On Tuesday this week, all classes spent some time thinking about this year’s theme ‘All Fun and Games’ – this theme got the children thinking about two things: having fun online, like playing their favourite games or watching their favourite shows, and how they behave with other people online.

KS1 children discussed the different technology they use at home (iPads/tablets/laptops etc) and the various games that they play. Children were posed the question ‘Why is it important to be kind online?’ – this led to lots of discussion and the use of emojis to express how they feel if someone wasn’t kind. The children learned that whatever they’re doing online, whether it’s playing games or anything else, it’s so important to think about the feelings of others. In the same way we all try to be kind offline, we should also do this when we’re online.

KS2 were first asked to think about the word ‘respect’ and what it means. Children were asked to look at different scenarios that may occur and decide if the final message is okay or not okay to send. Does it look respectful or not? Through discussion, the children looked at what 'being respectful' online means:

  • Being kind and supportive
  • Including others
  • Thinking about how your words and actions make others feel
  • Listening to other people
  • Understanding that some people might not want the same things as them.

Next, each class read a story linking to this year’s theme followed by completing a short activity.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 read ‘Digiduck and the Magical Castle’.

Reception then put themselves in the position of Wise Owl or the Eagle Owl and had to give their friends one piece of online safety advice that they had learned from the story.

Year 1 were asked to think about ‘whhhoooooo’ they would go to if they needed help with anything online and drew pictures of people they would talk to.

Year 2 thought about the sort of information that is personal and should be kept private, and Information that is safe to share online when playing games. The children had to sort the statements into the two categories.

Year 3 read ‘Webster’s Friend’. After this they completed an activity thinking about the different relationships that they have in their lives. They had to draw themselves in the centre and then place each of the people into the other rings that best reflects how well they feel they know them.

Year 4 read ‘Goldilocks’. The children made their own emoji fans and as the story was read again they held up the emoji that matched the feeling of the character.

Year 5 read ‘TEK, the Modern Cave Boy’. The activity that followed allowed the children to look at a range of scenarios that may occur when they are gaming or playing online and consider the best strategy for responding. The children thought about how they would and how they would not respond.

Year 6 read ‘Troll Stinks’. From this, the children were asked to write a recipe for respectful and healthy relationships online.

Please scroll through the photo gallery to see some examples of the work the children produced and the books that were read.