Key Stage 2 computing · Digital literacy and online safety

KS2 online behaviour: kind, safe and responsible use

In Key Stage 2, children are taught to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly, to recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and to know a range of ways to report concerns. By this age many children are gaming, chatting or watching videos online, so the lessons are about real situations: how to treat people, what to share, and when to step back and tell someone.

Acceptable online behaviour, explained

The national curriculum for Key Stage 2 asks schools to teach pupils to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly, to recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and to identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact. Lessons usually build on the Key Stage 1 messages of keeping personal information private and asking a trusted adult for help. Now children are asked to think about how their own choices affect other people, not just how to protect themselves.

A big idea is that the same rules of kindness apply online as in the playground, but the online setting makes them harder to follow. You cannot see a friend’s face when a joke lands badly. A message can be copied and shared with many people in seconds, and it can stay around for a long time. Teachers use scenarios such as a group chat that turns nasty, a game where someone is shut out on purpose, or a photo shared without asking, and ask the class to say what is wrong and what a better choice would be.

Children are given simple tests to help them decide. Would I say this to their face? Would I be happy for my teacher or grandparent to read it? Did I ask before sharing a picture of someone? Is it true, or am I passing on a rumour? Unacceptable behaviour includes name-calling, deliberately leaving someone out, pressuring people, sharing private images or messages without permission, pretending to be someone else, and sending threatening or hurtful content. When this is repeated and aimed at one person, it is cyberbullying.

Responsible use covers more than manners. Children learn about age limits, because many social media and chat services set a minimum age, often 13, and about settings that limit who can see what they post. They talk about screen time and about balancing online and offline life. They also learn that not everything online is true, and that people are not always who they say they are, which is why they should not share personal details or arrange to meet someone they know only online. Reporting is a key part: the separate page on reporting concerns covers the options.

Words your child will hear

Respectful: Treating others kindly and fairly, online as well as in person.
Cyberbullying: Bullying that happens using technology, usually repeated and aimed at the same person.
Digital footprint: The trail of things that you and others post and share online, which can last a long time.
Permission: Asking and getting a clear yes before sharing a photo or message about someone.
Privacy settings: Controls that decide who can see or contact you on a site, game or app.
Trusted adult: A grown-up a child feels able to go to with a worry, such as a parent, carer or teacher.
Block: To stop a person from contacting you or seeing what you post.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact
Aim: pupils are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: what should you do about a nasty group chat?

In a class group chat, Priya posts a photo of Sam with a mocking caption. Several others reply with laughing faces. You are in the chat. What is going on, and what could you do?

Name the behaviour. The photo was shared without Sam’s permission, and the caption is meant to make fun of him. The laughing faces add to it. This is unacceptable behaviour, and if it keeps happening to Sam it would count as cyberbullying.
Think about the effect. Sam may feel embarrassed in front of the whole class and can’t answer back easily. Everyone in the chat can save or share the photo, so it can spread further than anyone intended.
Decide what not to do. Don’t reply with a laughing face, forward the photo or join in with a comment. Staying quiet is not the same as helping, but joining in makes things worse.
Choose a helpful action. You could send Sam a kind private message to show him he isn’t alone, and you could ask Priya to take the picture down. If that doesn’t feel safe or doesn’t work, tell a trusted adult. Keep the messages as evidence rather than deleting them.
Use the tools. Most chat services allow members to report a post, leave a chat or block someone. An adult can help with this, and the school should be told because it is about pupils from the same class.

The post was unkind and shared without permission, so it is unacceptable. A good response is not to join in, to support Sam, to ask for the photo to be removed, to keep the evidence and to tell a trusted adult so that it can be reported.

Common mistakes and how to help

“It was only a joke”

Children often judge behaviour by their own intention, and online they cannot see how the other person reacts, so they don’t realise that it has hurt.

What helps: Talk about the difference between intention and effect. A good question is: “How would it feel if this was posted about you?” A joke that only one person is laughing at is not a joke.

“I didn’t write it, so it’s not my fault”

Liking, sharing or laughing at a post feels like a small act, so children don’t see that they are part of the problem.

What helps: Explain that the people who share and cheer help the post spread. Choosing not to join in, or speaking up, is something every member of a group can do.

Believing what is said or posted online disappears

Chats and some apps make messages feel temporary, and children forget that others can take screenshots or save pictures.

What helps: Use the grandparent test: only post what you would be happy for a trusted adult to read, because you can’t control who sees it or how long it lasts.

Thinking that telling someone will get you or a friend in trouble

Children fear losing their device, being called a “telltale”, or making the situation worse.

What helps: Say clearly, and more than once, that they will not be in trouble for telling you about a problem. Explain the difference between telling to get someone help and telling to get someone in trouble.

How to help at home

Make a family agreement. Agree together how devices are used: where, when, which games and chats, and what to do if something upsets your child. Children are often more willing to stick to rules they helped to make than to rules handed down.
Use the face-to-face test. Ask your child to imagine saying a message out loud to the person it is about. If they wouldn’t, that is a sign to stop and rethink before sending.
Talk through real examples. When something comes up in the news, a film or a friend’s experience, ask what should have happened differently. Discussing other people’s mistakes is easier and less awkward than discussing your own.
Stay interested, not suspicious. Ask what games they play and who they talk to, and sit with them sometimes. Children who feel their parents are curious rather than cross tend to find it easier to mention a problem early.
Say it is always safe to tell you. Make the promise explicit: you will not take the device away just because they told you about something upsetting. Knowing this makes it much easier for them to come to you when something goes wrong.

Builds on

Key Stage 1: Keeping personal information private
Key Stage 1: Getting help when worried online

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Online identity, privacy and security
Key Stage 3: Spotting and reporting online concerns