The DBE, through the support of key education partners, is currently implementing the National Online Safety Integrated Programme aimed at mitigating online risks, whilst ensuring that school communities surf the net responsibly. The programme is driven through various directorates including Life Orientation; e-Learning; School Safety; Governance; Inclusive Education; Psychosocial Support; Social Cohesion; and the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC). The DBE, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), the Film and Publication Board (FPB), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Google South Africa and the Agape Youth Movement hosted a two-day National Online Safety Workshop at Kyalami Hotel in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga Province, from 24 to 25 April 2025. The workshop was targeted at educators and district officials from the Nkangala and Gert Sibande Education Districts.

The training forms part of the DBE’s strategy to institutionalise online safety practices in the Basic Education Sector. Building on earlier sessions in the North West and Northern Cape provinces, the Mpumalanga workshop marked a significant step towards broadening the scope of participants across all nine provinces. The DBE views the recent workshop as a swift shift from advocacy to integration by way of embedding online safety content into the Life Orientation and Life Skills curricula. Attendees were trained on the Online Safety Curriculum Guideline for Grades 8–12; the Child Online Protection Toolkit and e-Safety Guidelines in schools; and incident-reporting frameworks. Ms Mmaletjema Lekalakala from the FPB led sessions on promoting online safety amongst learners, educators and officials, highlighting the distinction between online risks, which may increase the likelihood of harm, and online harm, defined as physical, sexual, or psychological injury emerging from digital interactions. She further addressed addiction and the overuse of digital platforms, citing their potential impact on mental and physical health, productivity and self-esteem. She recommended that the DBE and partners should provide structured interventions to support safe digital engagements within schools.

Dr Rannosi Motene, Chief Education Specialist (CES) from E-learning, presented the Guidelines on e-Safety in Schools, focusing more on the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in enhancing teaching and learning. He underscored the importance of each school adopting a formal ICT policy to guide its response to digital incidents: “It is imperative that each school develops and maintains a formal ICT Policy Framework. Such a policy serves as the primary point of reference in guiding institutional responses to ICT-related incidents. In instances where issues arise, the first inquiry will be confined to the existing ICT Policy Framework”.

Dr Karen Walstra from Google South Africa, facilitated a practical session on integrating online safety into lesson planning. Educators were guided to align scenarios from the workbooks provided with topics in their Approved Teaching Plans (ATPs) for Grades 8 to 12. This approach demonstrated how gradual implementation can ease the transition and reduce the likelihood of educators feeling overwhelmed. The workshop reinforced the need to capacitate educators, School Management Teams (SMTs), and district officials to respond to risks such as cyberbullying, online child exploitation, and exposure to harmful content. Emphasis was placed on the use of standard operating procedures and classroom strategies that reflect the dynamic nature of digital risks.

In his closing remarks, Mr Richard Twala, Director for Governance and School Safety in the Mpumalanga Province, highlighted the need for accountability and practical implementation. He stressed the critical role of educators in modelling approaches introduced to play a pivotal role in future evaluations of the workshop’s effectiveness. Mr Twala further emphasised that educators were best positioned to demonstrate the workshop’s value and ensure its sustained impact within the schooling system.