Bovington Academy students mark Safer Internet Day with live streamed whole school assembly and a timetable of fun activities

Live lessons, Google Classroom and days spent logged online.

With lockdown effectively making traditional classrooms redundant and pupils relying on wifi to access lessons, students at one Wareham school recently spent a day learning about accessing the internet safely.

Earlier this month, students at Bovington Academy learnt how to spot fake information and the importance of being able to decide between fact and fiction when using the internet.

The day started with a whole school assembly which was live streamed to allow children and parents at home to be included.

Pupils at the primary school then participated in various exercises and interactive games throughout the day available through Google and Digiduck all with an internet theme.

Whole school assembly for Safer Internet Day

The day’s events were designed to coincide with Safer Internet Day. Year 6 lead, Robin van der Eyken, was in charge of overseeing activities and said: ‘’Given that the shift has now moved to online lessons we felt that it was important that our students are made aware of why they need to be careful when using the internet.

‘’There was a focus on being able to spot fake information and being able to tell the difference between fact and fiction.

‘’The children enjoyed the day very much – it was fun and informative.’’

The theme for this year’s Safer Internet Day was: An internet we trust: exploring reliability in the online world.

Safer Internet Day takes place in February and is now a global event celebrated in more than 170 countries. It was launched in 2004 under the first Safer Internet Action Plan as an initiative of the EU funded SafeBorders project.

Whole school assembly for Safer Internet Day