The OSA Certificate of Online Safety

It is essential that schools and families are confident that their children know how to be safe and responsible users of the Internet. The OSA Certificate of Online Safety provides valid and tangible evidence that your pupils have received and understood how to stay safe online, what to do if things go wrong, and what the possible consequences of bad choices could be.

Pupils complete the OSA Certificate of Online Safety online, working through a range of interactive presentations and videos. Motivation is maintained through these activities as pupils earn badges and work through levels by completing tasks.

Assessments are based on the preceding learning materials and include a range of short-answer and multiple choice questions. Pupils can attempt each test as many times as needed if they fail to reach the pass mark and will receive guidance on where they went wrong to develop their online safety knowledge. We provide a teacher account to allow you to monitor the progress of your pupils.

What is covered?

Units in the 2025-26 Certificate include online bullying, grooming (including radicalisation), sexting, safe use of smartphones, digital footprints, live streaming, gaming, reporting of concerns and more. New units this year include cyber-security and an ‘online relationships’ module to address many of the issues raised by the Everyone’s Invited website and the subsequent guidance from the DfE and Ofsted. The new courses include enhanced levels of interactivity, updates to online safety issues covered and a greater focus on helping children to deal with mental health issues.

To ensure age-appropriate content there are three levels of the Certificate available; Key Stage 3 (11-14), Key Stage 4 (14-16) and KS5 (16+). We also recommend that students undertake our ‘Certified AI User’ course to ensure they are able to be safe, responsible and effective users of artificial intelligence. This course is also included in the premium package.

How long does it take to complete?

This depends on the method of delivery. Some schools opt to allow their pupils to work independently through the Certificate in lessons and home learning. In such cases more able pupils will complete the Certificate in 1-2 hours and all pupils should be able to complete it within 3.

Some schools prefer to use a more teacher-led approach to delivering the Certificate. Although this results in the Certificate taking longer to complete (usually around 5 hours), this method provides opportunities for class discussion and development of deeper understanding.

Where students also undertake the ‘Certified AI User’ course, this adds an additional 2 hours to the total time needed.

What are existing users saying?

The feedback we have received from both students and parents has been extremely positive and as a school we now have clear evidence that students have completed this additional online safety learning.

Assistant Headteacher, Weald of Kent Grammar School

We have been very successful in delivering the OSA to our two year groups of years 7 and 8. I found the delivery clear to follow with good resources to help explain each topic.

Head of Computing, Kingsbury High School

96% of students who completed our KS3 course stated they felt their knowledge of how to stay safe online had improved as a result of the course.

Can I get trial access?

We would be happy to provide access to a trial account to allow you to take a closer look at the Certificate and how the system works. Simply send us a message using the contact form below. Please also contact us if you have any further questions.

Sign up today

Ready to join the growing community of schools prioritising pupil safety with the OSA Certificate of Online Safety? Simply choose a package below to fit your school’s needs, or build your own package for a tailored solution. 

Our best-value package costs just £499, and this provides:

• Access to the current version of the OSA Certificate of Online Safety for up to 600 pupils within your establishment;
• Access to the current version of the OSA’s popular ‘Certified AI User’ course for up to 600 pupils within your establishment;
• Access to the CPD-accredited course ‘Online Safety for School Staff’ for up to 30 participants.
• Access to the CPD-accredited course ‘Cyber Security for School Leaders’.

Subscription provides 12 months of access to the current annual version of the training at the time of signing up. There are no hidden additional costs.  Please contact us if you are planning only provide access to our courses to a limited section of your school community, as we may be able to arrange a price reduction.

Student-focused packages

You can also build a package for access for limited year groups to our courses for students.

Staff-focused packages

Need a bespoke package to suit your particular needs? If so, please get in touch.