Staying Safe Online 11-16 (2026 edition)

In this lesson, pupils will consider their digital wellbeing by investigating how to identify safe and authentic content online. Using a highlight from the film Ready Player One, learners will think about the pleasures of belonging to an online community and also the problems that creating a social media presence may cause. They will think about why people produce profiles that sometimes conceal the truth. Learners will further their discussion through a youth-made short film called My Friend Frank, a hard-hitting film reflecting the vulnerabilities of young people online. They will consider whether the film offers a balanced opinion and, in an extension activity, think about how they would deliver an online safety message through film.

The lesson continues with a focus on authenticity and reliability. If people can change their identity online, how do we know who or what to trust? This section asks learners to think about what steps they can take to make sure the information they access on the internet is reliable. They will briefly consider fake news and scams with activities designed to make them look more closely at the content they are consuming. As part of further development, learners will consider how artificial intelligence (AI) makes it easier to produce deep fakes and content that is potentially harmful. They will consider what skills users require to unpick the information they are engaging with.

The lesson will culminate with learners thinking about what they will do differently when they engage with online platforms and content in the future. There are also optional creative extension tasks featured throughout.