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Cybersurvey 2019 is free and national

The national Cybersurvey 2019 is now open for schools to sign up to take part. This year, in partnership with Internet Matters we are taking the Cybersurvey national so that schools anywhere in the UK can gain vital insights into young people’s online experiences. The Cybersurvey has been run by Youthworks for 10 years, yielding rich and up to date information that we all need to understand the online lives of children and young people.

The survey is free to schools, colleges and alternative provision and will run from October 7th for 6 weeks. Schools and students are anonymous. To find out more and to sign up, please visit www.thecybersurvey.co.uk where you can see past reports, frequently asked questions and a sign-up form.

Adrienne Katz, Director of Youthworks who leads the Cybersurvey, explained how it has highlighted issues of concern which have helped schools and local authority services put their efforts and resources into addressing key issues. For example, our work with Kingston University has revealed the needs of vulnerable children and those with additional needs, not currently addressed by generic online safety advice and support. Some local authorities have used Cybersurvey results to determine priorities such as tackling the online lives of young carers.

In previous years, the survey has revealed the increase in visits to websites with violent videos or images, extremist content and pro-self-harm sites. However, more positively, it has also revealed a decrease in the use of chatrooms and meeting up with someone known online.

This year the Cybersurvey will explore mental wellbeing among other offline vulnerabilities.

Schools will receive the final report in March 2020 along with resources to use in school.

Find out more at www.thecybersurvey.co.uk

Tootoot CEO and founder Michael Brennan has written to invite you to Pupil Voice Week 2019, running from the 23rd - 27th September!

Last year over 270,000 pupils from around the world celebrated the week, and this year will be the biggest yet, with more partners and free resources than ever before.

Pupil Voice Week is an initiative started by tootoot, we are a pupil voice and safeguarding app used by over 600 schools across the UK. The week is now in its fourth year, and with the help of our partners Internet Matters, eAware, Safeguarding Essentials, TrainingSchoolz, Kidscape, Ditch The Label and Madlug we have created a range of lesson activities, lesson plans and assemblies and staff training for your school to enjoy.

Our aim is to educate pupils about the benefits of using their voice, encouraging a long-term change of culture beyond the dates of the week. We hope that by providing schools with the knowledge and resources required to help you promote the importance of the pupil voice, more of your children and young people will speak-up about the issues that are concerning them, with a view to creating a positive change in the future.

With the theme ‘Our Voice’ Pupil Voice Week this year focuses on encouraging pupils to unite their voices and speak out about issues that are affecting their community.

We want every child to believe that their voice contributes towards a happier and safer world, and that by speaking up they are making a real difference. Which is why the Pupil Voice Week provides the tools to help teach your pupils about what a positive voice is, how they can use their voices and ways they can work together to create a happier world.

Your free resource pack also covers topics such as anti-bullying and cyberbullying to highlight to children and young people the impact their voices can have when they don’t use them positively.

Click here to register your school for free.

Online safety films created by young people are set to be used as educational resources across the UK, as Childnet announce winners of the 2019 national online safety Film Competition.

Leading online safety charity Childnet recently announced the winners of the tenth annual Childnet Film Competition. Representatives from government, industry, charities and wider attended the event alongside the competition finalists at the British Film Institute (BFI).

Each year the Childnet Film Competition invites schools and youth organisations from across the UK to capture their internet safety messages in a short film. The two winning films and four finalists are decided by a panel of industry experts and will see their films used to educate other young people about online safety and inspire others to use the internet positively and safely.

Childnet Film Competition inspiring young people since 2010

For the past 10 years the Childnet Film Competition has harnessed the positive role of peer-to-peer education and provide a creative and inclusive approach to empower and inspire young people aged 7-18 to use technology safely, positively and creatively.

With over 100 entries across both the primary and secondary categories, this year we have seen young people create an amazing variety of films ranging from news reports to animations. The films look at young people’s vision for a better internet, and the young people have been very creative in thinking about some key things a safer internet in the future looks like to them.

The winners of this year’s Film Competition were Sandown Primary School in the primary category with their film ‘The Internet Belongs to me, and this is how it's going to be’. In the secondary category, the winners were Christleton High School with their film ‘New Tools, Better Outcomes’.

This year BBC Own It will also showcase the finalists’ films, providing a unique opportunity for the young people to reach even more of their peers with their online safety messages.

Will Gardner, CEO of Childnet, said:
“Over the last 10 years we have seen some amazing films entered in the competition, and it is so exciting to see how these have changed over the years. The 2019 Film Competition has seen some really inspiring entries, which show creative skills and a real passion for online safety and educating their peers. Each year we run this competition we have had great support, including from our excellent team of judges.

We have seen the impact that these films can have, with many schools across the UK using them as educational tools. The finalists' event was a great opportunity for the young people to see their films on the big screen at the BFI and to celebrate their creativity and achievements.”

The Minister Nadhim Zahawi MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, gave his thoughts on the event:
“The competition’s theme, “Our Future Online”, is one that we fully support at the Department for Education. Well done on putting your time, energy and creativity into coming up with ideas for making the internet a better place for us all. (...)Whoever wins today, you are all inspiring. Wherever I go in the UK, I am always energised and rejuvenated by meeting young people like you. And it fills me with confidence for the future of our internet knowing that it will be in your generation’s hands.”

Judged by a panel of experts
The films were judged by Lisa Prime Children’s Events Programmer at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Catherine McAllister Head of Safeguarding and Child Protection BBC Children’s, David Austin OBE Chief Executive at the BBFC, and Joanna van der Meer Film Tutor and Family Learning Programmer at BFI Southbank.

The winning films from the Childnet Film Competition can be viewed here: www.childnet.com/film-competition