Interface

Might social media actually be better for us than we think? Are we actually addicted to our phones, or are there behaviours we can spot and change? Joining Interface this time is Pete Etchells, psychologist, digital tech researcher, science writer and author of 'Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time'. Discover more about various aspects of digital wellbeing, through the Digital Wellbeing Hub f...

Dr Mark McGlashan from Birmingham City University joins the Interface team to discuss issues to do with online harm, safety and safeguarding in schools. SWGfL provide the Test Filtering service to help ensure filtering systems are blocking harmful online content. http://testfiltering.com/ Teachers and school staff can improve approach to online safety, with a variety of essential training services...

Lee Parkinson is one half of the '2 Mr Ps in a podcast' team alongside his brother Adam. He's a Manchester primary school teacher, a classroom technology trainer, and a social media content creator. He's a big advocate of the power of AI to save teachers time and energy and explores this in our latest episode. For further support, guidance, and considerations around AI technology, visit the SWGfL...

Safer Internet Day takes place on the first Tuesday of every February. It's the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety - and brings together schools, businesses and thousand of organisations to promote safe and positive use of technology for children and young people. This episode - recorded in the wake of Safer Internet Day 2024 - is a chat about the day with Childnet CEO Will Gardner. Discove...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already changing the fundamentals of how we live, work and teach - and its influence will only grow. It can be daunting to understand its strengths, and how best to engage with it - but it could be a huge benefit to teachers and educators. In this episode of Interface, online safety consultant Jess McBeath and co-host Ailish Hunter speak with SWGfL's deputy CEO and...

What do you need to think about in order to manage your professional reputation online? For the last of our '12 Festive Tips', Jess and Gareth are joined by the one-and-only Bobby Seagull - celebrity maths teacher, with brilliant advice on how he navigates being both a professional educator and a social media personality. Listen to the full episode with Bobby here . SWGfL's Professionals Online Sa...

Parents and carers have a massive part to play, when it comes to both keeping young people safe online, AND helping them explore, grow and learn.    That’s why - for this festive tip - we're hearing again from Traci Good, who we spoke to about Digital Leaders back in October. Traci has lots of great tips for getting parents involved and empowered to support their children online.&nb...

Every classroom has at least one student that dreams of being a YouTube or social media star.  It’s a tough area for teachers and educators to navigate: you want to encourage passions, and particularly creativity and learning new digital skills - but you also want to keep students safe online, and to help them understand they aren't - overnight - going to become the next Jake Paul or Mr Beast...

Vicki Green of the Marie Collins Foundation and Carmel Glassbrook from SWGfL are real experts at understanding and tackling harmful sexual behaviour. This mini-episode highlights their work, and the resources that are available to support teachers and educators. Hear their episode of Interface in full here . In 2022, SWGfL ran a Harmful Sexual Behaviour support service. Although the service is no...

One of our first ever episodes of Interface was with Alexandra Evans - the (now former) Director of Safety Public Policy at TikTok Europe. TikTok is driven by a powerful algorithm, to push users to content it thinks they want to see, based on their past online activity. It can be fun and exploratory - but it can also lead to concerns, especially if it's not properly understood. Listen to the full...

'Filtering and monitoring' is the umbrella term for a school's systems and tools for preventing children from seeing things online that are inappropriate. For this tip, Jess and Gareth hear from SWGfL online safety lead consultant Graham Lowe. Listen to the full episode with Graham here .  More support and resources for schools on filtering and monitoring at the following links: https://safer...

Our sixth of 12 Digital Tips for Christmas is all about empowering students and young people to take action on things they care about. Gina Martin embarked on a tireless and successful campaign to criminalise ‘upskirting’ (taking photographs from underneath to see up someone's clothing) after someone did it to her in July 2017. She has since published a book Be the Change: A Toolkit for the Activi...

Is your nightmare before Christmas a school cyber-attack? Number 5 in Interface’s ‘12 digital tips for Christmas’ looks at surviving hacking, phishing and other online attacks. We hear from Sir Dan Moynihan of London’s Harris Schools Federation. The full episode with Sir Dan - also featuring NCSC experts - can be heard here . Interface is a podcast for teachers and educators from SWGfL, part of th...

