Teacher and TV personality Baasit Siddiqui has teamed up with Nottinghamshire Police to educate pupils throughout lockdown about cyber crime and other online dangers.
Gogglebox star Baasit, from Derby, has jointly created a series of online lessons with Cyber Protect and Prevent Officer, Kirsty Jackson, as well as supporting the launch of a new cyber crime competition – with pupils across Nottinghamshire set to win prizes for their creations.
Baasit, who runs Siddiqui Education, an organisation which helps inspire children through workshops, is excited to help thousands of children learn from their homes while schools are closed.
The 38 year old said: “It’s a really exciting project to be working with Nottinghamshire Police.
“The interactive lesson plans that we’ve jointly created are fantastic tools for teachers and parents alike. And with everyone learning from home during lockdown, it’s the perfect time to launch.
“The lessons will not only raise awareness of how important it is to be safe online, but also really engage with the kids in a fun and interactive way. I can’t wait to see what they create in the competition, too.”
The competition for 9 to 13 year olds was launched on 18th January. It aims to help children learn about cyber crime and shows the force’s commitment to promote Safer Internet Day, which is on Tuesday 9th February.
They’ll also learn to understand key phrases, password security and find out why it’s so important to protect themselves as well as friends and family online.
The interactive lessons will give pupils clear tasks as well as questioning around the Computer Misuse Act to help them understand what online crimes are, and the consequences of committing these offences.
By entering the competition, children have the opportunity to win prizes for creating a piece of work that will help educate their peers on how to best protect their online accounts.
Kirsty said: “This is a really exciting project and I’m delighted to be working closely with Siddiqui Education who have a wealth of knowledge in engaging with children.
“The competition challenges children in Years 5 to 8 to create a piece of work highlighting cyber-protect advice to educate their peers on how to protect themselves and each other from Cyber Crime. The key information covered that students need to include in the project relates to Password Security and Two Factor Authentication (2FA) to keep online accounts secure. Please refer to our lesson plans for further information.
“Both primary and secondary schools across Nottinghamshire have been contacted and we’re hoping hundreds of children will take part, not just in the competition to win some great prizes, but also use the interactive lessons at home.
“This is an innovative way to expand key education. The lessons are designed to help avoid children falling victim to cyber crime and also committing any offences. A lot of the time we find that children aren’t always aware that they’ve broken the law, or of the consequences of doing so when online.
“The winners will have their work showcased and will be included in the advice we share across Nottinghamshire to help spread the protect advice even further. I’d like to wish everyone taking part all the best with their entries.”
The competition entries will be judged by Nottinghamshire Police’s cyber crime team, Natterhub, Cyber Security Partners and Siddiqui Education. The force is looking for effective, creative content and there are a number of prizes including hundreds of pounds worth of Amazon vouchers, a Nintendo Switch and an iPad.
Meanwhile, schools could win cash prizes in a raffle, as well as a subscription to Britannica Digital Learning (https://britannica.co.uk).
The closing date for the competition is Monday 22nd February. You can find out more and access the lesson plans and school pack at www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/besafeonline. Look out for the hashtag #nottscybercomp on social media, too.