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Tuesday 11th February was National eSafety Day, and Sacred Heart held a day of e-safety activities to reinforce e-safety messages. The theme for National e-Safety Day this year was online identity and how to keep your personal details secure whilst using the internet safely.

Two professional actors provided the main activities for the day. To begin there was a performance of Little Red Riding Hood for all of Key Stage 1 and 2. Little Red is obsessed with her mobile phone and uses it to make friends with people she does not actually know. Her Grandmother also thinks that she has got back in touch with an old school friend, but in fact both of them are actually in contact with the Big Bad Wolf, who is able to trap them using details they unwittingly pass onto him. Little Red Riding Hood also falls out with a friend and they exchange rude messages before blocking each other. The story ends happily but they all learn how to behave more safely in future.

The play highlighted that you should take extreme care when using the internet and passing personal information to people you do not actually know - they may not be who they say they are! Also it is better to resolve problems face to face with friends rather than sending rude or unpleasant messages. On the other hand, the internet can be really useful and provide great entertainment with music and games if used sensibly.

The play was great fun and the children all enjoyed the performance. Later each class had workshops with the actors who used drama activities to underline the SMART key messages for esafety: -

• SAFE: Keep your personal information safe. When chatting or posting online don’t give away things like your full name, password or home address. Remember personal information can be seen in images and videos you share too.

• MEET: Meeting up with someone you only know online, even a friend of a friend, can be dangerous as this person is still a stranger. If someone you only know online ever asks you to meet up, for personal information or for photos/videos of you then tell an adult straight away.

• ACCEPTING: Think carefully before you click on or open something online (e.g. links, adverts, friend requests, photos) as you never know where they may lead to or they may contain viruses. Do not accept something if you are unsure of who the person is or what they’ve sent you.

• RELIABLE: You cannot trust everything you see online as some things can be out of date, inaccurate or not entirely true. To find reliable information compare at least three different websites, check in books and talk to someone about what you have found.

• TELL: Tell a trusted adult if something or someone ever makes you feel upset, worried or confused. This could be if you or someone you know is being bullied online. There was also an Assembly for Key Stage 2 about using avatars and websites and keeping your identity safe online. All the children enjoyed the day and it was a really fun and exciting way to ensure that they can use the internet safely in future.

These are some of the tips for safe internet use that Year 5 learned
• Don't create avatars that look like you or spread your personal information.
• Don't meet up with strangers from the internet - a stranger on the internet is the same as a stranger in real life.
• Never share anything about your identity with people you don't know in real life
• Watch out for viruses - don't click on messages or links you weren't expecting
• Watch out for photo-shopping! Photographs are not always what they seem
• Don't use the computer without permission from your parents Key policies are available via the school website or on request from the school. 

 

FULL ALBUM

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