For Safer Internet Day 2019, the UK Safer Internet Centre has created educational resources for educators to deliver young people aged 3-18 years old, including specific resources tailored for use with 7-11 year olds.
Safer Internet Day 2019 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 5th February 2019 with the slogan ‘Together for a better internet’.
About Safer Internet Day 2019
In the UK each year we choose a theme that we think best suits the landscape of online safety in the country and the issues that young people may face online. The theme for Safer Internet Day 2019 is consent and through this we will look at the way that we give, ask and receive consent in an online context.
Each year to help schools to celebrate Safer Internet Day we create a range of Education Packs that look at the theme in a way that is suitable for children and young people of different ages.
For Safer Internet Day 2018 our Education Packs were downloaded over 800,000 times, with teachers telling us about the positive impact these lessons had on their pupils.
One teacher said:
‘Students felt confident and were given a platform which enabled them to discuss concerns, ask questions and make disclosures.’ – Secondary school teacher, Surrey.
What is in the pack for 7-11 year olds?
The pack for 7-11 year olds explores the UK theme of ‘understanding consent in a digital world’ by focussing particularly on how consent and permission play a role in personal relationships online. It includes an assembly, lesson plan and drama workshop which all tackle different scenarios that young people of this age may face online and explores the consequences of having (or not having) permission in each of them. There is also a selection of both quick activities and activities which can be used in whole school or community settings.
What are the key learning objectives in this pack?
Whilst there is some emphasis on how organisations ask and receive permission online (e.g. through terms and conditions), the key focus of this pack is the role consent plays in young people’s personal relationships – with their friends and their family. The pack seeks to empower young people to work together for a better internet, by thinking about how their online actions might make other users feel and to use consent and permission as tools to offer choice online.
Young people participating in the activities in the pack for 7-11 year olds will be taught the meaning of ‘consent’ and ‘permission’ when they are online. They will identify the different contexts in which they may need to give or receive permission, explore the consequences of doing so, and ultimately be empowered to reflect on the importance of choice and respect online.
Key activities in this pack
Activities in this pack include a drama workshop consisting of three short scripts for young people to explore, perform and rewrite. The scripts are written to show what can go wrong when consent isn’t sought or somebody’s wishes are ignored online – participants then have the opportunity to rewrite the outcome exploring what could’ve been done to improve the situation and make the characters feel better. There are also short activities exploring the power of saying no, what the internet looks like and different ways to ask permission online.
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 template to make your pledges for the Safer Internet Day social media campaign #OurInternetOurChoice.
Key links
Visit www.saferinternetday.org.uk for:
- Education Pack for 7-11 year olds, as well as packs for a range of other ages
- COMING SOON: SID TV educational films for 7-11 year olds
- Join the social media campaign #OurInternetOurChoice
- Guidance for educators
- Join the supporters list
