- In the survey of 460 secondary heads, 95 per cent said the mental health and wellbeing of pupils has suffered because of social media use over the past year
- Nearly all said they had received reports of pupils being bullied online
- The vast majority wanted new laws and regulations to ensure children’s safety
Virtually all headteachers believe social media is harming their pupils’ mental health and want action to protect young people, according to a poll today.
It revealed that most have been told of students being bullied or exposed to unsuitable material, such as sexual content or hate speech.
Many school leaders said this happens weekly or even daily.
Virtually all headteachers believe social media is harming their pupils’ mental health and want action to protect young people, according to a poll today
There were also concerns about the behaviour of some parents who join in with trolling or threaten violence online by ‘wading in’ to protect their child.
In the survey of 460 secondary heads, 95 per cent said the mental health and wellbeing of pupils has suffered because of social media use over the past year.
Nearly all said they had received reports of pupils being bullied online, with 40 per cent saying this happened on a daily or weekly basis.
One head said bullying on social media was affecting pupils’ learning and progress as well as ‘diverting valuable and scarce resources away from the classroom’
Almost all the heads had also been told of pupils seeing material featuring sexual content, self-harm, bullying or hate speech, according to the poll by the Association of School and College Leaders.
The vast majority – 93 per cent – wanted new laws and regulations to ensure social media sites keep children safe.
One head said bullying on social media was affecting pupils’ learning and progress as well as ‘diverting valuable and scarce resources away from the classroom’.
Ministers plan to issue a code of practice this year setting out their minimum expectations for social media companies.