Know IT All

Developing confidence and responsibility and making the most of their abilities

New technologies offer many opportunities and challenges for children. Pupils need to develop their own set of responsible behaviours that can be used and adapted whenever, and wherever, they encounter new technologies.

Preparing to play an active role as citizens

2b: Pupils should be taught why and
how rules and laws are made and
enforced, why different rules are needed in different situations and how to take part in making and changing rules.

This is an excellent area for introducing the concept of acceptable use policies for ICT use. Pupils should be aware of the rules and understand that they exist to help keep them safe when online. They should also be aware of the consequences of not following the rules.

2c: Pupils should be taught to realise
the consequences of anti-social and
aggressive behaviours, such as bullying and racism, on individuals
and communities.

This is a good area in which to introduce issues relating to cyberbullying, such as by mobile phone or email, or in chat rooms. Pupils should be made aware of the damaging impact that cyberbullying can have on its victims, along with
information on where they can go for help and advice if they are suffering.

Developing a healthy, safer lifestyle

3e: Pupils should be taught to recognise the different risks in different situations and then decide how to behave responsibly, including sensible road use, and judging what kind of physical contact is acceptable or unacceptable.

Pupils should be taught to minimise the risks to their personal safety when using ICT. They should be taught the basic e-safety rules (for example, the SMART rules) and be encouraged to develop
their own set of safe and discriminating behaviours to adopt when using the internet and other technologies.

3f: Pupils should be taught that pressure
to behave in an unacceptable or risky
way can come from a variety of sources,
including people they know, and how
to ask for help and use basic techniques
for resisting pressure to do wrong.

This is a good area in which to highlight that people you meet online may not be who they say they are, and that grooming tactics can be used to put pressure on children. Pupils should also be aware of peer pressure in chat rooms – for example, to bully others – or other forms of
inappropriate behaviour, and develop strategies for protecting themselves.

Developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people

4a: Pupils should be taught that their
actions affect themselves and others, to care about other people's feelings and to try to see things from their points of view.

Pupils should be taught to behave in the online world as they would in the real world: to respect other people's views and avoid being rude or mean to others, and should understand the impact of cyberbullying.

4d: Pupils should be taught to realise
the nature and consequences of racism, teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviours, and how to respond to them and ask for help.

This is a good area in which to introduce issues relating to cyberbullying, such as by mobile phone or email, or in chat rooms. Pupils should be made aware of the damaging impact that cyberbullying
can have on its victims, along with information on where they can go for help and advice if they are suffering.

Finding things out

1a: Pupils should be taught to talk about what information they need and how they can find and use it [for example, searching the internet or a CD-ROM, using printed material, asking people].

This aspect gives opportunities for teaching digital literacy skills to pupils, including how to search effectively on the web and the importance of critically evaluating any materials they find.

1c: Pupils should be taught to interpret information, to check it is relevant and reasonable and to think about what might happen if there were any errors or omissions.

As above (1a), this is a good area in which to teach digital literacy skills.

Exchanging and sharing information

3a: Pupils should be taught how to share and exchange information in a variety of forms, including e-mail [for example, displays, posters, animations, musical compositions].

Under this area, pupils can be alerted to the safety issues of using email, chat rooms, instant messaging and any other 'direct contact' communications device, along with the importance of keeping personal information private. Viruses and other technological risks of exchanging and sharing information could also be covered here, along with the issues of plagiarism and copyright.