It is widely recognised that young people today are far more digitally literate than some of us ‘oldies’, and while we may marvel at their dexterity and ability to grasp new technology in a ‘nano’ second, young people do not always understand some of the risks that lurk on the internet.

As Leaders in Scouting, we wouldn’t let the young people we are responsible for take part in an activity without assessing and managing the risks first. We wouldn’t expect them to go climbing for instance, without the use safety equipment. In Scouting we don’t say ‘you can’t go climbing because it is risky’, we help manage the risk by making the activity safe.

Cost of Badge – £1.50 Plus P&P

Requirements for Beaver Scouts

In order to achieve the award a Beaver Scout will need to complete all of the following;

  • Create an animal mask
  • Watch the Lee and Kim’s Adventure Cartoon – ‘Animal Magic’
  • Play the ‘Sid Says’… Quiz game
  • Demonstrate their knowledge of how to report something that makes them feel uncomfortable online

Leader’s notes:

If you would prefer to have help delivering this badge, contact your Safeguarding Awareness Co-ordinator who will be happy to help.

Before running this award you should send out the parent’s letter beforehand.

Online safety and Cyberbullying are difficult subjects for 6-8-year-olds to understand. By using the idea of ‘stranger danger’, a subject they are already familiar with, helps them understand how they can be safe online. Understanding that the person on the other computer is not always what we expect is an important part of learning how to stay safe, and how to behave online, and this leads to an understanding of what information we should be sharing and what we should not be sharing. The aim of this badge is to help Beaver Scouts understand that the Internet is a great place, but they also need to be cautious.

The Internet Safety Award can be completed in one Section night and can be linked to the theme ‘Safety’.

Requirements for Cub Scouts

In order to achieve the award a Cub Scout will need to complete the following;

  • Watch ‘Jigsaw’ the Cub Scout ‘ThinkUKnow’ Internet Safety presentation and take part in the ‘Who Wants To Be An Internet Safety Millionaire’ quiz

AND one of the following:

  • Create a poster showing their ‘Online Safety Pledge ’ that can be uploaded onto the Scouts Wales website
  • Take an active part in three of the following activities: ‘Responsible Use of the Internet’/‘Chatting with Care’/’Using text and picture messaging’/’Social networking’/’Behaving responsibly’

AND

  • Demonstrate their knowledge of how to report concerns online

Leader’s notes:

If you would prefer to have help delivering this badge, contact your Safeguarding Awareness Co-ordinator who will be happy to help.

Before running this award you should send out the parent’s letter beforehand.

We accept that the internet can be a wonderful resource for young people. They can use it for homework, communicating with their friends and playing games, but what this access does is pose risks. For example, a  9-year-old might do an online search for ‘Lego’ , but with just one missed keystroke, the word ‘legs’ is entered instead, and the child may be directed to numerous websites with a focus on legs – some of which may contain pornographic material. As adults it is important to be aware of what young people see and hear on the internet, who they meet and what they share about themselves online. The aim of this badge is to help Cub Scouts understand that the internet is a great place but also empower them to use it with caution.

The resources included in this badge come directly from CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) ‘ThinkUKnow’ programme. They have been designed for use in schools, but as you will see, they are easily adapted for use with your Cub Pack.

This Internet Safety Award is easy to complete in a short time and links to programme themes of ‘safety’- ‘community’ – ‘citizenship’.

Requirements for Scouts

In order to achieve the award a Scout will need to complete the following;

  • Demonstrate their knowledge of how to report concerns online
  • Watch ‘Consequences’ film

AND two of the following:

  • Take part in the ‘Be a good digital citizen’ game
  • Make a poster about what it takes to be a good online citizen
  • Take part in a planned discussion with peers and Leaders on ‘Sexting’/’cyberbullying’/healthy relationships

Leader’s notes:

If you would prefer to have help delivering this badge, contact your Safeguarding Awareness Co-ordinator who will be happy to help.

Before running this award you should send out the parent’s letter beforehand.

How do young people today live without the internet? That’s how most of them keep in touch with friends, find homework support, research places to visit or find out the latest news. But as well as millions of sites to visit and things to do, the Internet offers lots of ways to waste time and even get into trouble.

As adults it is important for us to be aware of what young people see, hear and do on the internet, who they meet and what they share about themselves online. The aim of this badge is to help young people of Scout age navigate risks on the internet with confidence and enjoy their time online safely.

Requirements for Explorer Scouts

In order to achieve the award an Explorer Scout will need to complete the following;

  • Show that you know how to report concerns online

AND TWO OF THE FOLLOWING

  • Take part in a planned discussion with peers and Leaders on ‘cyberbullying’, healthy relationships, and ‘sexting’
  • Make a poster/short film/animated film about what it takes to be a good ‘digital citizen’ or safety tips for using the internet
  • Watch ‘Matt Thought He Knew’ & ‘Exposed’ ThinkUKnow films

AND

  •   Understand and show how to change privacy settings on all social media

Leader’s notes:

If you would prefer to have help delivering this badge, contact your Safeguarding Awareness Co-ordinator who will be happy to help.

Before running this award you should send out the parent’s letter beforehand.

How do young people today live without the internet? That’s how most of them keep in touch with friends, find homework support, research places to visit or find out the latest news. But as well as millions of sites to visit and things to do, the Internet offers lots of ways to waste time and even get into trouble. As adults it is important for us to be aware of what young people see, hear and do on the internet, who they meet and what they share about themselves online. The aim of this badge is to help Explorer Scouts understand the internet, understand that what you do on line can affect your whole world and empower them to use it with caution.