Digital Footprint Series: PSHE, Transition, Drop-Down Day

Three complete discussion-driven sessions on digital footprints, online identity, and context collapse for KS3. Designed to run as a half-day - transition day, drop-down digital literacy session, or three-lesson ICT or PSHE unit. No computers required. No prior knowledge needed from staff or students.

This series moves beyond simplistic online safety messaging. Students are not lectured about risk - they are asked to think about it. Each session builds around a mechanic: what students do creates the understanding, not what they are told. The result is discussion that goes somewhere, and learning that stays.

What’s included
Three complete sessions, each with a full PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes, printed student activities, and detailed teacher notes with timing guidance, differentiation, and curriculum mapping:

• Piece by Piece (Digital Footprints) - students reconstruct a fictional profile from scattered fragments of online data and discover how much can be inferred from what people share without realising it
• On the Record (Digital Permanence) - students act as auditors reviewing a fictional student’s digital record, rate the risk of each item, and apply the AUDIT framework to their own content decisions
• Out of Context (Digital Narratives) - students act as a selection panel making judgements about four candidates based on a single piece of digital evidence, then discover the context that changes everything

Also included: the AUDIT Framework poster in two print-ready versions - dark and light background.

The series works as:

• A half-day transition session for Year 6 into Year 7
• A drop-down digital literacy day for KS3
• A three-lesson PSHE or Computing unit
• Three standalone lessons used independently

Themes explored
Digital footprints, online identity, digital permanence, context collapse, online reputation, snap judgement, passive footprint, consent, aggregation of data, assumptions, incomplete narratives.

Curriculum links
PSHE Association Programme of Study (KS3 - Living in the Wider World and Relationships), Statutory RSHE 2020 (Online Relationships, Being Safe), Computing National Curriculum KS3, Ofsted Personal Development and SMSC.

Suitable for Years 6-9

• Approximately 50-60 minutes per session
• No computers required
• Editable PowerPoints throughout
• Full speaker notes on every slide
• Detailed teacher notes with timing, differentiation, and assessment guidance

Also available as individual sessions for £3 each:
Piece by Piece
On the Record
Out of Context
The AUDIT Framework posters are available as a free standalone download