Worked example · PSE / Well-being · Year 8
DCF: Citizenship → Online behaviour and online bullying
A secure Year 8 response, annotated, and a usable answer key. The advice here matches current UK school practice: screenshot the evidence, do not retaliate, report in the app, tell a trusted adult, block. Show it after pupils have filled their own table so they have to reach for the order themselves.
| Card | What is actually happening | First move, and why that one first | Who I tell | What I do not do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A pile-on. Four unkind replies plus likes from people I thought were friends — the likes are part of it, because they are what makes it a group activity. | Screenshot all four replies with the handles and the date showing. If I block first, the replies can disappear and I lose the proof. | My form tutor, and my mum at home. | Do not reply, even to say “leave me alone”. Do not delete my own photo yet — deleting it takes the replies with it. |
| 2 | Grooming behaviour. Flattery, then moving the chat to another app where nobody can see it, then asking for my school and my finishing time. | Screenshot the whole conversation, then stop replying. The detail that matters most is asking which school I go to and what time I finish — that is asking where to find me in person. | A parent or carer straight away, and the head of year. This one is reported to the platform and to CEOP. | Do not move to the other app. Do not answer the school question, not even wrongly. Do not agree to keep it between us. |
| 3 | A private message shared without permission. My friend has broken my trust; the group chat laughing is a second, separate problem. | Screenshot the group chat post, then message my friend privately and ask them to delete it and say they were wrong to post it. | My form tutor, because fourteen people have it now and it will not stay in that chat. | Do not screenshot and post something of theirs to get even. Do not argue in the group chat where fourteen people are watching. |
| 4 | Impersonation. Someone is using my name and my photo to post things I did not say, which makes it a problem with my reputation, not just my feelings. | Screenshot the fake profile including the handle, then use the app’s “report an account for pretending to be me” option — every major platform has one, and impersonation is usually taken down fast. | Head of year, because people in my year are being messaged by it. A parent too, because they can report it as the account holder’s parent. | Do not set up a second account to argue with it. Do not ask friends to mass-report it with abusive comments — that becomes a pile-on of its own. |
| 5 | A rating thread. It is bullying with a scoreboard, and being tagged is an attempt to make me join in so that I cannot object later. | Screenshot it, then leave the chat. Leaving is a first move here, because staying silent in it still counts as being in the audience. | My form tutor. I would also tell the person whose photo went up first, privately. | Do not post a number. Do not post “10 for everyone” as a way out — that is still joining in. Do not screenshot it and share it round as gossip. |
| 6 | A phishing attempt dressed as a prize. The two signs are: it wants my password, and it has given me a two-hour deadline. | Report the account in the app and delete the message. There is nothing to screenshot for my own protection, but reporting it protects the next person. | Nobody urgently, but I would mention it at home so my younger brother knows about it. | Do not send the username or password. Do not click anything. Do not reply to ask if it is real — replying confirms the account is live. |
Every row takes evidence before blocking or leaving, and every row names what not to do. That covers the first three criteria. Card 2 is the one where the order changes: stop replying comes before anything else.
If someone is being horrible to you online:
1. Screenshot it first. Get the name and the date in the picture.
2. Do not reply. Anything you send back can be screenshotted too.
3. Report it in the app — report the post and the account.
4. Tell an adult you trust. Home, form tutor, or head of year.
5. Then block them. Blocking is not losing.
Nobody ever needs your password. If they ask, that is the scam.
Five lines, in Year 7 language, in the right order, with the password line as the one thing to remember if they forget the rest.
| If I need to talk to someone outside school | Childline — 0800 1111, free and confidential, or online at childline.org.uk. |
|---|---|
| The adult in school I would go to first | My form tutor. If it is serious or it is about an adult, the head of year or the school’s safeguarding lead. |
| What to do if the app refuses to remove something | Take it to Report Harmful Content, which escalates reports that platforms have turned down. |
Names a real route inside school and a real route outside it, which is the fourth criterion. The third row matters because pupils assume “reported and refused” is the end of the road.