Subject area

Description and teaching content

Curriculum area the harm or risk is covered in

How to navigate the internet and manage information

Age restrictions

Some online activities have age restrictions because they include content which is not appropriate for children under a specific age. Teaching will include the following:

·       That age verification exists and why some online platforms ask users to verify their age

·       Why age restrictions exist

·       That content that requires age verification can be damaging to under-age consumers

·       What the age of digital consent is (13 for most platforms) and why it is important

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       Health education

·       Computing

How content can be used and shared

Knowing what happens to information, comments or images that are put online. Teaching will include the following:

·       What a digital footprint is, how it develops and how it can affect pupils’ futures

·       How cookies work

·       How content can be shared, tagged and traced

·       How difficult it is to remove something once it has been shared online

·       What is illegal online, e.g. youth-produced sexual imagery (sexting)

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

Disinformation, misinformation and hoaxes

Some information shared online is accidentally or intentionally wrong, misleading or exaggerated. Teaching will include the following:

·       Disinformation and why individuals or groups choose to share false information in order to deliberately deceive

·       Misinformation and being aware that false and misleading information can be shared inadvertently

·       Misinformation and understanding that some genuine information can be published with the deliberate intent to harm, e.g. releasing private information or photographs

·       Online hoaxes, which can be deliberately and inadvertently spread for a variety of reasons

·       That the widespread nature of this sort of content can often appear to be a stamp of authenticity, making it important to evaluate what is seen online

·       How to measure and check authenticity online

·       The potential consequences of sharing information that may not be true

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships and health education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       [KS2 and above] Computing

·       [KS3 and KS4] Citizenship

Fake websites and scam emails

Fake websites and scam emails are used to extort data, money, images and other things that can either be used by the scammer to harm the person targeted or sold on for financial, or other, gain. Teaching will include the following:

·       How to recognise fake URLs and websites

·       What secure markings on websites are and how to assess the sources of emails

·       The risks of entering information to a website which is not secure

·       What pupils should do if they are harmed, targeted, or groomed as a result of interacting with a fake website or scam email

·       Who pupils should go to for support

·       [New] The risk of ‘too good to be true’ online offers, advertising and fake product sales designed to persuade people to part with money for products and services that do not exist

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

Online fraud

Fraud can take place online and can have serious consequences for individuals and organisations. Teaching will include the following:

·       What identity fraud, scams and phishing are

·       That online fraud can be highly sophisticated and that anyone can be a victim

·       How to protect yourself and others against different types of online fraud

·       How to identify ‘money mule’ schemes and recruiters

·       The risk of online social engineering to facilitate authorised push payment fraud, where a victim is tricked into sending a payment to the criminal

·       The risk of sharing personal information that could be used by fraudsters

·       That children are sometimes targeted to access adults’ data

·       What ‘good’ companies will and will not do when it comes to personal details

·       How to report fraud, phishing attempts, suspicious websites and adverts

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

Password phishing

Password phishing is the process by which people try to find out individuals’ passwords so they can access protected content. Teaching will include the following:

·       Why passwords are important, how to keep them safe and that others might try to get people to reveal them

·       How to recognise phishing scams

·       The importance of online security to protect against viruses that are designed to gain access to password information

·       What to do when a password is compromised or thought to be compromised

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

Personal data

Online platforms and search engines gather personal data – this is often referred to as ‘harvesting’ or ‘farming’. Teaching will include the following:

·       How cookies work

·       How data is farmed from sources which look neutral

·       How and why personal data is shared by online companies

·       How pupils can protect themselves and that acting quickly is essential when something happens

·       The rights children have with regards to their data

·       How to limit the data companies can gather

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

Persuasive design

Many devices, apps and games are designed to keep users online for longer than they might have planned or desired. Teaching will include the following:

·       That the majority of games and platforms are designed to make money, and that their primary driver is to encourage people to stay online for as long as possible to encourage them to spend money or generate advertising revenue

·       How notifications are used to pull users back online

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       Health education

·       Computing

Privacy settings

Almost all devices, websites, apps and other online services come with privacy settings that can be used to control what is shared. Teaching will include the following:

·       How to find information about privacy settings on various sites, apps, devices and platforms

·       That privacy settings have limitations

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

Targeting of online content

Much of the information seen online is a result of some form of targeting. Teaching will include the following:

·       How adverts seen at the top of online searches and social media have often come from companies paying to be on there and different people will see different adverts

·       How the targeting is done

·       The concept of clickbait and how companies can use it to draw people to their sites and services

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

How to stay safe online

Online abuse

Some online behaviours are abusive. They are negative in nature, potentially harmful and, in some cases, can be illegal. Teaching will include the following:

·       The types of online abuse, including sexual harassment, bullying, trolling and intimidation

·       When online abuse can become illegal

·       How to respond to online abuse and how to access support

·       How to respond when the abuse is anonymous

·       The potential implications of online abuse

·       What acceptable and unacceptable online behaviours look like

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

·       [KS4] Citizenship

Radicalisation

Pupils are at risk of accessing inappropriate and harmful extremist content online, including terrorist material. Extremist and terrorist groups use social media to identify and target vulnerable individuals. Teaching will include the following:

