Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Lowe and I'm your RSHE teacher for today.

Thank you so much for choosing to complete your learning with me.

Today's lesson is all about Protecting myself online and seeking support.

And because of the themes and the topics that we're gonna cover today in this lesson, it's important that you complete your learning with the company of an adult.

By the end of today's lesson, you are gonna be able to explain how you can protect yourself online and how you can seek support.

Every RSHE lesson should begin with a set of ground rules.

This ensures that every conversation had in RSHE is respectful and we're all able to learn effectively.

So Laura is reminding us that in RSHE we should listen to others.

"It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

And when disagreeing, we challenge the statement and not the person." Andeep is reminding us to respect privacy.

"We can discuss examples, but we don't use names or descriptions that can identify anyone, including ourselves." Izzy is reminding us to choose a level of participation that suits us.

"Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in a discussion, but we never put anyone on the spot." And finally, Jacob is reminding us that in RSHE there is no judgement.

"We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged." So let's start by having a look at our keywords for today's lesson.

First, we have grooming.

This is when an adult builds trust with a young person to manipulate them for harmful purposes, often leading to abuse or exploitation.

Harassment: when someone repeatedly bothers, bullies or disturbs another person, making them feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or upset.

We're gonna begin today's lesson by asking the question, what risks and laws relate to being online? So lots of young people go online every single day and they do that because it can be a really fun and useful way to talk with friends, family, loved ones to learn new things, to try new skills, and to share.

However, it's important to note that not everyone online has good intentions or motivations behind being online.

And if we are able to understand the risks that we may face online, it can help keep us and others safe.

So Laura is telling us here that when she's online, she talks to her friends.

She's never really thought about what could go wrong when she's doing that.

But there are real risks to being online.

And these risks include: receiving unwanted or pressuring messages, it could involve seeing, upsetting or harmful content, being contacted by strangers, being asked to keep secrets, or being pressured to share images or personal information.

So Ethan here is talking to Emily and he says, "I've encountered risks online.

For instance, someone I don't know once messaged me saying they knew my school.

It felt really strange." Emily says here, "Me too.

I've seen content online I found upsetting, which just appeared randomly in my feed." There are lots of laws that exist in this country to protect young people, particularly online.

For example, there is the Online Safety Act of 2023, and this is there to keep young people safe online by: removing harmful content such as bullying, self-harm, or abuse quickly; it makes age checks stronger to stop under eighteens seeing content that is made for adults only; it makes it easier to report harmful or illegal posts; and it reduces online abuse, especially those done by anonymous threats.

There were other laws too, such as section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, which prohibits online grooming and laws like Protection From Harassment, 1997, which helps to protect people online from harassment.

So as you can see, there are lots of laws in place to help protect young people from those risks that could be associated with being online.

Now we're gonna pause here and we're gonna check our understanding about what we've just learned.

True or false? The Online Safety Act 2023 only aims to remove harmful content like bullying and abuse quickly.

So pause the video here and have a think about whether or not that's true or false.

Really well done if you said false.

Let's have a think about why that's false.

Well, the act also has other aims. For example, making age checks stronger to stop under eighteens seeing adult content and making it easier to report harmful or illegal posts.

So grooming is something that can take place both in person and online, and it can look like many different things.

It can look like someone giving you compliments or gifts, asking you to keep chats secret, pressuring you over time, so pressure building over time as you communicate with them and pretending to be younger or trustworthy, so pretending to be somebody that's the same age as you or pretending to be somebody that you can trust and you can keep secrets with.

It is important to recognise the signs associated with grooming in order to keep you and other people safe.

But if you are ever worried about grooming, it's important that you speak to a trusted adult or you contact the police.

So we've got Police Officer Kofi here telling us that "Grooming does not always appear scary at the beginning.

It can often begin with someone pretending to care about another person." It can begin by somebody offering support, giving lots of compliments or gifts, but over time it can become much more scary.

We're gonna pause here and I'm gonna check our understanding about what we've just learned.

So what I want you to do is I want you to read through that list of four things there you can see on the screen.

And then answer the question, what is one sign of online grooming? So you're gonna choose one of those four options and you can pause the video now.

Really well done if you said that one of the signs of online grooming is that they ask you to keep the chat secret.

So online harassment is when someone keeps contacting or upsetting you on purpose.

For example, this could be done through sending repeated or threatening messages, spreading rumours or lies, sharing personal photos without your permission or tagging you in upsetting content or content that makes you feel worried or scared or threatened.

So harassment is included under the law in the UK and it can include repeated unwanted contact that's done either online or by phone.

It can include messages that make you feel scared, humiliated, or threatened.

And it can include publicly sharing your photos or information in order to embarrass or hurt you.

And any harassment like this, you can report to the platform that you experience it on.

So you can report and you can block the account that is responsible and you should always talk to a trusted adult.

Or if the harassment is making you feel scared or worried for your safety, you can also report this to the police.

So Police Officer Kofi here is telling us that just because it happens online, it doesn't make it any less serious.

