Maria Miller attended an unusual morning assembly at Merton Junior School in Popley this week, when the Google “Internet Legends” team visited the school to promote internet safety. 

Google have partnered with Parent Zone and are touring schools around the country with a highly entertaining and interactive session aimed at 7 to 11 year olds, encouraging them to learn the “Internet Legends” code, which will help them to stay safe online. They also provide schools with teaching resources and lesson plans to follow up on the assembly.

The four key themes were:

• Think before you share
• Protect your stuff
• Check it’s for real
• Respect each other

Head Teacher Helen Palmer and Maria Miller also spoke to the children.

Maria said: “The internet is a wonderful place for education, entertainment and communication, but children need to learn the skills to stay safe in the digital world. With children increasingly using the internet and smart phones as part of their everyday lives, it is really important that they understand what the risks are, and learn how to use the internet safely and responsibly.”

“The Google “Internet Legends” team really engaged with the children in a fun and enthusiastic way, which I am sure will help to reinforce the important messages they were putting across about online safety. They also challenged them to take these messages home with them, as many adults too still have much to learn about staying safe online.”