A new study shows us, children as young as 10 are sending sexually explicit and partially nude photographs of themselves to their peers. The article recently published in The Telegraph, demonstrates how imperative it is for teachers to teach about such dangers in the classroom.
At Childnet, we know what a sensitive topic sexting can be to teach. It’s important to get the tone right and make sure you use some engaging methods so that your pupils are happy to discuss the topic rather than hide under their desks! Throughout the years, we have created some easy to use resources which you may be interested to use in your classrooms.
Useful resources to use in your classroom.
When it comes to sexting, drama is a useful and effective tool to use when discussing such a sensitive topic. It allows the young people who are participating in a workshop where drama is used to experience all sides of a situation. Picture This is a play based around a sexting situation in a secondary school. The script empowers young people to make their own decisions as there is an ambiguous ending where the participants get to decide the outcome of the character’s actions. You can also download the three lesson plans which explore the topic, allow young people to define the term sexting and explore the consequences of such behaviour. Within this resource you will also see some short films of the lesson plans to support teachers in their delivery.
The UK Safer Internet Centre has produced a downloadable leaflet called ‘So you got naked online’. It’s a really useful leaflet with some simple advice young people can relate to if they are concerned about an indecent image they may have sent. It also includes useful places they can report to and seek further help from.
CEOP have created resources and lesson plans with young people in mind. Watch their film called Exposed and you could even run the lesson plan which goes with it.
Regardless of your role in school, with the right resources and support you can also run a lesson or assembly on sexting. Make sure the young people you have contact with have been educated about the potential reputational damage and the laws surrounding this type of behaviour, before they take that photograph. And with the right education, they may not even take that photograph in the first place…
