School Online Safety Curriculum Content Guidance

This guidance may be used by primary and secondary maintained schools and academies in England when planning relevant relationships education, relationships and sex education, health education, computing or citizenship content. Topics, examples and depth should remain age-appropriate and should reflect the pupils’ stage of development.

Planning and curriculum context

Schools may use the Education for a Connected World framework as an optional source of age-specific advice about the online knowledge and skills pupils should have the opportunity to develop at different stages of their lives.

Relevant content may be included through relationships education, relationships and sex education, health education, computing or citizenship, as appropriate to the age group and curriculum structure at [school name].

Online age restrictions and digital consent

Age-appropriate teaching may explain that some online activities have age restrictions because they include content that is not appropriate for children under a specific age.

Teaching may explain why age verification exists, why some sites require a user to verify their age, and why age restrictions can warn that a site may contain disturbing material unsuitable for younger viewers.

Where appropriate, pupils may learn that the digital age of consent is the minimum age of 13 at which young people can agree to share information and sign up to social media without parental consent under the General Data Protection Regulations.

Digital footprints, sharing and illegal content

Pupils may learn what a digital footprint is, how it develops, how information, comments and images can be shared, tagged and traced, and how online content can affect future prospects such as university and job applications.

Teaching may include cookies, the difficulty of removing content that a user later regrets sharing, and the risks of identity theft or targeted approaches from fraudsters using information shared online.

At an age-appropriate level, pupils may be taught what is illegal online, including youth-produced sexual imagery, sharing illegal content such as extreme pornography or terrorist content, and possessing, creating or sharing explicit images of a child even when an image was created by a child.

Misinformation, authenticity and hoaxes

Teaching may distinguish between disinformation, misinformation, malinformation and online hoaxes. Pupils may consider why false information might be deliberately shared, how misleading information can be shared inadvertently, and how genuine information can be published with the intention of causing harm.

Pupils may learn that the viral nature of content can appear to give it authenticity. They should be supported to evaluate what they see online, check authenticity and consider the potential consequences of sharing information that may not be true.

Scams, phishing and password security

Teaching may cover fake websites, fake URLs, scam emails, online fraud and phishing, including how scams may seek data, money or images.

Pupils may learn how to identify secure markings on websites, assess the source of emails, understand the risks of entering information into an insecure website, and recognise online offers, advertising or fake product sales that appear too good to be true.

Teaching should explain what pupils can do if they are harmed, targeted or groomed after interacting with a fake website or scam email, including who they can go to and what support is available through [school support route].

Personal data, privacy and privacy controls

Pupils may learn that online platforms and search engines gather personal data, sometimes described as harvesting or farming, and that data can be gathered from sources that appear neutral, such as games or surveys.

Teaching may explain how and why online companies share personal data, including data being resold for targeted marketing by email and text, and how pupils can limit the data companies gather by paying attention to boxes selected when first using a game or app.

Pupils may learn about their rights regarding personal data, including particular protections for children under the General Data Protection Regulations, how privacy settings work and their limitations, and why acting quickly is essential if something goes wrong, such as data being hacked.

Online abuse, grooming and personal safety

Age-appropriate teaching may address online abuse, fake profiles, grooming, live-streaming risks, harmful online challenges and content that may incite violence. It may include recognising concerning behaviour, disengaging from harmful interactions, identifying a trusted adult and using the reporting and support routes available through [school safeguarding route].

At all stages, teaching should balance advice about making sensible decisions to stay safe with a clear message that abuse is never the fault of the child who is abused and that victim blaming is always wrong.

Pornography and online media literacy

In secondary relationships and sex education, schools may teach that pornography is not an accurate portrayal of adult sexual relationships. Teaching may address how viewing pornography can lead to skewed beliefs about sex and, in some circumstances, normalise violent sexual behaviour.

Secondary teaching may also address that not everyone featured in pornographic material is participating willingly, including material involving revenge pornography or people trafficked into sex work. This content may be covered within the relationships and sex education core content on online and media topics.

Persuasive design, targeting and privacy controls

Pupils may learn that many devices, apps and games are designed to keep users online for longer than they may have planned or desired.

Teaching may explain that many games and platforms are businesses designed to make money, including by encouraging users to remain online, spend money or generate advertising revenue. It may also cover incentives, offers, notifications, targeted advertising, clickbait and the ways these features can influence behaviour.

Pupils may consider what information is shared online, how privacy settings can be used, and why privacy controls do not necessarily prevent all data collection or sharing.

Age-appropriate implementation

The examples selected for [key stage or age group] should be suitable for pupils’ age and development. Secondary-only relationships and sex education content should not be presented as primary curriculum content.