Course description

Safer digital participation starts with prepared educators.

In an era where students’ academic, social and emotional lives are shaped as much by screens as by classrooms, education professionals need practical, up-to-date competences to keep young people safe, resilient and responsible online. This five-day course equips teachers, school leaders, counsellors and youth workers with the knowledge, tools and confidence to address digital safety, prevent and respond to cyberbullying, and support learners in building a positive, responsible online presence.

Through hands-on workshops, real case studies, policy work and peer exchange, participants leave with concrete outputs: a personal action plan, a draft school policy or protocol, and a toolkit of ready-to-use classroom resources that can be applied immediately in their home institutions.

The course combines European frameworks, including DigCompEdu, DigComp 2.2 and the Better Internet for Kids strategy, with practical, context-sensitive approaches suited to school, VET, adult and non-formal education settings.

Who is this course for?

Teachers, school leaders, counsellors, youth workers and safeguarding staff.

Education settingsSchool, VET, adult and non-formal learning Prior experienceNo specialist expertise required RecommendedBring a laptop or tablet where possible

Course objectives

Understand the current digital landscape in which children and young people operate, including key risks and emerging trends
Recognise the forms, dynamics and warning signs of cyberbullying, both as bystanders and as first responders
Apply practical strategies for preventing, responding to and following up on cyberbullying incidents
Support learners in developing a responsible, healthy and constructive online presence and digital footprint
Design or strengthen whole-institution approaches to digital safety, including policies, protocols and staff roles
Translate European digital competence frameworks into concrete classroom and institutional practice
Build a sustainable, transferable action plan for embedding digital safety work in participants’ home institutions

Expected learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, participants will be able to demonstrate the following:

Knowledge

Describe the main categories of online risk (content, contact, conduct and contract) and how they manifest across age groups
Explain the psychological, social and legal dimensions of cyberbullying
Identify the core EU frameworks and policy instruments relevant to digital safety and media literacy

Skills

Facilitate classroom activities that build critical digital literacy and online resilience
Apply a structured response protocol to a disclosed or observed cyberbullying incident
Assess and adapt existing school policies against good-practice benchmarks
Use practical tools, including reporting mechanisms, privacy settings and content-checking techniques, with learners

Attitudes and competences

Model and promote responsible, empathetic and reflective online behaviour
Collaborate across teaching, leadership, counselling and family roles to build a coherent safeguarding culture
Commit to ongoing, adaptive practice in a fast-changing digital environment

Detailed 5-day programme

Five connected days, from risk awareness to sustainable institutional action.

Day 1

Understanding the Digital Landscape and Online Risks

Welcome, introductions and course needs analysis
Children and young people’s digital lives today: platforms, trends and generational gaps
The 4Cs risk framework: Content, Contact, Conduct and Contract
Analysis of real, anonymised incidents from different educational contexts
Group mapping of risks and protective factors in participants’ institutions
Reflective journal: “What surprised me today?”

Course output: Draft institutional digital-safety risk map

Day 2

Cyberbullying: Recognition, Response and Prevention

Defining cyberbullying and distinguishing it from face-to-face bullying and ordinary peer conflict
Forms of cyberbullying: exclusion, harassment, impersonation, doxxing and image-based abuse
Warning signs, disclosure patterns and barriers that prevent learners from seeking help
Role-play simulation: responding to a disclosure and applying a first-24-hours protocol
Workshop: building a step-by-step response, escalation and follow-up procedure
Peer exchange on approaches that have and have not worked in participants’ institutions

Course output: Draft cyberbullying incident-response protocol

Day 3

Responsible Online Presence and Digital Footprint

Digital footprints, reputation and identity construction among children and young people
Current social media, gaming and AI platforms: implications for educators
Hands-on lab using privacy settings, reporting tools and content-verification techniques
Classroom-methodology workshop on responsible posting, sharing, consent and self-presentation
Peer teaching: micro-delivery of a participant-designed mini-activity

