SafeScroll
📚 Ages 6–12 · Children
🇬🇧 UK Digital Skills Framework
Digital Literacy Passport
Skills Checklist for Children
Eight essential digital skills your child works through at their own pace — from basic password safety to understanding how algorithms work. Each skill has a parent sign-off space.
UK Digital Skills Framework
ICO Children's Code
Childnet
How the passport works: Work through the eight skills in any order. For each skill, review the checklist with your child, have a short conversation, then sign and date the sign-off box when you're both happy they understand it. There's no test — the goal is understanding, not performance. Return to skills as they grow older.
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Digital Literacy Passport
This passport belongs to a digital citizen in training. Complete all 8 skills to become a Certified SafeScroll Digital Navigator.
The 8 digital literacy skills
Your child understands how to keep accounts secure:
Knows a strong password uses letters, numbers, and symbols — and is not their name or birthday
Understands why you should never share a password — even with friends
Knows that different accounts should have different passwords
Can explain what two-step verification (2SV) does in simple terms
Parent sign-off
Date: ____________
Your child can tell the difference between real and false information:
Knows that not everything they read online is true — anyone can publish anything
Can name at least one way to check whether a story is real (e.g. BBC, BBC Bitesize, asking an adult)
Understands that images and videos can be edited to look like something they're not
Knows to pause before sharing something — especially if it seems shocking or hard to believe
Parent sign-off
Date: ____________
Your child knows what information to keep private:
Can list the types of information that should never be shared online (full name, school, address, phone number)
Understands that profile pictures and usernames can reveal information — and why this matters
Knows the difference between public and private account settings and why private accounts are safer
Understands that once something is online, it can be hard to remove — "Think before you post"
Parent sign-off
Date: ____________
Your child knows how to handle unkind behaviour online:
Can explain the difference between a joke and cyberbullying — and knows it's still bullying even if it's "just online"
Knows how to block and report someone on at least one platform they use
Understands they should not respond to unkindness — and should screenshot and tell an adult instead
Knows they can contact Childline (0800 1111) if they feel unsafe or upset about something online
Parent sign-off
Date: ____________
Your child knows how to stay safe when interacting with people online:
Understands that online friends are not the same as real-life friends — and people may not be who they say they are
Knows they should never agree to meet someone in person that they've only spoken to online — without a parent present
Understands "grooming" in age-appropriate terms: some adults try to become a child's friend online to get them to do things that aren't safe
Knows they can always tell a trusted adult if an online contact makes them feel uncomfortable — even if they feel embarrassed
Parent sign-off
Date: ____________
Your child understands how to build healthy digital habits:
Can identify when screen time is making them feel worse (e.g. irritable, tired, left out) and name a strategy for dealing with it
Understands that apps and games are designed to keep you using them — and knows this is intentional
Can name 3 things they enjoy doing that don't involve a screen
Understands why screens in bedrooms and before sleep affect sleep quality
Parent sign-off
Date: ____________
Your child understands how creative work belongs to people online:
Understands that pictures, videos, and music online belong to the person who made them — you can't just take them
Knows what "copyright" means in simple terms and why it matters for content creators
Can explain what it means to credit someone when you share or use their work
Understands that AI-generated images, music, and text have their own complex rules — and it's not always clear who "owns" them
Parent sign-off
Date: ____________
Your child understands how platforms decide what to show them:
Can explain in simple terms: "An algorithm is a set of rules that decides what you see next based on what you've watched before"
Understands why their feed looks different from a friend's feed — even on the same app
Knows that algorithms can create "bubbles" — where you mostly see content that agrees with what you already think
Can describe at least one practical way to "reset" what a platform shows them (e.g. clearing watch history, choosing "not interested")
Parent sign-off
Date: ____________
Passport progress tracker
Shade in each badge as you complete it. When all 8 are complete, your child is a certified SafeScroll Digital Navigator.
After completing the passport
What to do when all 8 skills are signed off:
1Celebrate it — make it feel like an achievement. This is meaningful digital literacy, not a chore.
2Revisit it as they get older. A 12-year-old needs a different conversation about algorithms than a 7-year-old. The same skills deepen over time.
3Use it as a reference. If an online safety issue comes up, come back to the relevant skill and discuss it in the context of real events.
4Start the conversation early with younger siblings. Children who learn these skills from an older sibling retain them better.
Ready for the next step?
Our Growing Up Digital Guide (ages 6–12) takes these eight skills further — with conversation scripts, real-world scenarios, and a family framework for managing the next phase of your child's digital life.
Browse the guides →