'Utterly horrific': Sarwar pledges to protect pupils from accessing porn on council-issued iPads
Anas Sarwar has made a raft of pledges around mobile phone use in schools ahead of the Holyrood elections
Anas Sarwar has said it is “utterly horrific” that pupils are able to access inappropriate material on council-issued iPads.
The Labour leader made the comments as he vowed he is prepared to take on head teachers or unions not supportive of a ban on mobile phones in schools.
Mr Sarwar also said his party supports a ban on social media for under-16s in a series of pre-election pledges aimed at protecting children and young people.
Last year The Scotsman revealed how safety measures on school-issued iPads in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Scottish Borders council areas were failing to stop pupils accessing inappropriate content.
Asked what he would do about this issue, he said it was “utterly horrific”.
Mr Sarwar said: “I’m not suggesting we shouldn't have digital education, but we've got to do it in the right way, which means it's focused on education.
“That's why iPads are important, rather than it being used as excuse for kids to scroll or to access other materials, and that's why the policing of that as well as the restrictions that exist on those devices, has to be robust.
“The idea that any young person can access these images or these sites on an iPad in a classroom is completely and utterly horrific and unacceptable, and we've got to take urgent action to address that.”
Mr Sarwar, in a series of speeches outlining his party’s position in the run up to the election, said Labour will move to implement an outright ban across Scottish schools.
Asked if the party had costed the plans, Mr Sarwar acknowledged “there will be a cost” and outlined various methods used by schools, from lockers to lockable magnetic pouches.
He said: “The cost implications will be set out in much more detail as we head towards the election and beyond, but we can't use what is a relatively modest cost as a reason not to take action when it comes to the safety of our pupils.”
Saying that children’s mental health is affected by phone use ad saying teachers and pupils do not feel safe in the classroom, Mr Sarwar added: “That's why we will ban mobile phones in the classroom and make sure they are places where people can feel safe, where they can concentrate on learning, not scrolling, and they can expand their knowledge, rather than have the constant dopamine hit that comes from these mobile phones and those social media feeds.”
Smartphones, he said, mean young people have “no respite” from cyber bullying and that the “dopamine hit” caused by social media algorithms is damaging young people.
The MSP said head teachers have told him they would prefer a “clear ruling came from government” so they avoid any challenge from parents or pupils.
He said: “I think we should take that responsibility and that pressure off head teachers and teachers, and instead let them focus on education.”
He also backed an Australian-style ban on social media for under-16s.
The UK Government announced last month it was consulting on such a measure along with alternative ways to protect young people online.
Mr Sarwar said raising the age of digital consent would “give kids the childhood they deserve”.
The Scottish Labour leader also announced plans for a change in the law to take knives off open shop shelves.
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