Industry News
Barriers should be used for children on internet, says NUT
Posted on 17th April 2008
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has said that, while there are no age restrictions on when children should start using the internet, there should be controls in place.
Technological barriers are needed to prevent children from viewing inappropriate content while they surf the net, the teachers' union advised.
Research by Ofcom has found that social networking sites in particular are extremely popular among children in the UK. 49 per cent of children aged eight to 13 have an online profile compared to just 22 per cent of over 16-year-olds. While just over half of these children use the sites to make new friends 43 per cent say their parents set no rules for their use of networking sites.
Acting general secretary of the NUT Christine Blower said: "It is standard to have these controls and all the material in schools is protected. There is a whole set of barriers against access to pornography and violent sites."
She added that technological barriers do need to be added to prevent children accessing this content.