Category: CRIS

Password Generator – Scratch Code Along Recap and Resources

Cyber Scotland Week 25 – Scratch Code Along Recap and Resources

Create a strong password generator using Scratch as part of Cyber Scotland Week 2025!

In this session, you and your class will learn to use lists and random numbers to generate and store random strong passwords using three random words as advised by the National Cyber Security Centre. 

This Scratch activity is suitable for learners who have some prior experience with Scratch, and likely for learners in P5 or above. 

Resources

Video Tutorial

Use this with your class – feel free to pause when you need to!

YouTube player

Exploring cyber security play pack, for early level learners.

By attending The Bongles and The Crafty Crows educator webinar (60 minutes, multiple dates) or by participating in the 2-part Cyber Resilience Internet Safety early level support webinars (120 minutes)  you will be eligible* to request a ‘exploring cyber security play pack’, for the early level learners in your care.

You will be invited to share feedback on how children choose to explore the pack and evaluate the effectiveness of the contents.

Please click here to view the pack contents and some suggestions of experiences it can provide.

Alternatively you may choose to create a similar play pack of your own, that compliments the story and provides children with the experience of handling and investigating concrete objects, that relate to the story and concept of cyber security.

*First come first served basis. 60 packs available.

Summer term early level webinar dates for you diary.

The series of This is early level Digital and Spotlight CLPL sessions will be delivered for the final time in April and May. If you missed out on the previous webinars, there is still time to sign up.

The webinars are suitable for practitioners working with children at early level across a range of ELC settings and schools.  A Glow log in is NOT required to sign up or join the online sessions.

Please click on the hyperlinks below for session information and sign up details.

APRIL 2024

Tuesday 16th April 4pm This is early level Digital: CRIS 3 part course. SESSION 1

Thursday 18th April 4pm  This is early level Digital: Spotlight on Practitioner Collaboration.

Tuesday 23rd April 4pm This is early level Digital: Spotlight on Transition

Tuesday 30th April 4pm This is early level Digital: CRIS 3 part course. SESSION 2

 

MAY 2024

Tuesday 14th May 4pm This is early level Digital: CRIS 3 part course. SESSION 3

Tuesday 21st May 4pm This is early level Digital: Spotlight on Outdoor Play

Tuesday 28th May 10am This is early level Digital: Spotlight on Making Data Visible

 

Sign up coming soon:

Monday 13th May 4pm – The New Digital ELC Setting Award

Thursday 16th May 10am – The New Digital ELC Setting Award

Friday 17th May 12.30pm – The New Digital ELC Setting Award

Safer Internet Day 2024

Safer Internet Day 2024 took place on the 6th of February 2024, with celebrations and learning based around the theme ‘Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online’.

Safer Internet Day is held every February all around the world. Last year, over 170 different countries celebrated the day! Safer Internet Day is a chance to think about any worries we might have about using technology and the internet, but it’s also about celebrating all the fantastic things technology can help us with.

Safer Internet Day is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety.

Created in consultation with young people across the UK, this year Safer Internet Day will be focusing on change online, this includes covering:

  • Young people’s perspective on new and emerging technology
  • Using the internet to make change for the better
  • The changes young people want to see online
  • The things that can influence and change the way young people think, feel and act online and offline

Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre, the celebration sees thousands of organisations get involved to promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.

Visit UK Safer Internet Centre or browse the links below to become involved!

Education Resources   (suitable for early level to senior phase)

Supporters Registration

Films

Get involved on social media

Parents and carers

Supporters Map

 

 

You may also find education resources from Common Sense Education helpful to begin conversations and explore digital citizenship.  Check out our webinar calendar for upcoming live lessons with Jenna Khanna from Common Sense Education.

Common Sense Education – Daily Activities for Primary

 

common sense education logo
Bongles Text image

Exploring early level Cyber Resilience with The Bongles and the Crafty Crows.

The Digital Team and The Bongles have joined forces in partnership with Cyber Scotland, Cyber Aware and the Scottish Book Trust to introduce younger learners to develop understanding of cyber awareness at early level, through the publication of the new Bongles book ‘The Bongles and the Crafty Crows‘, produced by Edinburgh based Story Learning Ltd.

