Safer Internet Day
A global campaign promoting safe and positive use of digital technology among children and young people.
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Overview
Safer Internet Day (SID) 2026 will be on Tuesday 10 February 2026. It is coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre.
Its aim is to inspire a UK-wide conversation around using technology in ways that are:
- responsible
- respectful
- creative
- rooted in critical thinking
There are opportunities for children and young people, schools, parents and carers and businesses in Wales to get involved.
For this campaign, our focus will be on artificial intelligence (AI), exploring how:
- it shapes our online experiences
- we can use it safely and responsibly
We know that supporting your learners to make informed and responsible choices online is a key priority. Taking part in SID is a great opportunity to build on and celebrate this work.
How you can take part
Storyboard competition for primary learners
We have invited primary learners across Wales to take part in a creative competition. The competition is now closed. Winning entries will be showcased on Hwb and celebrated as part of our SID 2026 campaign.
Event for secondary schools: Tuesday 10 February 2026
We’re celebrating SID 2026 by inviting secondary schools in Wales to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. We’ll explore the latest online safety issues, including the impact of AI, through 2 events running alongside each other:
- one for learners aged 14 to 17
- one tailored for education practitioners
Parallel sessions will run throughout the day. These will feature expert insights from leading online safety organisations and interactive activities.
You can find out more and reserve your school’s space through the SID Event page.
e-sgol online sessions
We are partnering with e-sgol to deliver bilingual ‘Link and Learn’ sessions. There’ll be a live event for primary school learners taking place on Tuesday 10 February. This session will offer a good starting point for initiating classroom discussions around this year’s theme.
From this date, secondary schools will have access to a recording, allowing them to view it with learners at a suitable time.
Primary schools can visit the event pages on Hwb to register for:
Questions can be directed to diogelarlein.safeonline@gov.wales.
Safer Internet Day education packs
UK Safer Internet Centre’s ‘Smart tech, safe choices’ themed packs can help you explore with learners how AI can be used safely and responsibly, and include topics such as:
- voice assistants
- chatbots
- the ethics of generative AI
There are 4 separate activity packs, each available in English and Welsh. Although each includes an age range in the title, you can adapt the resources to suit your learners’ needs. You may even want to pick and mix activities from across the following resources:
Previous campaigns
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Date: Tuesday 11 February 2025
Theme: Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online
Activities: For Safer Internet Day 2025 we invited learners to contribute content to the Keeping safe online area on Hwb, with a focus on online scams. We also partnered with e-sgol to develop assemblies to help promote safer internet practices.
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Date: Tuesday 6 February 2024
Theme: Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online
Activities: For Safer Internet Day 2024 we developed a bespoke assembly to help you kickstart conversations about safe, positive and responsible use of technology in your school. Throughout Safer Internet Day week we hosted a series of interactive virtual events for schools with our expert partners including Estyn, Childnet, SWGfL, North Wales Police and Adobe.
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Date: Tuesday 7 February 2023
Theme: Making space for conversations about life online
Activities: The Welsh Government, in collaboration with the Welsh Rugby Union, ran a film competition which invited children and young people to create a short film that communicates their views, opinions or stories of using social media, gaming or apps. In their own words, we wanted to hear about the benefits and the concerns they experience using these apps. The winners were announced at a celebration event for finalists at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff, on Safer Internet Day:
- Primary Winner: Ysgol Bro Teifi
- Secondary Winner: Ysgol Nantgwyn
- Primary Runner Up: Ysgol Dyffryn Cledlyn
- Secondary Runner Up: Haverfordwest High VC School
- Highly Commended: Griffithstown Primary School
- Highly Commended: Cadle Primary School
- Highly Commended: Ysgol Y Deri, ‘Class 5FN does gaming’
- Highly Commended: Ysgol Y Deri, ‘The need for speed’
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Date: Tuesday 8 February 2022
Theme: All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online
Activities: The Welsh Government, in partnership with the BBFC, ran a film competition which aimed to encourage children and young people to express their creativity and share their understanding of showing respect online. The winners of the competition were announced by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles MS, on Safer Internet Day:
- Primary Winner: Ysgol Dyffryn Cledlyn
- Secondary Winner: Ysgol Ty Coch
- Runner up: Ysgol Bro Pedr
- Highly commended: Cadoxton Primary School
- Highly commended: Ysgol Bro Teifi
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Date: Tuesday 9 February 2021
Theme: An internet we trust: exploring reliability in the online world
Activities: The Welsh Government, in partnership with the UK Safer Internet Centre, ran a ‘Tackling misinformation digital storytelling’ competition calling on children and young people to use their creativity either through film, a written story or by recording an audio clip to explain what misinformation is, why it might be a problem, how we can recognise it and what we can do to protect ourselves and stop its spread. The winners of the competition were announced in a virtual event on Safer Internet Day.