The victim can still experience really harmful effects of harassment, even if it happens online and harassment is still a crime.

We're gonna pause here again and we're gonna check our understanding.

True or false? Harassment only counts if it happens in person.

So pause the video here and have a think about your answer.

Really well done if you said false, but why is this false? Well, harassment can happen online or in person and it is still harmful and just as serious if it's online and it is still covered by the law.

So here we have Ms. Walsh and she is a Designated Safeguarding Lead and your school will have one of these too.

And she's telling us that, "Even if you delete something that you've shared online, others may have saved or share it.

So that's why it's really important that before we post anything online, we should think and speak to a trusted adult if we're unsure or if we make a mistake or we feel unsafe." Laura here is telling us that we can send images, memes, and videos so quickly online, but because of that, we need to be really sensible and mindful about what it is that we decide to share online.

Someone might ask you or try to pressure you into sending an explicit image of your body.

And this is often colloquially referred to as "sexting." Even if you send an image or a video willingly, the law still protects you from any image-based abuse.

For example, it is illegal to take, share or ask for sexual images of anyone under 18, even if it's of yourself.

And it is illegal for others to share your image without permission.

Police Officer Kofi here is telling us that the law is clear.

If someone pressures you to send an explicit image or a video, they are breaking the law and they can face really serious consequences for doing so.

Now, even if you trust someone now and want to willingly share explicit imagery with them, remember things can change.

For example, the image that you send could be shown to others without your consent.

Once it's off your phone and off your device and on the device of somebody else, you lose control of who can see it.

Screenshots can be taken even in apps where it says that photos or videos will disappear.

If we send explicit imagery online to people, we might feel scared or trapped afterwards.

And like I said before, you lose control of the image once it's been shared.

But it's important to remember that it is not your fault if someone shares an explicit image or video of you with others without your permission.

The person who has shared the content is at fault and can face serious consequences.

If this happens, we must tell a trusted adult straight away.

And let's pause and let's check our understanding again.

So true or false? It is your fault if someone shares a private photo of you without your consent.

So pause the video here and have a think about your answer.

Really well done if you said false.

But why is this false? Well, the person who shares a private photo without your permission is the one responsible for their actions, not you.

And now we're gonna put our learning into practise.

So what I want for you to do is I would like for you to sort the following situations into the table to show whether they are safe or concerning or dangerous.

Okay, so you're gonna pause the video here and have a go at sorting those situations for me.

Great work there.

Now let's have a look at what you might have said.

So your answers should look like this.

Let's begin with the safe column.

So number one, you watch a funny video that a friend has shared with you.

Or you chat with a group of classmates on a school homework app.

So they are safe activities online.

The next column, let's have a look at now is concerning or dangerous.

So someone that you don't know asks where you live, you block someone and they keep making new accounts to try and contact you, and someone threatens to share your photo.

So they are all concerning or dangerous situations.

Well done if you managed to sort those situations into the correct columns.

Now we're gonna move on to the second part of our task.

So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna read this scenario to you and you are gonna answer the questions that are on the next slide.

Taylor, aged 16 used to be close friends with someone in their year group, but they drifted apart after an argument.

Since then, Taylor has been getting constant messages from that person, sometimes late at night and even after asking them to stop.

The messages started off as apologies, but now they include nasty comments, private jokes to mock Taylor, and threats like, "Everyone's gonna know what you are really like." A few days later, someone showed Taylor a post on social media where an old photo of Taylor had been shared without permission.

The caption made fun of Taylor and included personal details like the name of their school.

Taylor feels sick and scared every time their phone buzzes.

Now, based on that situation, based on that story that we've just read, I'd like for you to answer the following three questions: How might Taylor be feeling in this situation? Which parts of this behaviour do you think are harmful or wrong and why? And do you think that this could be harassment under the law and what makes it serious? So pause the video here and have a think about your answers to those three questions.

Fantastic work there.

Let's have a look at what you might have said.

So you were asked to read that scenario, we read it together and then you were gonna answer these questions.

So your first question was, how might Taylor be feeling in this situation? And you might have said, Taylor might feel scared, anxious, or embarrassed.

They probably don't feel safe using their digital devices anymore and might not want to go to school.

Your next question was, which parts of this behaviour do you think are harmful or wrong and why? And you might have said that the repeated messages after Taylor asked them to stop are wrong and are examples of harassment.

The threats are especially harmful.

Posting the photo to make fun of Taylor is also really hurtful and it has been shared without her consent.

Your final question you were asked was, do you think that this could be harassment under the law and what makes it serious? And you might have said, yes, it is harassment because the messages are happening again and again.

Furthermore, it includes threats and sharing Taylor's photo without permission to embarrass them.

And this makes the behaviour especially serious.

And Taylor has protections under UK laws.

Really well done if, in your answers to those questions, you mentioned any of those things.

We're moving on now to the second part of our lesson where we're asking the question, how can I stay safe and protect my information? It is really important that we don't share personal information online.

