On 1st February, we held a pupils Online Safety Meeting. Here we discussed the various benefits and the downsides of the internet. Subjects we covered included hacking , buying dodgy goods, accessing websites pupils shouldn’t such as adult websites, certain online games that can track cookies, arranging meetings with strangers, and catfishing.
We agreed that our ICT lessons are helping us to learn important information about safety. We are also able to learn from parents but sometimes they may not know as much as their children!
We talked about observations we have made such as more people seeming to be addicted to screens – this is now starting at a really young age and each child wants more dopamine highs which affects mood and health as well as the social implications. We talked about the actions that could be put in place to resolve this such as time limits and parental controls. This could be for both mobile phones & game consoles. We also thought it would be a good idea to encourage young people to go outside more and access youth clubs, after school clubs, scouts, guides etc.
The team decided that they wanted to choose 5 top tips for online safety and create a leaflet to hand out to students. They will share this in the Online Safety Assembly on 6th Feb 2024.