A Devon headteacher who has likened the social media world children are exposed to as stepping into the 'Wild West' is calling for urgent national intervention after seeing first-hand how the 'crisis' is affecting its own pupils.
This week a letter was sent home to parents at Chulmleigh College issuing a stark warning following incidents that are said to have taken place outside of school. It has resulted in a social media home-school agreement being drawn up which is expected to be sent out next week.
Parents will then be invited to attend an evening at the school on September 14, 2023, where advice will be given by external agencies. In the meantime, parents have been encouraged to monitor their children's use of computers and phones.
Read more: Fuming mum blasts school over 'sexist' uniform policy which bans shorts
In the letter sent to parents, Michael Johnson, executive headteacher at Chulmleigh College, has explained how growing concerns about the use of social media among pupils has led it to take action.
He said: "We have been struck by the rising number of problems generated between pupils, outside of school, on their mobile phones and computers, and we will write more to you about this shortly. Chulmleigh College is a great school with a strong reputation for good behaviour, and I call this issue to your attention in order to bring this problem out of a dark shadow and into the light.
"This is not a Chulmleigh problem; it’s a national problem which is also affecting Chulmleigh. As a history teacher, I feel almost certain that when people look back at the time we are now living in, they will find it hard to believe that more wasn’t done on a national level to protect children from the dark side of the internet and social media.
"Not enough is being done to allow them to be children. Last week, we were shocked by the number of pupils who got themselves involved in a racially motivated joke.
"I have spoken to the parents of these pupils. Those parents are good people and were all very shocked too.
"Many young people are regularly exposed to racism via their mobile phones, along with homophobia, pornography, casual cruelty and casual violence, and I have no doubt that social media use has contributed to this incident.
"Some of the online discussions between pupils which are brought to our attention are dreadful. They can be distressing to read because they can put huge pressure on vulnerable young people by creating victims.
"That said, we will never waver about doing exactly what is necessary to protect young people from being bullied outside and inside school."
He continued: "We have had more than one recent case where a child in the school has been groomed. The dangers around unrestricted internet access and social media use are increasing.
"Eating disorders and incidents of self-harm among girls aged between 13 and 16 have increased by around 40 per cent since Covid-19, and boys of the same age are being harmfully influenced by high-profile homophobic and misogynistic social media users such as Andrew Tate.
"In 2022, the average age at which a child first saw pornography was just 13 years old, and, surprisingly, the place they were most likely to see it was on Twitter. These issues have become worse since Covid-19, but they were not caused by Covid-19 and they will not go away.
"Unrestricted access to the internet and social media is one of the greatest problems our children currently face."
Mr Johnson added it was his belief that the profits of internet providers, social media platforms and mobile phone companies are being put before the psychological health and safety of children. He confirmed he had raised the iue with the local MP and the Department for Education, and encouraged parents to do the same.
He said: "As parents, you have a right to ask your MP what the plan will be and how it will stop this situation, and I urge you to do so."
He also advised parents sit down with their child and speak to them about what they are looking at.
Explaining why he has chosen to take such a hard stance to bring about much-needed change, Mr Johnson, told DevonLive: "I wrote this letter to the parents because it’s the Wild West out there. This is, or should be, an issue of enormous concern, and I am surprised that so little is being done about it nationally.
"The latest reports in relation to social media and internet use from the Children’s Commissioner paint a very worrying picture, and yet it seems to me that the issue is being ignored at a national level. There is a tendency, when the issues are discussed at all, to blame Covid-19, but whatever impact the lockdowns may have had at the time, this is not a Covid-19 problem.
"This is a problem related to laissez faire and we now are at a point where the crisis this is causing can no longer be ignored by anyone. The school is putting the final touches to a home school agreement which I expect will be sent next week.
"This is not an issue that schools can fix, but my hope is that by working with parents and children, we can take some steps to make things a little safer for children. What this really needs, however, is intervention at the highest level, by those who have the power to make real changes."
