Prepare your students for Safer Internet Day 2020

Safer Internet Day is once more fast approaching (11 February) and will be celebrated globally by individuals, schools and organisations around the theme of 'Together for a Better Internet.' 

Prepare your students for this incredibly important day by reading Childnet CEO Will Gardner's reflections on the day's mission and key information on how you can get involved, and by checking out our various resources and youth-made films that explore issues around internet safety.

Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre, Safer Internet Day 2020 will be celebrated on the 11 February 2020 across the world, with the global theme, ‘Together for a better internet'. Safer Internet Day has grown year on year: last year over 2,100 organisations and schools across the UK registered as official supporters, and our records show 46% of young people in the UK heard about the day. It is easy to register and show your support for the day and we call on all schools, charities, companies, police forces and wider to join in and support the day.

Each year we focus on a topical issue that is affecting young people in the UK, covering something new and interesting to engage children and adults alike. 

This time we are focusing on identity online and the way that this affects young people; helping them to explore whether the internet allows them to experiment and express themselves. It includes thinking about the facts or characteristics that young people share online, how others perceive and interact with them, as well as how online services identify them. It also includes thinking about how offline stereotypes and discrimination are challenged or reinforced online.

By opening up conversations around online identity, we aim to inspire young people to support each other in being who they want to be, to celebrate difference, and help work towards creating a truly inclusive internet.

Free resources for educators and parents and carers

To help educators explore this sometimes complex subject, our team of education professionals have created easy-to-use, practical and engaging resources so that all children can explore what identity online means. The resources are tailor-made for each age group and contain quick activities, assemblies, lesson plans, films and more. There are four education packs designed for use with young people, a pack for parents and carers, and a pack to support educators delivering sessions. All of the resources are available in English and Welsh, and include films to help provoke discussions with young people and parents.

We have also developed top tips for all ages, including for parents and carers as well quizzes and lots more all at www.saferinternetday.org.uk

How your organisation or school can get involved:

• Register as a supporter and show how you will be supporting the day.
• Join our social media campaign and show how you want the internet to be a place where everyone is #freetobe.
• Use our educational resources, top tips and watch our films.
• Look out for our research report into children's experience of consent online which will be launched by the UK Safer Internet Centre on Safer Internet Day. 
• Follow us on @UK_SIC on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.

Meanwhile, at Into Film, we're also particularly passionate about internet safety and have accrued a huge range of material over the years that explore its many facets, tailored for a variety of different ages.

You can also check out the winners of the past few years of Childnet's Film Competition, which each year invites young people of all ages to create a short film around a different theme of internet safety.

Last but certainly not least, make sure to check out two recent Film of the Month entries, which approach internet responsibility from differing angles:

• Focus - This film centres on phone dependency and the very real consequences it can have.
• Dis-Connect - Generation Z are always connected - no matter where in the world they are - but as this film shows, it is important to remove yourself from the noise occasionally.
• It All Starts With You - This film imagines the future of the internet if each individual makes an effort to make it a kinder and more inclusive place.

If you want to create a film on internet safety - or if you already have - you can submit it to the 2020 Childnet Film Competition by 3 June, or enter it into our ongoing Film of the Month competition anytime.