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The theme for Get Safe Online Week, taking place from 23rd to 27th October, will be phishing

Get Safe Online Week is one of the campaigns organised by Get Safe Online, a public / private sector partnership supported by HM Government and leading organisations in banking, retail, internet security and other sectors.

To help raise awareness of the year’s Get Safe Online Week, the focus will be on phishing as it is an online safety issue that has started to affect digital natives as well as the older generation.

Phishing scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and are fooling the savviest internet users. But younger generations, i.e. millennials, still think they’re invincible when it comes to online scams.

Digital natives think they are impervious; some don’t even know what phishing is because they are so complacent! They think they can spot a scam a mile off and that phishing is only to do with banking fraud. They believe phishing is perpetrated by hackers and computer experts – not everyday people. Most importantly they think it’s something that only happens to your nan.

Further details about Get Safe Online week will be brought to you in the coming days.

Bullying in schools has always been a problem, but there’s a growing concern that it may be worsening.

Research released by TES on 14th September revealed that from over 1000 secondary school teachers interviewed, over half thought that bullying was a problem in their school, with more than a fifth saying that bullying in their school was on the increase. Rather more shockingly, 40 per cent declared they knew of pupils too scared to attend school because of it.

Teachers also felt they weren’t able combat the problem alone, with an urgent need for it to be tackled on many fronts: from giving children the means and empowerment to report bullying to encouraging parents to take a closer interest in their children’s day-to-day activities.

New technologies have brought new dangers
Whilst bullying once took place within the school grounds — where teachers had full visibility of pupil interaction and behaviour — the growth in Smartphone ownership and the use of social media has taken bullying out of public view into a much darker world; one where the perpetrator can remain anonymous and the victim contacted anywhere, day or night.

Cyber bullying means the torment can now occur undercover and go undetected, leading to tragic consequences. Victims of cyber bullying are more inclined to self-harm and exhibit signs of suicidal behaviours, but surprisingly, so are the perpetrators themselves. A recent study by UK researchers, released in August 2017, found that online bullies are 20 per cent more likely to have suicidal thoughts and to attempt suicide than non-perpetrators. Those who bully online have very complex emotional issues which may include feelings of inadequacy, an inability to socialise in the outside world or feel the desire to hold power over or control another person. In some cases, cyber bullying can be inflicted by a group rather than an individual, with others encouraged to ‘join in’ with the bullying in order for them to become accepted as part of a group or to increase their popularity.

Sadly, in the majority of schools, cyber bullying is a problem that many teachers are unable to get to grips with. 51 per cent of teachers interviewed in the TES survey said they had not had the training they needed to combat bullying, and with the NSPCC having recorded an 88% increase in calls about cyber bullying in the past 5 years, it’s an area that many schools feel underequipped to manage.

Plan ahead for Anti-Bullying Week
The week of activities which will be held in November is organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, which was founded in 2002 by the NSPCC and the National Children’s Bureau. Over the years, the organisation has been bolstered by the support of a number of core and associate members who work collaboratively to raise awareness about the impact of bullying. Their aim is to create safer environments in which children and young people can live, grow, play and learn.

E-safety Support members can download a selection of topical resources including a cyber bullying assembly for either KS1/2 or KS3/4 – log into your member dashboard to download or register for FREE membership for access

Pupil Voice Week 2017 will be celebrated by schools both nationally and internationally with the theme ‘It’s Your Voice’.

What is Pupil Voice Week?
Coordinated by tootoot, Pupil Voice Week is designed to encourage primary and secondary schools to raise awareness of key issues, such as bullying, cyberbullying, racism, mental health and e-safety issues, that children and young people may face on a daily basis.

This year the theme is ‘It’s Your Voice’. We aim to celebrate the diversity and individuality of The Pupil Voice, encouraging pupils to use their voice be themselves and create positivity for those around them.

Pupil Voice Week will also have a focus on pupils' mental health, ensuring that they are encouraged to use their voice to speak-up about their mental health and wellbeing.

Pupil Voice Week calls upon pupils, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, councils, companies and policy makers, to join together and explore ways that they can empower pupils, giving them the knowledge and tools they need to feel confident to use their voice.

Why is it important?
Within the past year 1.5 million children and young people have been bullied.

Children and young people can be bullied for all manner of reasons from appearance and accents to gender and race. And although not their fault, it can still have a huge impact on their self-confidence, mental health and wellbeing.

As much as 36% of children and young people who have been bullied said it made them feel depressed and at least half of suicides amongst young people are related to bullying,

This is why we want to celebrate the pupil voice, the fact that’s it’s good to be different, and that a pupil’s voice is the most important part of them.

When is Pupil Voice Week?
Pupil Voice Week is the 25th – 29th September 2017 with activities running throughout the week in schools, organisations and online.

Celebrating Your Voice – Our Call to Action!
We want Pupil Voice Week 2017 to empower pupils, helping them to understand that their differences are to be celebrated.

With this in mind we’re challenging our staff, partners (and their staff!), and schools to share with us what makes them unique! All you need to do is print-out the speech-bubble task and tell us what makes your voice unique. Is it your Confidence? Kindness? Friendliness? We can’t wait to see. Take a picture, boomerang or video of you and your speech-bubble and share with us on social media by using #PupilVoiceWeek and tagging @tootootofficial. You can download a blank speech bubble here

How else can we get involved?
There are a range of ways you can support with Pupil Voice Week:

Use the resources on pupilvoiceweek.co.uk to help inspire and shape your own campaign.

Speak to your schools and partner organisations, let them know about Pupil Voice Week and the ways that they can get involved.

Write a blog raising awareness of the importance for pupils to know it’s their voice and it’s good to be unique! – make sure you send it to us so we can share it too!

Send a newsletter to your key audience groups, encouraging them to participate in Pupil Voice Week.

Contact local press and key decision makers, speak to them about the importance of raising awareness with pupils nationally, and ask them to help promote the week.

Join the conversation on social media during the lead-up to, and throughout the week, using the hashtag #PupilVoiceWeek and tag @tootootofficial.

Send us pictures or videos of what you get up to, to pupilvoiceweek@tootoot.co.uk, and we’ll feature them across our social media – you might even make it into next year’s video!

Speak to your schools and partner organisations, let them know about Pupil Voice Week and the ways that they can get involved.

Need some help getting started?
We have a range of free resources to help you kick-start your campaign, you can find them at pupilvoiceweek.co.uk. As well as those, feel free to use any of the facts and figures below to help shape your Pupil Voice Week campaign, both on and offline.

Within the past year 1.5 million children and young people have experienced bullying (Ditch the Label).

83% of young people say that bullying has a negative impact on their self-esteem (Ditch the Label).

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds (World Health Organisation)

64% of children who were bullied did not report it (Petrosina et al, 2010)

3 in 5 young people say that homophobic bullying has a direct impact on their school work and it made straight A students want to leave education entirely (Stonewall).

For more information visit pupilvoiceweek.co.uk