Who are the Bongles?

The Bongles are a group of monster friends who live on a paradise-like planet.

They reuse and repurpose items that wash up onto their planet’s pristine shore and turn trash into treasure.

The rhyming stories are full of slapstick and silly humour, which both children and adults alike will find funny. The quirky and whimsical watercolour illustrations are sure to capture the attention of young readers.

The Bongles and The Crafty Crows – The newest book in the series helps children to learn about cyber resilience in a fun-filled way.

Story Summary

Three wooden crates wash up onto the shores of Bongle Island.

The Bongles really want to keep this new found treasure safe from the crafty crows.

Will the crows outsmart the Bongles’ padlocks and passcodes?

Will the crows take the crates full of treasure and keep it all for themselves?

‘The Bongles and the Crafty Crows‘ story book was included in the P1 Bookbug Family bags for every primary one child in Scotland in 2023/24!

There is also a variety of practitioner-created learning and teaching resources to accompany the story, a downloadable PDF of the book and an animation on the Bongles website  and links to recordings of previous educator information sessions and children’s ‘read alongs’ at the bottom of this page.

You will also engage with this story in the 3-part series of early level Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety webinars, This is early level Digital – CRIS and through various cyber events throughout the year, which will be advertised here, on the blog.

Upcoming read alongs for children and webinars for educators during Cyber Scotland Week 2025:

 

February 2025

Join links coming soon.

The Bongles and The Crafty Crows articles and related links:

Early level learners paving the way for a cyber secure nation (linkedin.com)

Teaching Children Cyber Security Skills Is An Investment In Our Future – TeachingTimes

CyberScotland Week – Cyber Scotland 

Three random words – NCSC.GOV.UK 

The Bongles and the Crafty Crows Campaign Report November 2023

Previous webinar and read along recordings:

YouTube player

 

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living in a digital world

Living in a Digital World: cyber resource

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Experience an interactive journey into the world of cybersecurity. This resource shines a light on some of the most important topics for how to stay safe inside the digital world and gives practical suggestions that help improve cyber resilience. Designed and developed in collaboration with Daydream Believers and Education Scotland

Use this link to go to Daydream Believer’s site and download the resources: go to Daydream

Supporting Cyber Resilience & Internet Safety Learning at early level.

 

Effective use of digital technologies offers an engaging experience for babies and young children. It can address barriers to learning and improve access for children with additional support needs. Applications (apps), tablets, digital cameras, measuring equipment, video calls and voice chats are readily available. Children thrive when they ask, imagine, plan, create and interact with the world around them.                                        (Realising the Ambition: Being Me 2020)

When we use the internet we either consume, create or communicate. Each of these actions have different opportunities and challenges.

Within the early level curriculum in Scotland, children are supported to assess and manage risk and understand the impact of risk-taking behaviour in all aspects of play and learning; this includes the safe and secure explorations of digital technology – Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety.

Through story books, songs, animations and play, children are introduced to developmentally appropriate scenarios, encouraging critical thinking and decision-making. This empowers children to recognise when and where to find help and about the importance of device security.

I can explore, play and communicate using digital technologies safely and securely. TCH 0-03

Online CLPL

The 2 part professional learning programme is for ELC sector practitioners based in ELC settings and practitioners working with early level learners in a school/afterschool/home setting IN SCOTLAND.

Each session is 60 minutes in duration and there are AM and PM options.

It is advisable that both sessions are attended, unless you have participated in a previous session in Autumn 2024 and are looking to catch up.

Session 1​ – Consume

Session 2​ – Create & Communicate

cyber security for ELC

Cyber security advice and guidance for Early Learning and Childcare providers.

All ELC providers want to create a safe and secure environment for the children in your care. As we become ever more reliant on digital technology it is increasingly important that you protect data (on children, staff and families), finances and also the integrity of any digital systems you use, including email, communication channels and databases.

There are a handful of steps you can take to minimise the potentially costly and disruptive effect of a cyber incident, and better safeguard the children in your care, as well as your business’s finances and reputation. This short seminar is for anyone working in childcare in Scotland. It is run by the National Cyber Security Centre (www.ncsc.gov.uk), and supported by the Scottish Government, Education Scotland and Care Inspectorate, as part of CyberScotland Week. It will provide you with advice and steps you can take to minimise the likelihood and impact of a cyber attack on your setting, and information about where to get help and advice if you need it.

