King Edward VI School hosts first Cyber Conference in collaboration with Hampshire Constabulary
More than 100 children attended a Safer Internet Day Conference hosted at King Edward VI School on Tuesday 7 February to mark Safer Internet Day 2023.
The event was hosted by the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Cyber Ambassador Scheme in partnership with King Edward’s School.
The Cyber Ambassador Scheme is a free cyber safety education and support scheme for primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges and it follows a peer-led approach by skilling-up a small number of students in education settings on key online safety issues. Informed students then pass on their learning and offer helpful support to their peers promoting good digital citizenship and civility.
The Safer Internet Day Conference brought together Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 Cyber Ambassadors from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and welcomed professionals from the police, charities, cyber professionals and cyber educators who delivered workshops to the 100+ secondary school children alongside Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Terry Norton.
The workshops explored online safety and cyber topics with key industry partners and provided opportunities to talk about career paths with young enthusiasts, as well debate key topics affecting the nation, like the Online Safety Bill.
Neal Parker, Head at King Edward VI School said: "It has been a real privilege to host this day, working alongside these important organisations. I think the key thing for us is educating children so that they can manage their own online presence, enabling them to have the resilience and the tools to thrive online; it is such an important thing when the Internet is such a big part of our everyday live"
Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Terry Norton said "The Commissioner and I will continue to lobby the government to make sure the Online Safety Bill goes far enough to protect young people, but we also need to have these schemes at a ground level making a difference in our communities. I think a lot of young people found their voices today and went away with the confidence to go back to their schools and educate their peers.”
Pupils at King Edwards learn about multiple aspects of online safety as part of comprehensive Personal, Social, Health, and Economic (PSHE) education programme. Whilst parents are given the opportunity to attend Internet Safety Evenings which covers simple, practical steps that they can take to help minimise the risks online, as well as advising them on how best to talk to their child about Internet safety.
The Cyber Ambassadors at King Edwards were a credit to the School and were awarded Pathfinder School of the Year 2023, by Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Terry Norton.
Sophie, aged 15, said: “I became a Cyber Ambassador because I wanted to bring awareness to the dangers of social media because, aside from being a great thing, but it can be used in the wrong way without any of us even knowing.
Liam, aged 15, said: “We need a lot more kindness on social media, hopefully in the future things will be more positive online"
