creative and see what they can come up with. After each pupil has created their avatar, hold a discussion about why they have chosen their avatar to look how they have. This can be a way of introducing your identity online in a safe environment.
Did you know that if the class all have avatar images, you can create a 2Investigate database called Class that will automatically import records for the class with their avatars and names? The teacher can then add fields like 'Do you use avatars online?', 'what are your hobbies?', 'your ambitions?', 'do you use your real name online?' and other identity-related fields. This is an easy way to collect everyone's ideas and display in a safe way.
2Email is one of our most popular resources in Purple Mash and our Confidential Information activity will support your pupils in learning about what is safe to share online. Our email simulation is kept within Purple Mash, so is a safe environment for pupils to learn about email and how to respond.
Prejudice is another of our 2Email simulations in which Cyber Cop probes questions surrounding prejudice which can occur online teaching your pupils about bullying and prejudice online.
Dot Com Digital is our safeguarding and wellbeing product for primary schools. It provides a unique programme that supports children's personal development and offers a safe environment for them to learn the skills to lead a safe and happy life. We have created a free version that is available for everyone to access here.
The program is an enhanced digital version of the Dot Com safeguarding programme which was developed by children and Designated Safeguarding Leads. It's been in schools for over 15 years, delivered through paper journals with the support of the police and Home Office. Dot is a cartoon character who talks to children in their own language helping them learn how to speak up about issues which frighten or worry them.
The sessions within the free area that are most suited for Safer Internet Day are feeling safe and your uh-oh signs with lessons for Years 2, 4 and 6 although these can easily be adapted to suit a broader range of ages. They cover a range of aims, including:
To understand how they experience a range of feelings in different circumstances and describe the effect of these feelings
To understand what ‘safe’ can feel like and how this is different for different people
Download any of the free resources above this Safer Internet Day to help you with your teaching of online safety. You can access all the resources by completing this short form.
