Childnet Education Sessions help young people and parents feel confident about using the internet safely.
At our education sessions we talk to these audiences about how to stay safe online and empower young people with the skills, knowledge and resilience they need to navigate any online risks they come across.
This academic year, Childnet have spoken to almost 15,000 primary school age children in schools across the UK. These education sessions focus on the safe and positive use of technology, helping children to learn the SMART rules of e-safety and to give them strategies for dealing with online risks, such as cyberbullying, contact by strangers or exposure to inappropriate content.
When delivering these sessions we have two main aims. The first is to make sure the young people leave the session feeling more confident about what to do and who to tell if something worries them online.
In an evaluation of approximately 250 primary school pupils who took part in a Childnet Education Session the majority gained confidence, with 90% agreeing they now feel more confident about what to do if something worries them online.
As one pupil said, “I learnt that the internet is a great place but it is also full of many dangers and made up information. I got taught many interesting tips to help get me out of any nasty situation and I now feel confident I can be safe online.” (10 year old girl)
The young people also learnt about sources of support, with 87% saying they now feel more confident about who to tell if something worries them online. As one 10 year old said, “(I learnt) to not be scared to tell an adult”, and another said “(I) now know what to do if I get bullied online or if I know a friend who gets bullied online”.
Our second aim is to change young people’s behaviour online by helping them to realise safe and risky behaviours and enabling them to make good decisions online. This aim was achieved with the vast majority if young people, with 93% of the young people who said that they will now be more careful about what they share online. As one 11 year old said, “I learnt that even by just taking a picture of myself and uploading it online, I can give away so much private information about myself”.
Whilst our sessions focus on using the internet safely we always like to take a balanced approach by being positive about the fantastic opportunities offered by the internet and delivering messages in a fun and empowering way that doesn’t scare children away from using technology. The young people clearly valued this approach with 93% agreeing the session was helpful and even more importantly, they found it fun: 85% said they enjoyed the session, and as one 11 year old said, “I liked how they made such serious topics fun”.
If you’d like to discuss booking an education session for you school please email [email protected]
