Manchester pupils learn how to keep safe on-line

St Paul's smart surfers

Pupils from Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe, Manchester, recently took part in Safer Internet Week where the 2010 theme was 'Think Before You Post'.

The aim of the week was to raise awareness of internet safety especially among those pupils in years 7, 8 and 9 who completed a mini unit of work called 'E-Safety' in their ICT lessons. The pupils looked at mobile phone technology and the potential dangers, social networking sites, cyberbullying, how to use the internet and e-mail safely and responsibly and staying safe in chatrooms.

“This is an annual event to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones,” explained Mrs Claire Hunt, Head of IT at Saint Paul’s. “The pupils worked through a booklet and used a variety of websites to help them create a poster for younger pupils to tell them how to be safe online.”

Mrs Hunt added “At the end of the unit, all students signed the Saint Paul’s Catholic High School E-Safety Pledge.”

“It is important that we educate young people to use online technologies safely and effectively,” commented Mr Wiktor Daron, Head Teacher at Saint Paul’s. “Millions of teenagers go online every day, and most are safe. The way to stay safer is to understand the dangers and follow some simple rules to help steer clear of trouble.

"We discuss these rules with our pupils and help them to understand that by following these rules they can minimise the risks and still have lots of fun.”