What is Education for a Connected World?

The publication of new guidelines from the government, and how they affect the curriculum, can be daunting for teachers and school leaders. But don't fear, Natterhub is here, with our simple overview of the Education for a Connected World framework and how it can help support online safety in your school.

Education for a Connected World is a framework designed to equip children and young people for digital life. It supports one of the key aims of the government's Internet Safety Strategy - to support children online and help teachers develop strategies for understanding and managing the risks. 

The framework describes the digital knowledge and skills that children and young people should develop at different stages of their lives. It outlines what children should know about current online technology, how it affects behaviour and development, and what skills they need it in order to use it safely. You can view the full Education for a Connected World framework - 2020 Edition, here.

The framework covers 8 key strands of online education:

Self-image & identity - online and offline identity; self-awareness; media influence in propagating stereotypes; the impact of online technologies on self-image and behaviour; and routes for reporting inappropriate behaviour.

Online relationships - how technology shapes communication; strategies for positive relationships online; consent and harmful behaviours; and how positive online interaction can empower and amplify voice.

Online reputation - how others may use online information to make judgements; strategies to manage personal digital content; and creating effective positive profiles.

Online bullying - online aggression and how technology impacts those issues; strategies for effective reporting; and how bullying relates to legislation.

Managing online information - how online information is found, viewed and interpreted; strategies for effective searching and evaluation; recognising risks and managing challenges; threats to physical and online safety; and ethical publishing.

Health, well-being and lifestyle - impact of technology on health, well-being and lifestyle; understanding negative behaviours and issues caused by technology; and strategies for dealing with them.

Privacy & security - how personal online information can be used, stored, processed and shared; strategies to protect privacy, data and systems.

Copyright and ownership - ownership of online content; strategies for protecting personal content; crediting the rights of others; and consequences of illegal access, download and distribution.

Who created Education for a Connected World? 

First published in 2018 and updated in 2020, The Education for a Connected World framework was developed by the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS). This is part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the Department for Education and the Home Office. Guided by the government’s Internet Safety Strategy, UKCIS is a collaborative forum which allows the government, the tech community and the third sector to work together to ensure the UK is the safest place in the world to be online. 

Is Education for a Connected World statutory?

Education for a Connected World is not statutory, but complements the teaching of newly compulsory subjects within the curriculum. From September 2020, Relationships Education became compulsory for all primary pupils, Relationships and Sex Education became compulsory for all secondary pupils and Health Education became compulsory in all state-funded schools in England. In readiness for this, the Department for Education produced non-statutory guidance called ‘Teaching Online Safety in Schools', which makes extensive reference to the Education for a Connected Word framework as a tool to support teaching of these subjects.

What does the Education for a Connected World framework support?

The framework is for school leaders, teachers and anyone who works with children and young people. It aims to support the curriculum, particularly PSHE, Relationships and Sex Education, Health Education and Computing, but can be used across the curriculum to support a whole-school approach to online safety.

It is for children and young people of all ages and recognises that online activity and behaviour can be different both within and across each age range. Therefore, it has been designed to be used flexibly, so it's relevant to online behaviour at each stage of development, and can be used in line with children's readiness for new learning. 

It can support schools and other sections of the children's workforce in a range of ways, including:

• Developing a rich, effective and developmental curriculum, to ensure young people are safe, healthy and thrive online.
• Auditing and evaluating existing provision of online safety education.
• Coordinating delivery of online safety education throughout the curriculum.
• Improving engagement across the wider school community on issues related to online safety. 
• Developing effective training for staff, governors or board members. 

How does Natterhub support Education for a Connected World? 

Natterhub provides over 350 interactive lessons on online safety and digital literacy, delivered through an experiential learning environment that looks and feels like social media. We are an associate of UKCIS, which means that all our lessons are aligned to their Education for a Connected World document, as well as the RSE curriculum. In addition, the document forms the basis of Natterhub’s ‘Badges of Honour’, around which we’ve built all our interactive content. 

So if you want to ensure your online education strategy is aligned to the Education for a Connected World framework, and other government guidelines for teaching online safety in schools, then Natterhub can support you every step of the way with our innovative online safety lessons. 

Find out more about our comprehensive media literacy & online safety lessons here.

You can see how Natterhub is aligned with the most recent online safety legislation here.