Children exposed to online dangers

The desire of the education system to move with the times is laudable.

Increasingly, youngsters are being asked to use online resources in an entirely appropriate bid to ensure they are ready to survive and thrive in a modern workplace.

However, this desire to embrace the digital age must, of course, be balanced against efforts to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

The Glow network was introduced, at considerable cost, several years ago and children across the country have been encouraged to sign up.

Schools appeared to understand there was a potential risk, particularly with regard to the “Yammer” social network, and yet serious questions over the monitoring of some of the content being shared are now being raised.

An investigation by this newspaper has unearthed lurid content easily accessible to primary school age children.

We discovered talk of drugs and paedophilia, as well as a number of harrowing images.

Many parents will be shocked by our findings and NSPCC Scotland have called for the Scottish Government to look at how content is being moderated.

It is perhaps telling that access to the platform was temporarily suspended over the weekend after we approached Education Scotland for comment.

However, it should not take our intervention for the authorities to properly consider the safety of children.