St Stanislaus' College and Scots All Saints College have taken part in the free in-school program offering students the skills they need to be safe, responsible and positive online.

It was part of a two-week digital safety roadshow conducted by Optus at seven schools across the Central West.

Optus territory general manager for Central West NSW, Nicholas Gibson, said the school sessions sparked important conversations around digital practice as well as some of the other challenging topics related to the online world.

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"With the current situation driving more online activity, conversations around necessary precautions such as creating strong passwords and enabling privacy settings on social media have become more important than ever," Mr Gibson said.

"As a leading provider of internet technology, it's important for us to highlight to students that they don't have to be an expert at navigating the internet to practice these safe habits."

The Digital Thumbprint Program teaches skills in cybersecurity, verifying credible information and what to keep in mind when creating a positive digital footprint.

"Making sure to implement ways to keep Australians safe is a priority during this time, whilst also continuing to educate, we expanded on our original face-to-face Digital Thumbprint Program delivery model to offer digital versions," Mr Gibson said.

"With NSW moving into the new normal, it's great to bring back the interactive approach of the program, educating students across the Central West on key issues such as how to protect your identity and information online and building positive and respectful relationships online."

Since the program's launch in 2013, the government accredited Optus Digital Thumbprint Program has educated over 330,000 primary and secondary students across Australia on how to be safer and smarter online.

In 2019, almost 50,000 students were reached during that year alone. Optus Digital Thumbprint Program is completely free for schools and does not promote any Optus products or services.

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