YouTube ban after pupils access violent material on school iPads

Primary school pupils in Glasgow have been blocked from accessing YouTube on school iPads due to a number of children watching violent content on the devices.

Glasgow City Council informed parents of the decision by letter, and said it needed to ensure viewable content was “age and stage appropriate.”

Around 43,000 pupils in both both primary and secondary schools are understood to have one-to-one access to iPads across Glasgow.

Research in 2024 by media regulator Ofcom found many children said watching violent online content was an “inevitable part” of being online.

A spokeswoman for the local authority said: “A decision has been taken today to block YouTube on all primary pupils iPad school devices.

“This was following reports that of some instances of pupils accessing inappropriate violent content on this site when using the devices.

“We have to ensure all content on managed devices are both age and stage appropriate and we will continue to review and block any websites that fall foul of this.”

The letter issued went to headteachers, for them to communicate with pupils and their families.

In Glasgow, every pupil from P6 to S6 has been given their own device to keep, while other pupils have shared access at a ratio estimated to be one device for every five pupils.

Several councils have had issues with online safety and inappropriate content in recent years.

Last year, City of Edinburgh Council told parents some pupils had been able to access material such as pornography and executions on school-provided iPads after switching off a safe search function.

And in June Argyll & Bute council stated it would be removing more than 2,000 iPads from school classrooms as the devices were already out of date and could become a security risk.