Please click here to download e-pamphlet PDF Early Years practitioners: using cyber security to protect your settings. 

Keeping-Under-Fives-Safe-Online2.pdf (childnet.com)

ELC cyber home

cyber toolkit unwanted contact

Communicate: unwanted contact

Unwelcome friend/follow requests or messages (20%) and unwanted sexual messages (8%) account for 28% of the potential risks encountered by UK internet users aged 13+ (Ofcom, 2022). Understanding how the platform works can help children and young people reduce the likelihood of this potential risk by managing who can and cannot contact them.

 

back to Communicate

cyber toolkit communicate

Internet safety risks and considerations

Access

In order to communicate with others online, learners usually need access to:

  • an internet-enabled device
  • apps to communicate – this may include the device’s own messaging, calls or video calls (FaceTime) apps, as well as the most common additional messaging apps WhatsApp and Snapchat
  • someone else to communicate with

When supporting learners with this area, it is important to consider who controls their access to these opportunities and resources:

  • Is there a risk of this occurring in school?
  • How is that enabled?
  • Are there steps that could be taken to reduce the risk of this?

If it is an out-of-school risk:

  • How can the school support with this?
  • Is support required for families or learners?
  • Who can support with this: Community Learning and Development or Police Scotland?
Potential risks

Being more cyber resilient reduces the risk of internet safety issues arising. We all want the internet to be a more welcoming space for children and young people and that is why we promote this positive message of safe, smart and kind.

Topics to explore with learners might include are:

  • the people they communicate with – groups or individually
  • the platforms they communicate on – impact of device or context
  • types of content they might share – risk of inappropriate content
  • the risks of sharing created content
  • the law about online communications – Communications Act 2003
  • the potential risks, and associated harms, the same for everyone – why are they different, and why does this matter?

Cyber resilience guidance

Devices

The first potential vulnerability when communicating online is the device not being securely setup.

Check with learners that they have taken these steps to reduce the risk of someone accessing and communicating with their device without permission:

  • a screenlock that requires a passcode or biometric (face or fingerprint) to log in to stop unauthorised access (hacking)
  • apple devices have a content filter, called communication safety in Messages, in their ‘screen time’ settings that blocks potentially nude content from children’s phones
Accounts

Another potential vulnerability when communicating online is that accounts on the device or online platform not being secure enough and allowing others to use their device or contact them.

Check with learners that they have taken these steps on their apps to reduce the risk unwanted contact:

  • they use device or platform security features, inlcuding password, biometrics or 2FA to ensure only they can access it
  • they know how to use the settings and security features to set the platform up to only share information they are willing to share – this can reduce their ‘visibility’ and potentially reduce the chances of unwanted contact
  • they can use the settings and security settings to control who is able to contact them, see/reply to their posts or direct message them on the platform

 

Whatsapp 
Safety and security features

How to block and report contacts

How to change group privacy settings

How to change your privacy settings

Snapchat

How To Report A Snap

Snapchat Reporting Quick Guide

Reporting on Snapchat – Safety Snapshot video

How do I change my privacy settings on Snapchat?

How to Remove a Friend

FaceTime

Block unwanted callers in FaceTime on iPhone

Report and support

When using devices or online platforms to create communicate, learners should understand that online platforms and services, including apps, carry greater risk of being shared without permission as the messages and content on these is almost always stored on their server, which is the company’s computer, and not the child or young person’s device. 

Should created content ever be shared with, or without, permission then learners should have the knowledge, skills and support to report and recover from the potential risks associated with this:

ANY communication that contains content that depicts child sexual abuse MUST be reported to the police or CEOP

Whatsapp 
How to block and report contacts

Snapchat

How To Report A Snap
Snapchat Reporting Quick Guide

Reporting on Snapchat – Safety Snapshot video

FaceTime

Block unwanted callers in FaceTime on iPhone

Adults can report concerns about unwanted contact to NSPCC

Children and young people can report concerns about unwanted contact to Childline