School marks Safer Internet Day

To mark Safer Internet Day, an annual event which aims to empower young people to take control of their online lives and harness the power of the internet positively, Senior Years pupils have been examining best practice in online activity.

PC Scott Menmuir from Police Scotland and Dundee Community Safety Division, visited the school to talk to pupils in F1 (S1) about the importance of staying safe and respecting themselves and others online, and being wary of sharing personal information.

During their PSE lessons, pupils throughout the Senior Years have also been considering and discussing the safe and positive use of digital technology, and they’ve also been using a range of resources to examine some of the issues in more depth.

Teacher of Guidance and PE, Chris Allan, said, “We work hard to educate our young people about the pitfalls of poor online behaviour and look to empower them in a positive and proactive way, so they are able to make well informed and good decisions. 

“We work closely with our young people and have examined many areas of online life such as time spent on line, use of devices, online interactions and digital footprint. It is also most encouraging to hear the opinions and views of our pupils in return. 

“We are delighted to be supporting Safer Internet Day and will continue to do so in the future.”

Celebrated in over a hundred countries, Safer Internet Day sees hundreds of organisations explore the role we all play in helping to create a better and safer online community.

The event seeks to inspire a national conversation about using technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively, and with the focus of this year's UK campaign being on how consent works in an online context, it asks young people to explore how they ask, give, and receive consent online. This could be in their friendships or relationships, how they take and share images and videos or how they manage their privacy and data.

You can find out more about Safer Internet Day at: https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2019