X-rated material seen by primary pupils was 'not pornographic' says Highland Council
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Highland Council has been left red-faced as just days before marking Safer Internet Day 2023 it endorsed a view that X-rated material seen by primary pupils under 10 was “not pornographic.”
The local authority was responding to claims that pupils saw graphic sexual material online in a Highland classroom on council-provided Chromebooks.
The worried mother who first raised the issue said she is more concerned than ever at the “disgusting” response, saying it “makes me extremely worried about what the threshold is in the eyes of the council for pornographic material.”
The images and video in question were seen by the Courier are too explicit to publish, even after being redacted.
Additionally, the website which hosted the content itself states it is “not safe for work” and for “18+.”
- Mother raises alarm about porn access in Highland schools after primary pupils accessed X-rated content
- YOUR VIEWS: Should primary pupils be using computers?
Council judgement under the spotlight
The development sparks further questions about the suitability of systems in place to protect pupils from harmful online content as well as the judgement of some officials.
The council sought advice on the issue from the Highland Child Protection Committee (HCPC) that is made up of Highland Council, NHS Highland and Police Scotland.
In its feedback the committee stated: “Many of these websites are around sexual functioning and pharmaceuticals, they are not pornographic in their content” but it did admit some were “inappropriate.”
More children could be at risk
The mother, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect her son, is now even more concerned about the local authority’s online child protection for pupils fearing more could be at risk.
“Highland Council knows what it is, they know what they have seen so they have gone to another agency to try and get them to say it wasn’t by showing them the wrong thing,” she said.
“My reaction to that is that it is a disgusting tactic, my husband says I was speechless with rage. I wasn’t expecting a good answer and I knew that they would try to turn it on me or deflect it but I didn’t expect they would go so low as to try and deny that what my child had seen was pornographic.
“The way I view it is that the Highland Council have not themselves said it was not pornography but that they have shown Highland Child Protection Committee my son’s search history and had them say it was not pornography.
“The fact that the Highland Council has endorsed that statement from the Highland Child Protection Committee makes me extremely worried about what the threshold is in the eyes of the council for pornographic material.
“That is my concern now – what does the council even consider appropriate or inappropriate if they do not consider what was seen by the primary kids pornographic?”
Safer Internet Day
The council's executive chief officer for education and learning Nicky Grant met with the worried mother before responding to her complaint to discuss the issue in detail.
Then just days after denying that sexually explicit images were "pornographic" in the response to the complaint, the council marked Safer Internet Day 2023 with online safety advice, despite issues with its own systems.
Ms Grant said: “It is understandable with the fast-changing nature of the digital and social media landscape, that parents and carers may feel overwhelmed when trying to keep up to date with new features and platforms. Confident internet users with a sound knowledge of safeguarding measures and practices, may be unfamiliar with language and popular culture terms driven by a younger generation.
“It is important to remember that while there are sophisticated parental controls and filtering systems in place, these alone cannot guarantee 100 per cent safety.
“We must be proactive in educating children and young people on how to recognise potential danger, what to do if they come across something they find uncomfortable, and safe practices to adopt while online to minimise risk to themselves and others.”
Safer Internet Day
The council's executive chief officer for education and learning Nicky Grant met with the worried mother before responding to her complaint to discuss the issue in detail.
Then just days after denying that sexually explicit images were "pornographic" in the response to the complaint, the council marked Safer Internet Day 2023 with online safety advice, despite issues with its own systems.
Ms Grant said: “It is understandable with the fast-changing nature of the digital and social media landscape, that parents and carers may feel overwhelmed when trying to keep up to date with new features and platforms. Confident internet users with a sound knowledge of safeguarding measures and practices, may be unfamiliar with language and popular culture terms driven by a younger generation.
“It is important to remember that while there are sophisticated parental controls and filtering systems in place, these alone cannot guarantee 100 per cent safety.
“We must be proactive in educating children and young people on how to recognise potential danger, what to do if they come across something they find uncomfortable, and safe practices to adopt while online to minimise risk to themselves and others.”
No system is 100 per cent fail-safe
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “Filtering systems play an important role in keeping children and young people safe online, however no system can ever be guaranteed 100 per cent fail-safe.”
Education Chair, Cllr John Finlayson said: "The digital world is becoming increasingly more intertwined in our daily lives and so we all have a responsibility to educate children on how to navigate the space safely, just as we educate them on recognising dangers in the real world.
“The Council and schools take online safety and their responsibility to educate young people on the potential dangers very seriously and also investigate any concerns to security in school settings in a robust manner.
"Of course children are in school only five hours a day and to ensure online safety at all times support is also needed from parents and carers to properly safeguard their children and young people by having conversations and open dialogue with them.”
