The winner of a Warwickshire primary school competition to find the best poem about staying safe online has been announced by Warwickshire County Council’s Community Safety team.
Seb, a Year 6 student at Ettington Church of England Primary School, wrote the winning entry. His poem about SIP, the Safer Internet Penguin, wowed the judges at Shire Hall.
The poem has been turned into a short animation – which can be viewed here – and will now be shared with other schools across Warwickshire and on social media to encourage children and young people to stay safe online.
It’s hoped that the poem and video will be a prompt for class discussions about how young people can protect themselves online, alongside another animation produced by Warwickshire County Council’s Community Safety team featuring the character Safer Internet Bear.
The primary school poetry competition was launched in Warwickshire in February to mark national Safer Internet Day.
Primary school pupils were invited to write a poem about staying safe online and being friendly and kind in all they do, with the theme of ‘too good to be true?’.
Warwickshire County Council’s Executive Director for Communities, Mark Ryder, said:
“There are so many important messages about staying safe online, from avoiding scams to keeping your personal information secure, to thinking carefully about what you post and being respectful to others. Seb’s poem and his Safer Internet Penguin character cover all of these.
“We want all our communities in Warwickshire to be safer online. Seb’s poem will help children and young people to think about what is and isn’t acceptable for them to do on the internet, when gaming and on social media, to keep their personal information private, and to speak to an adult when they are worried.”
The County Council's Director for Children and Families, John Coleman, added:
“As a child-friendly county, Warwickshire County Council and Safer Warwickshire partners are committed to creating safe environments where young people feel secure and protected from harm.
“Online safety is an important part of keeping children safe and we hope that these short animations will help schools to have a discussion with their pupils about how to be safe and behave appropriately online.
“It’s also important that parents and carers take an active interest in their children’s online lives and show a willingness to engage in the digital world with them.”
The UK Safer Internet Centre have a library of resources for 3 to 18 year olds which are free to download.
For more information and advice, you can also visit www.safeinwarwickshire.com and www.childfriendlywarwickshire.co.uk.
Seb’s winning Safer Internet Penguin poem:
I am SIP, the Safer Internet Penguin,
I’m here to train your brain so the scammers don’t win.
Remember to always think before you click,
Everything might not be what you think. It could be a trick.
When setting your passwords, keep them strong,
So that absolutely nothing ever goes wrong.
Privacy settings, they must always be on,
Or your information will be leaked and gone.
Think, what is posted is posted forever,
It can’t be removed or deleted, never ever.
Cyberbullying is wrong, it’s certainly not kind,
Be friendly to people and keep a healthy mind.
Protect the planet, protect yourself and always power off.
Never ignore the SIP rules and definitely do not scoff.