Tomorrow is Safer Internet Day, a day which aims to inspire a national conversation about using technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively. The day itself calls upon young people, parents, carers, schools, charities and companies, just like us, to spread the word and work together to create a better internet together.

The theme for this year is ‘free to be me’ and focuses on how young people explore and express their identity online. We’ve come up with some ideas to help you celebrate Safer Internet Day in your school or residential setting. Don’t stress, there’s no right way to do it. What matters is that you are doing your bit!

Run an assembly

A whole school assembly is a to kick off the day, especially if you have more activities planned throughout. It’s also the best way of reaching the most amount of students. With that said, it’s a great option for those schools which are short on time as it allows you to deliver the key message without too much interruption of the school day or lessons.

Deliver a lesson

A lesson focusing on Safer Internet Day is a good choice for those schools with more time to spare and could fit perfectly into an ICT or PHSE lesson. This allows you to tailor the approach a little bit more to the individual class and provides you with the opportunity to answer any questions students may have about being safe online.

Quiz 

A quiz doesn’t have to take up too much time but can pave the way for a future lesson on internet safety (we realise it’s tomorrow and this doesn't leave you much time to plan a whole lesson!). This is a great way of gauging what your students already know about internet safety and how they are using the internet helping you to create a more tailored lesson in the future.

Activities

Alternatively, why not get your students to get creative? Could they create a poster about Safer Internet Day or perhaps that could write a news article about what their school has been up to? There really aren’t any limits to what you can do, much like on the internet itself so think outside the box and have fun with it! 

We hope that you’ve found this helpful. But if you’re still not sure where to start, there are some great assembly scripts and presentations, lesson plans and activities online - see the internet can be a great place!