Sir Mike Penning MP today visited Hobbs Hill Wood Primary School, a local school in  their constituency to discuss online safety with young people in the area. The event was hosted by Google to highlight their ​Be Internet Legends​ programme.

Google research showed that 96 % of teachers believe that children should learn about online safety at home and in school. To help teachers and parents educate their pupils about staying safe online, we launched ​Be Internet Legends​, an educational programme aimed at 7 - 11-year-olds to help them be safe, confident explorers of the online world – through online platforms, teaching resources, face-to-face workshops and assemblies, and free training resources to over 19,000 UK teachers.  

Be Internet Legends is in partnership with family internet safety experts ​Parent Zone​, and it is accredited by the PSHE Association. The programme has reached over a million children across the UK. It consists of five key pillars, which children in Hemel Hempstead were taught today, to help them learn the essentials of how to stay safe online: 

1. Be “internet sharp” – think before you share
2. Be “internet alert” – check it’s for real
3. Be “internet secure” – protect your stuff
4. Be “internet kind” – respect each other
5. Be “internet brave” – when in doubt, discuss 

Children at Hobbs Hill Wood Primary School were also shown ​Interland​ – a fun-filled adventure game to make learning about online safety fun and informative. Children learn about avoiding hackers, phishers and bullies practising the skills learnt with the programme. This is a free online visit ​beinternetawesome​. 

“We are delighted to visit Hobbs Hill Wood Primary School today to help teach children about how to Be Internet Legends. By getting acquainted with what we believe are the five core areas of online safety, we want to prepare children to have a safe and positive experience online,” said ​Rosie Luff, Public Policy Manager at Google UK. 

Hemel Hempstead MP, Sir Mike Penning, said:
“I was delighted to join Google and Parent Zone at the ‘Be Internet Legends’ assembly at Hobbs Hill Wood. It is good to see companies engaging with local school pupils to help and encourage them to use the internet safely. The five essentials promoted at the assembly are something we should all follow.”

“It is essential that children learn to think carefully and critically about what they do and see online. Parent Zone has teamed with Google to teach younger children the essential tools they need to become safe and confident online explorers, helping them be resilient, kind and positive in this digital age”,​ said​ Vicki Shotbolt, founder and CEO of Parent Zone.