Students become the teacher at recent online Safety workshop

Residents at Llys Raddington Extra Care scheme in Flint recently enjoyed a presentation and workshop on Online Safety, delivered by Digital Heroes from Cornist CP school in Flint.

Digital Heroes are school pupils trained by Digital Communities Wales to share their knowledge of all things tech to help others become more confident users of the internet.

Managed by development agency Cwmpas, Digital Communities Wales is Welsh Government’s national digital inclusion programme.

Eight pupils from the school delivered the presentation with the support of their teacher, Anwen Williams, and Linzi Jones, Digital Adviser at Digital Communities Wales.

Anwen spoke to us about how the session came about and the benefits for both residents and children:

“Back in October 2022, the children had attended Digital Communities Wales’s Digital Heroes event, where they learned how to support older people to use technology. We then arranged the event at Llys Raddington between ClwydAlyn, Digital Communities Wales and Cornist School so the children could volunteer their new skills in the community.

“Having had the chance to workshop their ideas on how to create and deliver the session beforehand, the children showcased their presentation skills to residents on how to keep themselves protected online and explained the benefits of safe passwords, avoidance of scams and phishing emails. They then offered to support the residents with individual requests on how to protect the devices that the residents had brought with them.”

Charlotte Elder, Senior Support Worker at Flintshire County Council’s Care Team at Llys Raddington added that residents found the session very helpful, adding:

“They (residents) really enjoyed the session. The schoolchildren were very kind and talkative and the tenants loved having them visit and their happy smiley faces.”

Anwen continued:

“All the residents enjoyed the children’s company, and remarked how well behaved and pleasant the children were. Intergenerational learning is a wonderful way for children to learn from, engage and practise communication skills with older people, and in return, older generations enjoy learning from the children.

“With online safety often cited as a key reason for older people to avoid using technology, sessions such as this help residents avoid having their personal data stolen and other scams, and gain trust in online applications that help them with activities they used to do in person, such as banking and making GP appointments.

“All this is helping to keep them safer and remain independent and included in society, and we thank ClwydAlyn, the residents and staff of Llys Raddington and the wonderful children from Cornist school for all their kind efforts in pulling together this event. The children intend to visit again and will be presenting on the use of smart speakers, which I am sure the residents will find very enjoyable.”

Ed Hughes ClwydAlyn’s Executive Director of Care & Support added:

“This is a fantastic initiative that encourages people of all ages to come together and learn from each other. With greater interaction  across different generations, communities are more likely to care and invest in each other.”