Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the frequency of (a) inappropriate, (b) violent and (c) age-inappropriate content encountered by teachers and pupils while using YouTube for instructional purposes during live lessons.

The department takes the issue of online harms very seriously. Our ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance makes clear that schools and colleges should ensure appropriate filtering and monitoring systems are in place and that their effectiveness is regularly reviewed. This limits children’s exposure to harmful content while on school-managed devices.

The department does not hold specific data on the frequency of inappropriate, violent or age‑inappropriate content encountered by teachers or pupils when using YouTube during lessons.

We recognise that technology poses risks as well as benefits and schools need to be proactive in managing this. Schools need to have appropriate filtering and monitoring systems in place, so young people are kept safe online while in school. In response to concerns from the sector, we have published filtering and monitoring and cyber security standards which outline how schools can implement safe and secure technology.