Safer Internet Day is an annual event that focuses on the online safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Each year it centres around a different theme that relates to issues that young people are encountering online.

This year’s theme is: Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online. Created in consultation with young people across the UK, Safer Internet Day 2025 offers support and resources for young people to protect themselves from these risks.

The Creature Chronicles

In 2024, we launched our first ever fully digital immersive learning project The Creature Chronicles. Designed for Years 2 - 3 (ages 6 - 8) it raises standards in oracy and literacy whilst promoting teamwork, collaboration and creativity.

A key component of the project is an interactive conversation with a character – an aspiring young journalist looking for a front page story. Using cutting-edge technology, pupils experience seemingly real-time video and text responses that move the story forward. 

When approaching the project, we knew we wanted to create an experience that felt live but modelled a safe practice for children and teachers too. Our in-school adventures take the principles of immersive theatre into education settings, so it was important that we could achieve this without breaking the immersion. 

An opportunity for teachers to model safe usage

The project is delivered in class by the teacher who explores the journalist’s website with the children. Prior to this, the teacher has received all training resources needed to run the project. 

As with all of our immersive learning work, learning outcomes are wrapped in an engaging and exciting narrative and the children are not informed that they are taking part in a project. This project’s narrative journey hinges on the believability of the journalist character, her world and her interactions with the class; this includes communication through a fictional online platform. 

Narrative events are designed to spark conversation about safe internet use and there are many opportunities throughout the project for teachers to initiate classroom discussions around this topic. Teachers can approach internet safety guidelines in line with their school’s online safety policy and model their actions accordingly. 

How we approached Safeguarding 

Although the project simulates communication with a real life character, delivery of the project is predetermined. All references to 'live' responses are fictitious and opportunities to discuss internet safety with children are embedded within the user journey.

The character’s responses goes through a content filtering system and is limited to generating age appropriate responses

Prior to piloting The Creature Chronicles in nine schools, we created a bespoke and detailed Safeguarding Statement, in accordance with our wider company Safeguarding Policy. This was informed by NSPCC guidance and the KCSIE areas of online safety risks, known as the 4 C’s of Online Safety: Content, Contact, Conduct and Commerce. 

1. Content - anything posted online - it might be words or it could be images and video.
2. Contact - the risk of harm young people may face when interacting with other users online.
3. Conduct - the way people behave online.
4. Commerce - the risk from things like online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing or financial scams.

We also created an ‘in-world’ Code of Communication which sits alongside the contact form where the class first engages with the character. It provides a natural point for the class to discuss online safety. 

The code of communication reads:

• Never share personal information - only share your imagination
• If you are a child, ensure you are accompanied by a responsible adult
• If you are an adult, ensure you are accompanied by a responsible child
• It's important to remember online safety at all times especially when something seems too good to be true
• Never agree to meet anyone in person
• It's important to take a break from time to time - it's fine to go offline

By including the importance of internet safety as part of the children’s engagement with a character, the value of the above statements is heightened. Children are made aware that internet safety is valued in the wider world, just not within the home or school community. To add further purpose to this learning, children learn that in order for them to help the character they will need to adhere to the above code. Keeping the code of communication 'in-world' and including an element of playfulness allows for scope to engage with the children on another level.

A reference to adults (and children’s right to question their actions!) is included as a reminder that safe internet usage applies to all ages and everyone has a part to play.

For more information on Safer Internet Day head to the official website or find teaching resources on the BBC. Or, discover The Creature Chronicles for yourself and deliver the project in your classroom for just £50.