Online Safety and Awareness

Curriculum content:

1. That people should be respectful in online interactions, and that the same
principles apply to online relationships as to face-to-face relationships, including
where people are anonymous. For example, the importance of avoiding putting
pressure on others to share information and images online, and strategies for
resisting peer pressure.
2. How to critically evaluate their online relationships and sources of information,
including awareness of the risks associated with people they have never met. For
example, that people sometimes behave differently online, including pretending to
be someone else, or pretending to be a child, and that this can lead to dangerous
situations. How to recognise harmful content or harmful contact, and how to report
this.
3. That there is a minimum age for joining social media sites (currently 13), which
protects children from inappropriate content or unsafe contact with older social
media users, who may be strangers, including other children and adults.
4. The importance of exercising caution about sharing any information about
themselves online. Understanding the importance of privacy and location settings
to protect information online.
5. Online risks, including that any material provided online might be circulated, and
that once a picture or words has been circulated there is no way of deleting it
everywhere and no control over where it ends up.
6. That the internet contains a lot of content that can be inappropriate and upsetting
for children, and where to go for advice and support when they feel worried or
concerned about something they have seen or engaged with online.