CHILDREN vulnerable to falling victim to online predators picked up 'vital' safety skills in an intensive school day.

Pupils across the county took part in Safer Internet Day 2018 yesterday, a national campaign designed to promote better web awareness.

Youngsters were confronted with the dark side of the internet with activity days at several schools, exploring issues such as social media privacy, cyber-bullying and online grooming.

Among schools putting its weight behind the project was Rye St Antony in Oxford, whose pupils were visited by a Thames Valley Police officer and expert from online safety company Smoothwall.

Joanne Croft, deputy head of the private all-through school in Headington, said: "The internet makes children vulnerable in a different way.

"The dangers were always there, but with the internet, the world is smaller and you can do things much quicker.

"The wellbeing and safeguarding of every pupil is absolutely crucial."

Pupils in Years 5 through 9 sat in on talks and workshops, with topics including the risks of tagging their location on Facebook, and laws behind cyber-bullying.

The day was an extension of the curriculum, which covers e-safety in ICT classes.

Miss Croft said: "It's not just lessons, it's life-learning.

"We do allow pupils to have their own devices in school, which is quite controversial.

"The ethos behind that is that when they go to work and university they'll have them, so we want them to learn to use them appropriately and responsibly, rather than ban them completely."

She said it was an ongoing challenge to keep up with online trends, adding: "None of us is up-to-date because it changes all the time."

Her colleague Helen Tomlinson said the school's responsibilities reach beyond classes, as many girls board.

Miss Tomlinson, the school's head of boarding, welfare and compliance, said e-safety was key concern.

Fiona Mullaney, Rye St Antony's head of sixth form, ICT and computing, added: "The girls are quite savvy but there are still times where they fall foul.

"I've been a teacher since before the evolution of mobile phones. It's become engrained in everyday life.

"We have to approach it sensibly - we don't want to demonise it, but we expect girls to use phones responsibly."

Claire Stead, online safety expert at Smoothwall, said: "We need to protect children as much as we can from potential risks they face online.

"Whether it's social media, chatrooms or gaming, there are more avenues through which kids can be exposed.

"It’s not always possible to monitor what kids are doing 24/7, so teaching the basics of internet safety and potential risks is absolutely vital to ensuring the internet remains a safe haven.

"This is exactly what the day was about in Oxford: educating children, parents and teachers on experiencing the internet in a positive way."