Government “refusing to protect the smartphone generation”?

The BBC recently reported on an accusation by Labour that the government is ‘refusing to protect the smartphone generation’.

The report states…

Of 39 police forces in England, 18 responded to Labour’s request for information.
In 2013, the 18 forces investigated 51 cases of under-16s “sending or receiving explicit messages and images on a mobile telecommunications device”.
By last year, this figure had risen to 665.

Most people working in schools will understand that these figures are barely the tip of the iceberg and the true scale of the issue, and its long-term impact, is unknown. The accusation by Labour is that despite the large-scale and rapidly evolving issues facing the ‘smartphone generation’, the government’s official guidance to schools on sex-and-relationships through PSHE education has not been updated since 2000.

The DfE in December indicated that they are in the process of reviewing guidance to schools in regard to safeguarding issues and the impact of technologies. As we wait for this new guidance to be provided schools must continue to do all they can to safeguard pupils from the dangers of sexting and many other risks.

Read the full article on the BBC News website.