On Tuesday 11th May we welcomed Karl Hopwood, an independent online safety expert, to the school. Karl is a member of the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) and sits on their evidence group, early warning group and education working group as well as on the advisory board for the UK Safer Internet Centre.
He spoke to all the Fourth Form students on a variety of topics and it was interesting to note how the conversation has moved on in the last few years, with Karl now focusing on misinformation in social media and how the students should consider a sensible digital profile. He also spoke to parents live after the student session (the Parent Portal will shortly be updated with information and links from the talk for current parents).
It was a timely session. Due to the pandemic, the students have had periods of remote learning and an increased level of digital socialising over the last year. It is good, therefore, for them to reflect on their year and consider how safe their online practice has been and what they can improve in the future. We would ask our parents to please use the session as an opportunity to talk as a family about online safety; the students will also have an opportunity to raise issues in this week's Computing lessons.
Mr Giles Mason, Director of IT