Imagine it’s 8am on a Monday morning and a teacher has been allocated a cover lesson at the last minute. Cue the usual proceedings: check for cover notes and instructions; check register for any additional support needs; access behavioural notes. Ready to go...
Much to this teacher’s relief, the lesson seems engaging enough. Pupils will research the climate emergency and put together a presentation. Great - the teacher knows there are lots of engaging videos online that could be used as a five-minute hook to kickstart the lesson.
The teacher welcomes the class and tells the pupils what’s on offer: “Let me start with a short video to give you an idea about what we’ll be learning today.”
Little does the teacher realise that everything is about to change.
Two minutes in and the content takes a sharp turn: there is graphic imagery showing distressing scenes of death and violence. The teacher acts swiftly to close the video down, but it is too late. Pupils have been profoundly disturbed and confused; parental complaints will soon follow.
‘Essential’ that schools reassess online safety
It’s essential to re-evaluate online safety measures in our schools. Schools in England have taken action and responded with the introduction of new Keeping Children Safe in Education legislation that, at the very least, calls into action scrutiny and evaluation of security software quality assurances.
A 2023 survey by Teacher Tapp highlighted that 73 per cent of the teachers who use YouTube in their classroom have been subjected to inappropriate and embarrassing content.
This is likely a result of an average of 60 per cent admitting to spending only 1-10 minutes - most spent less than five minutes - sourcing and choosing video content to share with pupils in class.
I recently met with Michael Wilkinson, UK managing director of educational videos provider ClickView, and he shared concerns that emerged from his discussions with headteachers while presenting to several schools in one Scottish local authority. They were to some extent aware that platforms such as YouTube may pose a threat to safeguarding measures in schools.
However, the Teacher Tapp survey indicated that many teachers admit to using video content that has not been regulated or quality-assured by themselves or their school.
Further safeguarding concerns arise with the (all too familiar) unregulated use of Netflix and other streaming platforms in the classroom, not to mention the legalities around licensing and permissions.
Although schools are aware of the ongoing use of such digital resources, is enough being done to ensure that any content shared in our classrooms has been regulated and approved by an appropriate authority?
Safer digital platforms give teachers peace of mind
What’s even more frustrating is the fact that we already have safe and regulated learning platforms that offer high-quality video-based learning resources available to us. Safer digital platforms - such as ClickView - have been adopted by Scottish schools and local authorities, who can rely on content and associated resources written by experts specifically for the classroom making safeguarding a top priority.
Schools can be reassured that the videos staff use are not only safe and legal, but that they also help set up high-quality learning experiences in the classroom.
If the school of the imaginary teacher above had used a whole-school video learning platform that had already passed essential safeguarding criteria, they would have been safe in the knowledge that pupils would be engaged, excited and - most important of all - safe from the dangers of unregulated, unpredictable and unsettling video content.
Can we really continue to leave it to chance that our young people are safe from harmful online content in school? Are we absolutely certain that our schools’ and local authorities’ online safety measures are functioning at the highest possible level?
While I enjoy and benefit from the many online streaming platforms available in our modern world, I can’t help but wonder: shouldn’t we support our teachers with the guarantee of safeguarded, regulated and quality-assured digital content?
The alternative comes laden with all sorts of risks - the stakes are just too high.
Ed Carlin is a depute headteacher working in a secondary in the North East of Scotland
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