Course output: Ready-to-use classroom activity or lesson plan

Day 4

Digital Safety in Practice: Policies, Tools and Whole-Institution Approaches

Whole-school and whole-institution approaches to digital safety
Roles of leadership, teaching staff, counsellors, safeguarding personnel and families
Benchmarking sample policies against good-practice criteria
Study visit or guest input from a local school, counselling service or digital-safety organisation, subject to availability
Workshop: drafting or revising an institutional policy, protocol or code of conduct

Course output: Draft institutional digital-safety policy or protocol

Day 5

Embedding Change: Action Planning and Sustainability

From training to transfer: practical change management in education institutions
Individual or team action planning using a structured implementation template
Structured peer-review circles and feedback on action plans
Course-portfolio finalisation and participant presentations
Course evaluation, certification and Europass Mobility guidance
Closing reflection and follow-up commitments

Course output: Final personal or institutional action plan and completed course portfolio

The sequence and examples may be fine-tuned after the pre-course needs analysis. The published learning outcomes and 30 teaching hours remain unchanged.

Teaching and learning methods

The programme deliberately keeps theoretical inputs focused so that participants can spend substantial time investigating cases, practising responses, testing digital tools and developing materials for their own institutions.

Interactive input sessions and focused short lecturesAnalysis of real, anonymised digital-safety casesRole-play and simulation of disclosure and response scenariosHands-on digital labs using privacy, reporting and verification toolsPolicy benchmarking and collaborative draftingPeer teaching and micro-delivery of classroom activitiesStudy visit or guest expert input, subject to local availabilityReflective journaling throughout the courseStructured peer feedback and peer-review circlesIndividual and team action planning

Your course product

Each participant completes a practical course portfolio containing an institutional action plan, a draft cyberbullying incident-response protocol, a ready-to-use classroom activity on responsible online presence, a draft policy or code of conduct, and a toolkit of checklists, templates and verified resources.

A completed action plan for embedding digital safety and anti-cyberbullying practice
A draft incident-response protocol tailored to the participant’s context
A ready-to-use classroom activity or lesson plan on responsible online presence
A draft institutional policy or code of conduct, or a revision of an existing document
A toolkit of practical resources, checklists, templates and verified platforms
A Certificate of Attendance and support for Europass Mobility documentation

European relevance

The course translates European priorities and competence frameworks into practical educational and institutional action.

Erasmus+ priorities

Digital transformationDeveloping digital readiness, resilience and institutional capacity for safer education and training environments.
Inclusion and diversityProtecting vulnerable and at-risk learners and ensuring that safeguarding responses do not exclude or blame those affected.
Participation in democratic lifeStrengthening responsible digital citizenship, empathy, consent and informed online participation.
Support for education staffProviding practical competence in prevention, first response, escalation and whole-institution digital safeguarding.

EU competence frameworks and reference instruments

DigCompEduSupporting responsible digital-resource use and educators’ role in facilitating learners’ digital competence.
DigComp 3.0Addressing privacy, personal data, wellbeing, online interaction, risk awareness and responsible digital behaviour.
Better Internet for Kids (BIK+)The European strategy for a safer, age-appropriate and empowering digital environment for children and young people.
Digital Services ActA European reference point for platform responsibilities, reporting mechanisms and protection of minors online.
EU Strategy on the Rights of the ChildSupporting children’s protection, participation and rights in the digital environment.

Assessment, validation and follow-up

Assessment

Daily reflective journal entries
Peer feedback on the incident protocol, policy, lesson plan and action plan
Facilitator observation during workshops and individual check-ins

Validation

Final self-assessment against relevant DigCompEdu competence descriptors
Certificate of Attendance detailing the course title, hours, dates and learning outcomes
Europass Mobility documentation available on request for eligible Erasmus+ participants

Follow-up

Continued resource-sharing and peer support through the course network
A structured three-month action-plan progress check
Optional follow-up webinar or coaching session, subject to availability
Signposting to Better Internet for Kids, national Safer Internet Centres and DigCompEdu self-assessment resources

Digital Safety, Cyberbullying and Responsible Online Presence