Safer Internet Day is a European-wide initiative and is the one day in the calendar that will give a focus to internet safety issues. There are a range activities taking place across the week between Monday 8th – Friday 12th February that can raise awareness of how to protect young people online. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre have launched a micro-site at www.thinkuknow.co.uk/saferinternetdayuk which has been designed to give teachers, parents and child protection professionals some ideas and suggestions about how to get involved. The other significant place to go for excellent eSafety resources is Childnet - http://www.childnet-int.org/ - and 10 minutes spent on this site will give you excellent ideas for eSafety assemblies, classroom activities and discussions for all subject areas.
What can you do?
You can help raise awareness of online safety issues in your community and here are a few suggestions and ideas from CEOP to get you thinking...
- Enter the ‘Think before you post’ film competition as a group, class or as a solo entrant.
- Deliver the Thinkuknow resources to the young people that you work with.
- Download the latest cyberbullying episode from Hector’s World – for 5-7 year olds
- Download the new CEOP animated resources for 5-7’s with activities for
pre school, called ‘The adventures of Lee and Kim’. - Hold a Safer Internet Day assembly – we have short films with lessons plans for primary and secondary schools.
- Advertise Safer Internet Day on your websites, newsletters and publications – download the online banners and SID badge for your website
- Host a parents awareness-raising session using the Purely for Parent’s presentation.
- Create your own to leaflet drop on your local high street.
- Work with the local or regional media – place an advert, get a journalist to come to your event, take some pics and send them with a press notice to your local paper
- Set up a stand in a local public space to distribute resources and show the Thinkuknow films.
- Encourage young people to deliver resources to other young people, with the support of an adult.
- Encourage local shops (particularly those selling new technologies) to highlight the risks online, by having leaflets by the tills or posters in the window.
If you need support in planning or running an event for parents, do get in touch. Otherwise make use of the resources available from the links above and consider putting the following link http://www.ceop.gov.uk/reportabuse/ on both your website and learning platform for all students to have easy access to.
Alex Rees
alex.rees@redbridge.gov.uk
The course is being coordinated by the Local Safeguarding Children's Board enabling education and non-education professionals to attend together. To book on this course you need to use this link to the Redbridge i LSCB training catalogue, and complete this nomination form to register on the course entitled: "Safeguarding Children in a Digital World:e-Safety & Cyberbullying". 
On the afternoon of each of these days there will be the opportunity to stay on and formally do the Child Exploitation and Online Protection training, which allows you to use police made education resources with young people. The course is entitled "Half day CEOP Thinkuknow Training Course". It is a requirement of the police that all who attend this course must be able to present a valid CRB form or a warrant card, and current id with a photograph on it.