How do teachers and educators talk to children about online pornography? Welcome to number 4 of Interface’s 12 digital tips for Christmas. Jess and Gareth talk to Professor Andy Phippen, and share their own tips on handling difficult conversations about inappropriate online content. Listen to the full episode with Andy here . Interface is a podcast for teachers and educators from SWGfL, part of th...

Interface’s third of 12 Christmas digital tips is here! This time, author, broadcaster and campaigner Natasha Devon MBE, on supporting girls and women online. Give Natasha’s full episode here . It was first released in March to mark International Women’s Day. Interface is a podcast for teachers and educators from SWGfL, part of the UK Safer Internet Centre.   Discover more about various...

If technology and video games are on your kids’ Christmas lists, our second of 12 digital Christmas tips is one for you. Jess and Gareth introduce a clip from Taming Gaming’s Andy Robertson. Listen to the full episode with Andy here .  Interface is a podcast for teachers and educators from SWGfL, part of the UK Safer Internet Centre. Discover more about various aspects of digital wellbeing, t...

On the first day of Christmas, Interface gives to you… Our first of 12 snack-sized episodes, looking back on past podcast guests, and some digital tips from hosts Jess and Gareth. First up, anti-bullying campaigner Alex Holmes. Listen to the full episode with Alex here . Interface is a podcast for teachers and educators from SWGfL, part of the UK Safer Internet Centre. Discover more about various...

Roblox is massive! It had over 66 million daily users worldwide at the start of 2023. It is understood to be the most popular online gaming platform for UK under-13s, and its user numbers have gone up by a fifth in a single year. In this episode, Jess McBeath and Princess Lawal take a deep dive with Roblox's head of Community Safety & Civility, Laura Higgins. Links to further support and infor...

Children and young people can take a proactive active role in technology and online safety, running peer-led training, and even educating parents and carers! Interface co-hosts Gareth Cort and Ailish Hunter talk all things Digital Leaders and peer-led online safety, with Childnet's Danielle Antha, and Derbyshire's chief iVenger Traci Good. Links: Childnet's Digital Leaders i-Vengers Discover more...

The annual schools Cybersurvey has been offering vital insights for safeguarding, online safety education, and student wellbeing since it was first launched by the charity Youthworks in 2008. Adrienne Katz leads the Cybersurvey, and speaks in this episode with Interface's Gareth Cort and Princess Lawal. For support and guidance around the online wellbeing of your students, please visit SWGfL’s Dig...

Recently updated guidance for schools on standards for filtering and monitoring online content has led to some confusion and worry. But don't worry - it's not as complicated as you might think! SWGfL online safety lead consultant Graham Lowe joins Interface's Jess McBeath and Gareth Cort to explain. More support and resources for schools on filtering and monitoring at the following links: https://...

Gina Martin embarked on a tireless campaign to criminalise 'upskirting' (taking photographs from underneath to see up someone's clothing) after someone did it to her in June 2017. She shares her experience of online activism, and gives tips on how teachers can support children and young people to make a difference on issues they care about - and stay safe while doing so. Gina speaks in this episod...

For our final Interface episode before the long summer holiday, something a bit different. Our young co-hosts Princess and Ailish reflect on a whole school year of working with SWGfL, and think about what they know about internet safety now, that they wish they'd understood when they were still at school. They're joined for the chat by SWGfL's Gareth Cort. Find out more about the support on offer...

Does your class have a social media influencer? There are likely to be students with career ambitions as Tiktok stars or YouTubers. What do they need to know? And what do you need to know to better support them? Interface's Ailish Hunter is a former beauty and make-up YouTuber, and hosts this episode alongside SWGfL online safety consultant Jess McBeath. The pair are joined by YouTuber Eman Kellam...

How can pornography impact the children and young people in your care as an educator? Andy Phippen is professor of digital rights at Bournemouth University. He joins SWGfL internet safety consultant Gareth Cort and co-host Ailish Hunter to talk about online sexual content, and its impact on young people's relationships, body image, and more. Resources: Let's Talk About Porn: A teaching resource de...