Keep our kids safe
Swinney accused of failing to act after complaint
THE ready availability of hardcore pornography on the internet is one of the most worrying concerns of the modern day parent.
Every mum and dad knows how difficult it is to be certain that the material young children view is appropriate for their age.
But the one place you expect children to be safe from this type of material is at school.
So it was already deeply concerning that Scots pupils were exposed to porn on school social media app Yammer.
That the Government and education officials knew about the problem for six weeks before taking appropriate action is simply unacceptable.
We deserve to know that all educational material and platforms are safe for our kids.
CHILDREN were able to access porn on a school social networking site – despite the Scottish Government knowing explicit images were being shared.
Emails obtained under a freedom of information request showed Education Secretary John Swinney was told in April that 100 users had been exposed to the adult content on Yammer.
But no action was taken to stop children accessing the site until the problem was revealed by a newspaper in June – six weeks after education bosses were alerted. It also emerged images had been viewed and clicked on by six teachers, four of whom did not raise the alarm with the Scottish Government.
Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: “Any government’s primary obligation in office is to protect its children from harm – John Swinney has failed to do so.
“He must explain why he knew for six weeks that this harmful material was likely being circulated to children but did not intervene until parents’ concerns were about to be reported in the media.”
Education Scotland said worries can be flagged up on all their online services, including Yammer, via “report a concern” buttons.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “When the Deputy First Minister was alerted to concerns from a parent in June, it became clear that suspension of the Yammer network was required until these issues could be properly resolved.
“Yammer remains suspended for pupils while Education Scotland examine all relevant issues in detail.”