In Year 2, we have begun reading The Wolf’s Story. After reading a few pages, we thought about reasons why we should or should not trust the wolf. We worked in groups to talk about how the character was different in this story to Little Red Riding Hood and formed an debate for and against the wolf. We had lots of fun using our reasons to create a conscious alley activity.
It’s a description of encryption proscription! 
The world’s most popular instant messaging service, WhatsApp has been appearing in the headlines even more often than usual recently over its opposition to aspects of the UK government’s Online Safety Bill 
Encrypting messages to protect users’ privacy has undeniable merit, but it also poses obvious risks – especially to young people. Updated to reflect the newest version of WhatsApp, today’s #WakeUpWednesday guide brings trusted adults the latest essential info.
WhatsApp is the most widely used messaging platform on the planet, with over two billion users (forecast to become three billion by 2025), across more than 180 countries. The majority of those people (70%) open the app at least once a day – but what exactly are they seeing? Contact from strangers, fake news and convincing scams are all among the service’s well-documented hazards.
According to Ofcom, WhatsApp is used by more than half of 3- to 17-year-olds in the UK (including one in three from the 8–11 bracket), despite its 16+ age restriction. If your child hops onto WhatsApp to stay in touch with friends or family, our updated #WakeUpWednesday guide to the service contains the key details you’ll need to support them in doing it safely.
Almost half (46%) of 8- to 11-year-olds in the UK play online video games with people that they don’t necessarily know 
While 55% of parents of young gamers worry that their child might be pressured into making expensive in-game purchases 
Most children find gaming immensely enjoyable, but its volume of potential risks – and capacity to influence behaviour – often make it problematic for parents.
Behind video-sharing platforms (like YouTube) and streaming TV shows and movies, gaming is the third most popular online activity for children in the UK. In fact, according to recent data from Ofcom, an overwhelming 89% of children aged 3 to 17 play video games. Of those, more than one in five (22%) talk to other players online who they don’t know outside the game.
The risk of contact from strangers is just one of the reasons that many parents are concerned about their child’s gaming: increased screen time, inappropriate content and in-game spending also figure among the most frequent fears. Agreeing on some rules around your child’s gaming activities can certainly help, and our guide has some useful tips for establishing these boundaries.
In English, we are reading Little Red Riding Hood. To help recall the story, our task was to create our own story maps. We used actions to help us remember key events and were encouraged to use exciting vocabulary when retelling the story.
Millennials are Messenger’s largest audience group, with the 25–34 age bracket comprising around a third (32%) of the app’s user-base. That’s not to say it’s unpopular with youngsters, however. Back in 2017, Facebook tried to launch a version for under-12s – Messenger Kids – but it was met with negative feedback: particularly in the UK, where it remains unavailable.
Users as young as 13 (and in all probability, many who are even younger) having access to an app which lets them chat privately with each other, exchange photos and potentially be contacted by older people who they don’t know brings its own obvious issues.
Facebook Messenger is a communication app through which users can exchange messages and send photos, stickers, and video and audio files. Messenger allows both one-to-one and group chats, has a ‘stories’ feature and – via its latest addition, Rooms – can host a video call with up to 50 people. As of 2021, the app had 35 million users in the UK alone (more than half the population!) among its 1.3 billion users worldwide. Whereas Messenger is integrated into Facebook on desktops and laptops, it has existed as a standalone app for mobile devices since 2011.
In the guide, you’ll find tips on a number of potential risks such as addiction, strangers and secret conversations.
Currently, group chatting is most popular among Millennials. Data from the USA, for example, reports that – whether they’re using WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger or any other platform – almost half (44%) of that 18–34 age bracket take part in at least one collective online conversation every day.
This is relevant because, of course, the schoolchildren of today are the 18–34s of tomorrow. Just like the current crop, online group communication will facilitate their blossoming social lives and expanding friendship networks.
Occurring through messaging apps, on social media and in online games, group chats are among the most popular ways that young people engage with their peers online. Involving, by definition, three or more individuals, these groups allow users to send messages, images and videos to everyone in one place. While they are useful for helping friends, people with shared interests or members of a club to communicate and coordinate activities, they can also leave young people feeling excluded and bullied – as well as providing opportunities for inappropriate content to be shared and viewed.
Does a child you know ever feel lonely when they’re online? In a study by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, 14% of 10–12-year-olds said that they DID often feel lonely – so any child experiencing those feelings is, sadly, far from unusual. To support Mental Health Awareness Week – which this year has the theme of ‘loneliness’ – we spoke to a group of children and teenagers, who told us some of the things that make them feel isolated when they’re online. They also suggested some ways they use technology to make themselves feel better when that happens, and we’ve compiled their ideas into a loneliness-busting #WakeUpWednesday guide.
In the guide, you’ll find tips such as taking breaks, playing single-player games and listening to your favourite audiobooks.
Research by the Mental Health Foundation found that loneliness has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, with more people experiencing it to an even more severe degree. This increased loneliness has contributed to higher levels of distress, resulting from people’s heightened feelings of isolation and diminished ability to connect with others.
The online world can help us feel more connected to people – but it can also leave us feeling even more cut off. For this week’s special #WakeUpWednesday guide, we canvassed the opinions of a group of young people, who told us what makes them feel lonely online … and how they use their digital devices to lift their spirits
In 2017, having been alerted to large quantities of videos which – at first glance – were geared to pre-schoolers but in fact featured disturbing images, YouTube pledged to purge itself of “content that attempts to pass as family friendly, but clearly is not.” Almost as quickly as platforms like YouTube can remove these videos, however, others are being uploaded in their place.
Many of these clips evade automated filters by using child-friendly search tags. Others are deliberately designed to resemble normal episodes of, say, Peppa Pig, but include violent or sexual content. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide this week examines the potential dangers when inappropriate content begins to be shared across different platforms.
Creepy characters like Slender Man or Huggy Wuggy. Dangerous online challenges. Songs or videos that aren’t suitable for youngsters. When things like these begin trending online, it can be difficult to prevent children accidently stumbling across them – especially if they use a range of platforms, like online games, social media, streaming sites or messaging apps. A trend can originate in one online space and rapidly spread to other platforms or via chat apps. The frightening Huggy Wuggy character, for instance, first emerged as part of a game on Steam; now there are parody songs on TikTok, videos on YouTube and more than 45,000 results for #huggywuggy on Instagram.
In the guide, you’ll find tips on a number of potential risks such as accidental exposure, inappropriate language and unsuitable videos.
In history, we have learned all about The Great Fire of London which happened in 1666 but did you know there was also a great fire closer to home?
The Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead started on the 6th of October 1854 on Gateshead quayside and then spread to Newcastle quayside after a factory exploded sending burning debris over the River Tyne!
First, we investigated sources and artefacts from The Discovery Museum to discover what life was like in Victorian Newcastle and thought about how it was different to present day Newcastle.
Then, we heard how the fire started, spread and how it affected the people of Newcastle and Gateshead. We used different artefacts to role play the story to help us remember all of the important information then we wrote a recount.
We love being history detectives and finding out about the past!
In preparation for learning French in Year 3, Year 2 had a special French visitor. Julien told us all about French culture then we ordered our crepe with our choice of delicious toppings in French. Most importantly, we remembered to say please and thank you (or should we say S’il Vous Plait et Merci!).
