How Big is the Gulf?

Abstract

While adults, in particular parents, may wish to prevent online abuse, access to inappropriate content and approaches by predators the author suggests that we need to understand that, while we may go some way to protecting young people through technological intervention, education is key. When looking at the educational setting within the UK, through strong quantitative data, it is seen that schools are sometimes ill equipped to appreciate and understand the complexities that online technology bring to children’s social relationships and therefore are unlikely to be able to deliver effective education in this area, even with the glare of the regulator upon them. The author argues that policy failures to ensure that effective sex and relationship education, and personal, social and health education, are delivered across all schools, without national coordination, have resulted in piecemeal and disjointed education where school staff are doing “something” because they know they need to but sometimes struggle to understand what that “something” should be.