During Safer Internet Week, we like to educate and inform our community in unconventional ways. This year, we looked at fake news and scams, with phishing emails a particular focus.

We sent out dummy phishing emails to staff, pupils and parents that offered Amazon vouchers, iPhone 17s (which haven’t been released yet!) and family tickets to Alton Towers in return for completing a ‘survey’ which asked for information about themselves which could be used for nefarious activities online.

We were delighted to receive enquiries from all three groups of recipients checking the authenticity of the emails, and any pupils who queried it (or their parents did) received a reward of hot chocolate and freshly baked croissants for breakfast.

Those who completed the ‘survey’ were rewarded with advice and support on avoiding being caught out by crooks and what to do if the worst happens.

We also ran a week of interactive assemblies, activities and lessons to really bring home the message.

Steve Neale, our Online Safety Lead, said: “It’s more and more difficult to know who and what to trust online, especially with the advent of AI. By giving people real-life experience of online issues, we can hopefully teach the skills we all need to avoid being scammed.”