Lockers is launched to mark Safer Internet Day 2016

Lockers is launched to mark Safer Internet Day 2016

A new resource for schools on the topic of sexting has been launched to mark Safer Internet Day 2016. Lockers is an information and education resource. It assists schools in coping with and preventing the sharing of explicit self-generated images of minors.

Lockers is the first Irish education resource of its kind to tackle the sensitive subject of sexting.

Lockers is a Junior Cycle SPHE resource on the non-consensual sharing of intimate images

Intended for use with Junior Cycle SPHE classes, the education resource is supported by two newly developed animations and six lesson plans. Lockers was developed to support schools as they address the issue of non-consensual sharing of intimate images (sometimes referred to as ‘revenge porn’), in the context of the SPHE class.

The resource aims to foster empathy, respect and resilience and to help young people understand the consequences of their actions.

Lessons focus specifically on the laws around sexting, on the peer pressure and stereotyping that can contribute to non-consensual sharing and on how students can get help when incidents of non-consensual sharing occur. One of the lessons also explores the practice of victim-blaming, through the For Your Eyes Only animation and through an extract from Louise O’Neill’s bestselling book, Asking For It.

The resource features differentiated worksheets. This means that the resource can be easily adapted for use with students of different abilities and with different learning needs.

An information section for principals is included in Lockers

Also included in the resource is an information section for school leaders. This 25-page section informs principals on the context for sexting among young people, the laws that can come into effect when underage sexting occurs and the implications for school policy. Considerations for schools dealing with incidents of sexting are also outlined.

The resource is available, free of charge, to all schools

Lockers was produced by Webwise, in collaboration with the Special Education Support Service, the Inspectorate in the Department of Education and Skills, the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme, Pauline Walley SC, Brian Hallissey BL, and An Garda Siochána. The resource can be downloaded here and hard copies of the resource can be ordered, free of charge.