And the reason for this is that if anyone got hold of personal information or it got into the wrong hands, it could put you at risk.

For example, even small amounts of information like where you go to school or when your birthday is, can be used to find you in real life.

Therefore, it's really important to keep your personal information private and make use of privacy settings on social media and gaming apps.

Ethan is telling us here, "I didn't realise how much people could learn just from what I post online.

I won't post pictures of myself in my school uniform anymore because it shows the name of my school." So really, really good precautions from Ethan there.

It's also important that we have strong passwords 'cause these can help to keep our personal information safe.

So we should use a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols in your password.

Even better if the letters and the words that we're using in our password are a mixture of lowercase and uppercase.

And we should change our passwords often.

What we shouldn't do is share our password with friends and we shouldn't use our name, birthday, or even our pet's name as our password because this can make it really easy for people to guess.

Police Officer Kofi here is telling us that hackers often try common passwords first.

Things like password123.

Similarly, birthdays are one of the first things that they will try.

So if somebody's trying to get into your account, they will try to use common information that people might use in their password: their birthday, the name of a pet, their last name, or something as simple as password123.

So it's really important that our passwords are safe and secure.

Now we're gonna pause here and we're gonna check our understanding.

So true or false? Using your birthday is not a good password to use to keep your personal information safe.

Is that true or false? Really well done if you said true.

And we know that this is true 'cause we just saw Police Officer Kofi tell us that hackers will often try to use this information first when they're trying to guess our passwords.

Now, if someone is making you feel uncomfortable online, it's really important that you do not reply to them.

You block them, you report them using the app's safety tools, you take screenshots of the messages as evidence and you then talk to a trusted adult.

And remember, you can often report someone anonymously.

Sometimes reporting and blocking accounts online doesn't fix things straight away.

The person might keep making new accounts, the platform might not respond quickly enough and somehow harmful content might stay up longer than it should.

This is why it's really important that we don't just rely on our ability to report and block accounts online.

And we also tell a trusted adult as well.

Trusted adults are really important in these situations because they can support you.

They can contact the platform directly on your behalf.

They can speak with your school's safeguarding team or the DSL who is the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

And they can also help you to use sites like the CEOP or report harmful content websites.

They can even report it to the police for more serious cases.

We have Ms. Walsh here again, who remember is a DSL, and she's saying that if an app doesn't act fast enough, we can step in to make sure that you are safe.

So remember, it's really important that we're not just relying on the site's blocking and reporting features alone.

We're also talking to one of the many trusted adults that we have in our lives.

Let's pause here and let's check our understanding.

So what should you do if someone keeps harassing you online by messaging you in a way that feels wrong? Read through those four options and then we'll go through the right answer together.

Really well done if you said block, report and tell a trusted adult.

And now we're gonna end by putting our learning into practise.

So David has just been and bought a new tablet, and he says, "I want to enjoy being online, but I'm not sure how to stay safe." What I want for you to do is to write some advice for David and include the following: three ways that David can stay safe online, one myth about online safety and explain why it's wrong, and then provide him with advice on who he can talk to if something does go wrong.

So pause the video here and have a go at that task for me.

Excellent.

Let's have a look at what you might have said.

So your answer might look like this.

It's really exciting getting a new tablet, but it's also important to know how to stay safe online.

Here are three things you can do to protect yourself: Keep personal information private.

Don't share details like your full name, address, school or phone number with people that you don't know.

Make sure to use strong passwords and that your passwords are hard to guess by using a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols.

And don't use things like your birthday or your pet's name 'cause they are easy for hackers to guess.

You should also change your password often to make sure that your accounts are secure.

Your answer may also look like this.

You are asked to talk about one online safety myth.

And you might have said: Some people think that if I delete something it's gone forever, but this isn't true.

Even if you delete a message, a photo or post, someone might have already saved or shared it.

Once something's online, you can't always take it back.

And what should you do if something goes wrong? Well, if anything happens that makes you feel unsure, worried or upset, speak to a trusted adult, like a parent, teacher or someone at school who you feel comfortable with.

Staying safe online means you can enjoy your tablet without taking risks.

Now let's go through a little summary of what we've learned together today.

So there are different ways to protect ourselves online, such as keeping personal information private, using strong passwords and blocking and reporting people who share inappropriate or upsetting content.

There are a number of laws such as the Online Safety Act of 2023 to help keep your young people safe online and to help protect them from online threats, harassment and grooming.

If something online feels wrong or uncomfortable, it's important to tell a trusted adult, like a parent, teacher or someone at school who you feel comfortable with because they can help support you and report serious cases.

Now, if any of the topics that we've covered in today's lesson affect you in any way or you have any concerns, here are some places that you can go to to access support.

First, we have Childline, which is a website and phone line, which is able to offer confidential advice and support.

And finally, we have CEOP, which helps protect children from online abuse and exploitation.

And I want to end today's lesson by saying a big well done for all of your fantastic work.

It has been a pleasure teaching you today, and I look forward to seeing you in another RSHE lesson soon.