One of the fastest-growing threats to children – online scams – has been brought to life in a fun and educational way thanks to a BBC Teach Liver Lesson at Wake the Tiger. For Steph Hughes, a teacher at a Bristol primary school, this opportunity, marking Safer Internet Day, was more than just a fun day out.
“E-safety is a really big thing for us,” she said. “The team approached us because we’re local, and they wanted to hear about what we were doing for Safer Internet Day. They invited us along, and we auditioned some children to take part in live television.”
According to a BBC Teach survey, a third of primary school teachers (33%) have had at least one pupil fall victim to an online scam, and 35% believe this number is rising each year. For schools like Steph’s, online safety isn’t just a subject—it’s a necessity.
Traditional e-safety lessons are a staple in schools a live and interactive approach has a unique impact. “It’s really engaging for them. They’re seeing presenters they recognise from TV, and it’s a different way of learning compared to what we do in school,” said Steph.
The Live Lesson, themed Too Good to Be True, centres around helping children spot scams—particularly phishing attempts and fraudulent offers. As part of the session, the pupils were introduced to Scam Smashers, a fictional game that turns online safety into an investigative challenge.
For nine-year-old Reya, the lesson was eye-opening: “Scammers can try and get your money or trick you into giving away personal information. We learned about phishing scams, making strong passwords, and how to spot a scam message.”
Her classmate Jacob came up with his own motto to remember the lesson: “Too good to be true. If something online sounds amazing, it could be fake or false.”
The pupils even created boards with key scam-spotting phrases. Omar, also nine, shared his four-step method for avoiding scams: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If it’s a contact you weren’t expecting, don’t trust them. If they ask for personal information, stop. If they request money, it’s probably a scam.”
Their excitement wasn’t just about the learning, though—there was also the thrill of appearing on live TV. “Being on television was an amazing experience,” Omar said. “We even had our own green room with some custard creams.”
For teachers like Steph, educating children about online risks is only part of the battle. “A lot of internet use happens at home,” she says. “We can have firewalls and safety measures in school, but at home, children might have access to different systems. It’s about helping them know what to do if they come across a problem.”
The BBC Teach survey highlights the barriers teachers face in delivering effective online safety education. A staggering 98% of primary teachers find it challenging to teach, and almost half (47%) want better resources for tackling online scams. The issue isn’t just about scams—social media plays a role too. Despite age restrictions, nearly every primary teacher (99.5%) reported having at least one pupil using social media.
Steph acknowledges that while schools are doing their part, parents also play a vital role. “Parents need to keep up to date with the platforms their children are using and the risks that come with them,” she advises. She also believes parental training could be beneficial: “Keeping children safe online is part of safeguarding. It makes sense for parents to have some form of training, just like schools do.”
One of the biggest concerns among educators is that children often don’t report negative online experiences. The BBC Teach survey found that 99.8% of teachers believe children face barriers in speaking up, including fear of friends finding out or feeling that nothing will change.
Steph and her colleagues work hard to counter this: “We have a very open environment at school where children are encouraged to talk,” she says. “After today’s lesson, we’ll be discussing in class what they learned and how they’d handle real-life situations.”
She also sees the rise of AI-driven scams as a new challenge: “AI is changing things quickly. Our e-safety lead has already done staff training and an assembly on the risks of AI. It’s about keeping ahead of the changes.”
When asked what one policy she’d introduce overnight to improve online safety, she responded: “I would give all adults the knowledge on how to put parental controls in place.”