The Senior School ran a range of Internet safety-focused events and activities, culminating in an assembly led by the Sixth Formers on Safer Internet Day, 8th February.
Safer Internet Day is a global campaign promoting safe use of the Internet for all. Organised by Insafe and co-founded by the European Union, Safer Internet Day promotes more responsible use of online technologies and services.
The students’ assembly included a video created and edited by Year 9 pupils. The views and advice of staff and students concerning safe use of the internet was recorded and edited into a five minute video which rounded off an informative assembly.
Internet safety education and responsible online behaviour was considered by all Year 7, 8 and 9 students in their ICT lessons using the new educational materials in support of the Safer Internet Day theme, ‘our virtual lives’, and banner, ‘It's more than a game, it's your life’.
The Sixth Formers had a talk by Karl Hopwood, an independent e-consultant, which focussed on their on-line reputations. The students were genuinely surprised by how much they enjoyed the session and were busy checking their privacy settings following the revealing talk, “I was not aware that university admissions staff and future employers place so much emphasis on our online profiles; I will definitely be more careful in future,” said one Sixth Form student.
“It was an excellent talk, he kept our attention by clearly knowing what he was talking about, presenting it in an amusing way, yet we all got the very clear message: we need to be aware of and manage our digital footprint” said another Sixth Former following the talk.
Further events and activities are being planned during the year to ensure that this important topic is kept at the forefront of the students’ minds.