Primary school children are joined in a WhatsApp group that has shared explicit images with parents being warned about the dangers of social media and keeping safe online
Parents have been warned that primary school children have been added to a WhatsApp group that shares “explicit images.”
The X-rated group is believed to have more than 500 members, and unsuspecting youngsters as young as eight in Kent are joined in the group. A Tunbridge Wells school, although it does not believe any of its pupils are victims, shared the alarming news.
Kent County Council said it was aware of the group and urged concerned parents to inform their child’s school. Niall Dosad, head teacher at St John’s Primary School, told KentLive: “St John’s CE Primary School takes the safeguarding of children extremely seriously and will always seek to support families with clear and responsible messaging when concerns arise.
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“We are aware of recent reports circulating in the local area and have reported the information we have received to Kent Police, additionally we have taken steps to communicate with parents and carers in line with our safeguarding responsibilities. Parents and carers with any concerns or questions are encouraged to contact the school directly via the school office.”
On Tuesday, staff spoke to the children in an “age-appropriate” way, according to their year group, about being safe online. Parents are being urged to speak to their children about the dangers of social media, privacy settings and show them how to report or block unwanted contacts.
In the letter to parents, deputy head teacher Dan Selby said: “We have been alerted to a large WhatsApp group chat containing explicit images. Children as young as Year 3 and Year 4 from the local area have been added without their knowledge or consent.
“Although we are not currently aware of any St John’s pupils being included, the group has over 500 members including the admin of the group consisting of international phone numbers.” He said: “This is a serious safeguarding concern.
“WhatsApp’s minimum age requirement is 13, which means no primary-aged child should be using this app.” Mr Selby also urged parents to reconsider their decision to let their children access WhatsApp and, if they did use it, to check they had not been added to this group.
“Furthermore, please know that there are currently no privacy settings within WhatsApp that disables the ability for others to invite your children to a group,” he said.
