Internet Safety Day 2022

Safer Internet Day is a yearly event, with this year’s event  taking place on Tuesday 8th February 2022.  Read our letter sent to parents here.

Safer Internet Day started in 2004 and is now celebrated in over 200 countries worldwide, with a different theme each year. Every year, millions of school children all over the world take part, learning vital information about ways to stay safe online, and how to best manage their internet and screen use. The aim is to raise awareness of online issues and concerns, which will naturally change and evolve over time. This could include cyberbullying, digital footprints, social media use and more, with a general emphasis on making the internet a safer place for everyone.

This year (2022), Safer Internet Day is on the 8th February, with the theme “Together for a Better Internet”, encouraging everyone to join in and participate, in order to play their part. Different stakeholders (pupils, parents, teachers, organisations) will have different concerns and worries about internet safety, with the idea being that each person or group of people can learn about the areas that affect them the most, and bring about positive change, through small actions.

There are lots of ways for you to take part in Safer Internet Day, and activities should be tailored specifically to the needs of your children. If you’re aware that there have been incidents of cyberbullying then make that your focus, or if you know that children are playing and watching games that are not age-appropriate – then focus on that. There is no “one size fits all”, but here at Loreto Convent School, we’ve got some useful resources and ideas for Safer Internet Day to make it fun, informative and beneficial for all – dip in and out, or use it all!

One of the most important things you can do is to simply open up conversations about online use, rather than telling children what they should and shouldn’t do – working together to make the internet a safer, kinder and better place for all. Doubtless, the internet is here to stay, and rather than ban children outright, we should teach them to use it with care, kindness and consideration.

There are various supporting resources to help you on the Safer Internet Day website, as well as Internet Safety Lessons taught as part of your Computing curriculum in general.

Supporting Materials

There is also more information on the NSPCC website including some useful and child-friendly videos.

● Tips, advice and guides for parents and carers from the UK Safer Internet Centre (saferinternet.org.uk/parents)
● Advice for parents and carers from Childnet (childnet.com/parents-and-carers)
● Reviews and information about games, apps, TV shows and websites from Common Sense Media (commonsense.org)
● Help on using parental controls and privacy settings from Internet Matters (internetmatters.org./controls)
● Information and reporting of online grooming or sexual abuse from CEOP (ceop.police.uk)
● Information on Cyber Safety online from the Royal Gibraltar Police (Royal Gibraltar Police – Cyber Safety)

Safer Internet Day Resources for Parents and Carers

1) Learn more and get involved – Safer Internet Day 2022
2) Conversation Starters
3) Family Activities
4) Family Online Safety Plan
5) Organisations and Resources for Parents and Carers