Safer Internet Day is being celebrated globally on Tuesday 6th February with the theme ‘Create, Connect and Share Respect: a better internet starts with you’.
The aim is to inspire a national conversation about using technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively.
Schools play a crucial role in ensuring the success of the day, by running engaging activities that spark conversations among children, parents, carers, staff and the wider community.
Last year over 1,600 organisations got behind the day, including 1,177 schools, and collectively we reached 3 million UK children. Most importantly, as a result of the day, the majority of children said they felt more confident and 1 in 4 children said they spoke up about something that had been worrying them online.
Safer Internet Day provides a key opportunity to showcase the work going on in your school throughout the year to empower children to use technology safely and positively and to create a real ‘buzz’ about this issue.
This year we already have over 300 schools registered as supporters, and the day is set to be the biggest yet.
But how can your school get involved? Read our 4 ideas.
1) Run activities in your school for pupils, parents and staff
Use our free Education Packs and SID TV films to run activities for children and young people in your school. The resources are tailored for 3-7s, 7-11s, 11-14s and 14-18s and include lesson plans, assembly presentation and script, films, posters, quick activities and more.Our pack for teachers and educators provides more ideas too.
We also have an Education Pack for Parents and Carers which you can share directly with parents and carers to help them begin conversations with their families and find out more about using technology safely.
Safer Internet Day is a good moment to provide staff with training and support and you can highlight the UK Safer Internet Centre’s helpline for professionals (www.saferinternet.org.uk/helpline) as well as advice and support available. You can use this free INSET presentation to run a session for staff.
2) Join the Safer Internet Day social media campaign
Join the conversation at #SID2018 and download our #ItStartsWithUs templates to make your pledges. Why not use the jigsaw design to create a display in your school for Safer Internet Day?
3) Encourage children and young people to take the lead
Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity to give children and young people a voice and encourage them to take the lead.
Ideas include:
- Getting young people running activities, from leading an assembly to running a campaign – or even a parent or staff session!
- Giving pupils the opportunity to have their say in a pupil survey or consultation
- Creating a video with young people’s tips and perspectives
- Encouraging them to reach out – whether to local police, your MP or a business – to see how they can work collaboratively to achieve a big impact for SID in your area.
4) Showcase what your school is doing
Help showcase the fantastic things you are doing by joining hundreds of schools on the supporters list. Simply complete the registration form to receive your supporter certificate and showcase your school’s activities and logo on the UK Safer Internet Centre website.
You could make a splash in your local community by contacting your local press, inviting your MP or other officials to your school, and showcasing your activities to other schools and organisations in your local community. Find out more in our Pack for Educators, which includes a template press release.
Together we can make #SID2018 the biggest yet!
