The Serious Chat - E-Safety (KS3-5)
60-minute high quality, detailed & flexible workshops or assemblies.
Performed to students in small or large groups.
May suit carousel days or one-off visits. Available throughout the year.
How do the sessions run?
Our workshops are performed by 3 professional actors.
We start by breaking down what we are covering in the sessions: we explore the definitions, clarify facts and any laws surrounding the topic, and invite the students to answer questions and get involved.
The students are then shown scenes with characters in everyday, relatable situations.
We use elements of Augusto Boal's 'Forum Theatre: following scenes which see young characters with conflicting objectives, we freeze the action and split the audience into groups; the students are invited to advise the characters about what to do next. This is designed to allow students to articulate opinions and feelings in a safe, objective environment.
What We Cover
Cyberbullying, safe social media & strangers.
Our workshop explores issues included in the PSHE Suggested Programme of Study (Core Theme 1 - Health & Wellbeing and Core Theme 2 - Relationships.)
We take a focused look at myths & facts including the dangers & consequences of sharing explicit images, cyberbullying, child abuse imagery, talking to strangers online & exploitation.
The students are invited to offer advice to a series of characters, including a student and teacher who are discussing an accusation of cyberbullying; and a young person who has met up with someone they met online.
We conclude by outlining help and resources available.
We're more than happy to tailor the workshop upon request to focus on any issues you feel are particularly relevant to your students.
Included with the workshop
Teacher's further work pack
Why is it so important to discuss E-Safety with young people?
Young people are well versed on how to use the internet & social media... perhaps more so than their parents or teachers! They have a good knowledge of what they should and shouldn't do online, but putting that into practise can be hard when the online world can feel removed from the 'real world.'
Key statistics from the Safer Internet Day 2020 report showed that 54% of 8-17 year olds would feel 'lost, confused or like I’d lost a part of myself' if their online accounts were taken away, with 38% saying that it is 'easier to be themselves online than it is offline.' 61% said that the internet puts pressure on people to come across as perfect.
NSPCC statistics show that 1 in 4 children have experienced something upsetting on a social networking site, and around 1 in 8 young people have been bullied on social media (Ofcom 2017.)
UpFront Theatre Company's E-Safety Workshop is frank, factual and open and gets the conversation started about staying safe online.