In an era where children are logging on before they can even tie their shoelaces, knowing how to stay safe online has become a fundamental life skill — right up there with reading and writing.
Yet for many younger students, who are still finding their feet in the digital world, recognising online threats isn’t always straightforward. And when things go wrong, the fallout can be serious.
Educators, meanwhile, face mounting expectations to teach online safety in ways that go beyond good intentions. What’s needed, experts say, is a clear, evidence-backed approach that actually resonates with children.
Recognising this, Melbourne-based ed-tech firm Pivot joined forces with the Cyber Safety Project (CSP) to pilot a study exploring what really works when teaching upper primary students how to navigate the online world safely.
The study involved 7 schools, 881 students, and 59 teachers from across government, Catholic, and independent schools who were observed over 8 weeks. The goal? To understand what works and what needs to change.
The CSP’s team of experienced educators carefully curated over 250 digital resources to enable teachers to easily and confidently integrate a comprehensive, year-round, online safety and digital wellbeing curriculum into their learning programs.
All lessons of the curriculum align with state and Australian curriculums and are reviewed each year to ensure they are current and reflect the ever-changing digital world.
What the study found
- 93.4% of students who used the curriculum adopted safer digital behaviours
- 30.6% showed improvement in students creating secure passwords
- More than half of students took immediate action to strengthen their online security
- Stronger teacher–student relationships enhanced online safety outcomes
‘Cyber safety became part of the learning culture’
Trent Ray, Co-founder & Lead Educator of the Cyber Safety Project said the research found that when schools embedded the program into their term planning and used the ready-to-teach resources provided, more positive digital behaviours emerged.
“It wasn’t seen as an add-on; it became part of the learning culture,” Ray told The Educator. “It became part of the metalanguage of everyday learning, visible on classroom walls, embedded in conversations, and reinforced through connections to school values and character development.”
Ray said this helped teachers reinforce safer digital behaviours consistently – not just during a cyber safety day or week.
Pivot’s co-founder Cleo Westhorpe said it’s crucial to clearly communicate the purpose and value of any new program or intervention, both to students and teachers.
“When everyone understands the ‘why’ behind a change, it’s easier to foster commitment and drive sustainable impact,” she said. “A key challenge that teachers often face is maintaining consistency and ensuring that behaviour changes stick in the long term.”
Westhorpe said overcoming this requires ongoing reflection and regular feedback loops to track progress.
“To support this, we emphasise the importance of measuring progress in a timely and actionable way, and Pivot is a really practical tool to assess impact in teaching quality and real-time feedback on student engagement and learning efficacy.”
Another important aspect of CSP’s curriculum is that quality professional learning is delivered by educators who are subject matter experts.
Ray said that the programs go beyond raising awareness by giving teachers classroom-ready strategies that are practical and pedagogically sound.
“Because we’re endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner, schools can be confident that our content aligns with national best practice,” he said. “The impact speaks for itself: when teachers feel confident, student outcomes improve, and this research shows that clearly.”
Westhorpe said that in the context of the Cyber Safety project, ‘quality’ professional learning means offering experiences that are not only relevant and specific to the needs of each teacher, but also grounded in practical, evidence-based strategies that can be immediately applied in the classroom.
“It’s about equipping teachers with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to address the ever-evolving landscape of digital safety, while fostering a learning environment where students are empowered to make safer, more respectful online choices,” Westhorpe said.
“Quality also comes from ongoing support and reflection. We define it as professional learning that is responsive to teachers’ challenges, offering them tools for self-assessment, peer learning, and a structured path for growth.”
Westhorpe added that it is important to make time and space to have conversations and analysis on the broader impact in a school context.
“Leaders should assess whether specific programs are having an impact by regularly measuring both teacher confidence and student outcomes, using tools such as formative assessment, surveys and classroom observations.”
When asked how leaders can keep their school’s digital safety programs flexible and up to date moving forward, Ray said the key is working with programs that stay current and adapt regularly.
“At Cyber Safety Project, we have a highly skilled team regularly reviewing, refining and updating our learning materials to reflect the latest platforms, behaviours and risks,” he said. “Just as important, we focus on building students’ human skills through a values-first approach.”
By teaching Responsibility, Integrity, Strength and Empathy, the CSP’s curriculum empowers students to draw on these values when faced with an unknown situation, online challenge or peer dilemma, Ray noted.
“These skills stay relevant, no matter how fast the digital world changes.”