·       How to recognise extremist behaviour and content online

·       Which actions could be identified as criminal activity

·       Techniques used for persuasion

·       How to access support from trusted individuals and organisations

All areas of the curriculum

Challenges

Online challenges acquire mass followings and encourage others to take part in what they suggest. Teaching will include the following:

·       What an online challenge is and that, while some will be fun and harmless, others may be dangerous and even illegal

·       How to assess if the challenge is safe or potentially harmful, including considering who has generated the challenge and why

·       That it is okay to say no and to not take part in a challenge

·       How and where to go for help

·       The importance of telling an adult about challenges which include threats or secrecy, such as ‘chain letter’ style challenges

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

Content which incites violence

Knowing that violence can be incited online and escalate very quickly into offline violence. Teaching will include the following:

·       That online content (sometimes gang related) can glamorise the possession of weapons and drugs

·       That to intentionally encourage or assist in an offence is also a criminal offence

·       How and where to get help if they are worried about involvement in violence

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

Fake profiles

Not everyone online is who they say they are. Teaching will include the following:

·       That, in some cases, profiles may be people posing as someone they are not or may be ‘bots’

·       How to look out for fake profiles

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

Grooming

Knowing about the different types of grooming and motivations for it, e.g. radicalisation, child sexual abuse and exploitation, gangs and financial exploitation. Teaching will include the following:

·       Boundaries in friendships with peers, in families, and with others

·       Key indicators of grooming behaviour

·       The importance of disengaging from contact with suspected grooming and telling a trusted adult

·       How and where to report grooming both in school and to the police

At all stages, it is important to balance teaching pupils about making sensible decisions to stay safe whilst being clear it is never the fault of the child who is abused and why victim blaming is always wrong.

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

Livestreaming

Livestreaming (showing a video of yourself in real-time online, either privately or to a public audience) can be popular with children, but it carries a risk when carrying out and watching it. Teaching will include the following:

·       What the risks of carrying out livestreaming are, e.g. the potential for people to record livestreams and share the content

·       That online behaviours should mirror offline behaviours and that this should be considered when making a livestream

·       That pupils should not feel pressured to do something online that they would not do offline

·       The risk of watching videos that are being livestreamed, e.g. there is no way of knowing what will be shown next 

·       The risks of grooming

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

Pornography

Knowing that sexually explicit material presents a distorted picture of sexual behaviours. Teaching will include the following:

·       That pornography is not an accurate portrayal of adult sexual relationships

·       That viewing pornography can lead to skewed beliefs about sex and, in some circumstances, can normalise violent sexual behaviour

·       That not all people featured in pornographic material are doing so willingly, e.g. revenge porn or people trafficked into sex work

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

Unsafe communication

Knowing different strategies for staying safe when communicating with others, especially people they do not know or have not met. Teaching will include the following:

·       That communicating safely online and protecting your privacy and data is important, regardless of who you are communicating with

·       How to identify indicators of risk and unsafe communications

·       The risks associated with giving out addresses, phone numbers or email addresses to people pupils do not know, or arranging to meet someone they have not met before

·       What online consent is and how to develop strategies to confidently say no to both friends and strangers online

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

·       Computing

Wellbeing

Impact on confidence (including body confidence)

Knowing about the impact of comparisons to ‘unrealistic’ online images. Teaching will include the following:

·       The issue of using image filters and digital enhancement

·       The role of social media influencers, including that they are paid to influence the behaviour of their followers

·       That ‘easy money’ lifestyles and offers may be too good to be true

·       The issue of photo manipulation, including why people do it and how to look out for it

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

Impact on quality of life, physical and mental health and relationships

Knowing how to identify when online behaviours stop being fun and begin to create anxiety, including that there needs to be a balance between time spent online and offline. Teaching will include the following:

·       How to evaluate critically what pupils are doing online, why they are doing it and for how long (screen time)

·       How to consider quality vs. quantity of online activity

·       The need for pupils to consider if they are actually enjoying being online or just doing it out of habit, due to peer pressure or due to the fear or missing out

·       That time spent online gives users less time to do other activities, which can lead some users to become physically inactive

·       The impact that excessive social media usage can have on levels of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues

·       That isolation and loneliness can affect pupils and that it is very important for them to discuss their feelings with an adult and seek support

·       Where to get help

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       Health education

Online vs. offline behaviours

People can often behave differently online to how they would act face to face. Teaching will include the following:

·       How and why people can often portray an exaggerated picture of their lives (especially online) and how that can lead to pressure How and why people are unkind or hurtful online when they would not necessarily be unkind to someone face to face

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Primary schools] Relationships education

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

Reputational damage

What users post can affect future career opportunities and relationships – both positively and negatively. Teaching will include the following:

·       Strategies for positive use

·       How to build a professional online profile

This risk or harm will be covered in the following curriculum areas:

·       [Secondary schools] RSHE

Suicide, self-harm and eating disorders

Pupils may raise topics including eating disorders, self-harm and suicide. Teachers must be aware of the risks of encouraging or making these seem a more viable option for pupils and should take care to avoid giving instructions or methods and avoid using language, videos and images.