A deep dive into the Safer Internet Day 2023 resources: 11-14 years edition 

Each year in the UK, Safer Internet Day explores a new issue or theme which is impacting the lives of young people in the UK. 

This year, the theme is all about putting children and young people’s voices at the forefront of the campaign, encouraging them to help shape the future of online safety support. 

The education resources are there to help teachers and professionals – whether as part of a school, charity, youth group, police service, business, library or wider – to deliver engaging and interactive Safer Internet Day sessions. 

Geared around starting conversations, the activities provide opportunities to hear from children and young people about the issues most affecting them online. By understanding their perspectives and experiences, we can provide the very best support and advice. 

Last time, we spotlighted specific resources in our educational pack to use for 7-11 years; this week, we’re taking a look at what’s in store for 11-14 years when exploring this year’s theme:

The resources include activities that: 

There is also an assembly which introduces the Safer Internet Day campaign and theme. 

I’ve only got 10 minutes at the start of the day, what activity could I use? 

You could use the ‘Opinion compass’ activity on page 10. This will encourage your learners to engage with a range of opinions about technology and the internet. For each opinion, learners will decide if they agree, disagree, or that they’re undecided, and be given the opportunity to explain their perspectives. If you have a bit longer, you could follow this activity up with some group debates. 

You can use the Activity 1, 2 and 3 to form a whole lesson plan. 
 
Begin with Activity 1, where learners will roll a dice to determine a category and how many examples of this category they need to give. This warm-up gets learners thinking about some of the positives of being online for young people. 
 
Next, using Activity 2, ask learners to plot a series of online issues on a scale of level of harm for young people and how often they happen. 
 
Finally, in Activity 3, learners should pick one of these online issues to focus on in more detail, either in groups or independently. For example, they could make a poster, a mind map, a leaflet or a presentation on why this online issue matters to them and what support they’d like adults to provide. 

Ask learners to take part in the ‘Tech diary’ activity on page 13. They should keep a weeklong diary of the technology use, the apps they use, etc. and how long they spend doing this each day. They should also encourage a trusted adult to do the same. At the end of the week, learners should compare their diary with their trusted adult. Learners can then report back in class about the similarities and differences they found. 

Other than download the appropriate educational resources pack, there are a few other things you can be doing if you want this year’s Safer Internet Day to be bigger and better than ever.