2015 has been an exciting, and busy year, at Childnet!
In October we marked 20 years of working in partnership with others around the world to help make the internet a great and safe place for children.
To celebrate we produced a special 20th Anniversary report and celebrated at our anniversary party with representatives from across industry, charity, education, government, academia and police in addition to young people who have been involved in Childnet’s work.
Our anniversary was a great opportunity to celebrate what we have achieved over the past 20 years but it also highlighted some of the great work we, along with the help of our partners, have achieved in 2015.
These are some of our highlights from the year:
Safer Internet Day 2015
On 10th February 2015 hundreds of organisations across the country got involved in Safer Internet Day. As a result, the campaign reached 25% of 11-16s, with a third of those going on to change their behaviour.
As partners in the UK Safer Internet Centre this is our largest and most successful campaign, showing what can be achieved by working together. The campaign came runner-up in the Best Safety Award Category at the ISPAs 2015.
Safer Internet Day 2016 will take place on 9th February and you can download our free education packs and join our supporters list now.
Childnet Film Competition 2015
On Monday 13th July we announced the winners of our sixth annual Childnet Film Competition.
This year we were delighted to team up with PhonepayPlus to offer a new PhoneBrain Category about hidden costs in mobiles, alongside a further two categories for primary and secondary schools. With over 130 entries across the three categories, the standard was higher than ever. The nine finalists met the challenge set by the competition amazingly well, addressing many of the key issues young people face online in a fun, creative and positive way.
Since then, the young people’s films have made an even wider impact, being used as resources for schools and youth groups to use to educate young people about staying safe online. To view the films visit: https://www.childnet.com/resources/film-competition/2015
Childnet Digital Leaders Programme
In September 2015 we launched our peer-to-peer education programme for secondary schools the Childnet Digital Leaders Programme.
By providing pupils with an exciting new online community, structured training and ongoing support from Childnet’s team, the programme aims to empower young people aged 11-18 years to champion digital citizenship and digital creativity within their schools and to educate their peers, parents and teachers about staying safe online.
Having only launched 3 months ago we are proud that over 90 schools have already registered, many of whom have signed up to join the programme for two years!
To find out more and register visit: https://www.childnet.com/new-for-schools/childnet-digital-leaders-programme/
Cyberbullying Guidance and Teaching Resources
Research during 2015 has shown that cyberbullying remains a top concern for young people, particularly girls. To help schools understand, prevent and respond to cyberbullying we have been working on two resources with support from the Government Equalities Office.
We have been updating our cyberbullying guidance for schools and creating new educational multimedia resources. To do this we have been are listening to schools and young people across the UK, and have engaged with leading experts in this area. To find out more visit: https://www.childnet.com/new-for-schools/cyberbullying-events/childnets-upcoming-cyberbullying-work.
The resources will be launched in March 2016 at our cyberbullying conferences in London and Manchester.
Empowering young people, teachers and parents
This year, through our education visits, we have spoken to:
It was great to see how our work empowered parents to talk about internet safety and how by speaking to young people we were able to create presentations that were both educational and fun.
In 2015 we have also updated and produced a number of e-safety resources for teachers, parents and young people:
- Staff e-safety INSET Presentation (updated)
- Family Agreement for parents (updated)
- E-safety calendar for schools
- #toptiptuesday. As part of our work as the UK Safer Internet Centre we have produced a top e-safety tip each week for young people on the UK_SIC Instagram account. The tips are accompanied by a blog on the UK Safer Internet Centre website.
We are thankful for those that have collaborated with us and supported our work during 2015, from taking part in our expert advisory boards, to funding our work or collaborating on projects, we couldn’t have done it without you!
From all the team at Childnet we want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
