Beyond the ban: What Scotland’s social media shift means for classroom video

The UK’s conversation about children’s access to social media has shifted noticeably over the past year. What began as a question of whether platforms should be restricted is now evolving into something broader and more consequential: How the debate itself is reshaping expectations for schools, councils, teachers, and safeguarding systems, regardless of the policy outcome.

Even without the introduction of formal restrictions, the growing focus on digital harm, wellbeing, and online safety is already creating a moment of interruption for education systems. Schools are being asked to reconsider long-standing assumptions about what platforms are appropriate, how digital content is sourced and used in classrooms, and how consistency is maintained between home and school environments.

In Scotland, this moment requires a particularly thoughtful response. Rather than centring on a binary “ban or no ban” question, the more pressing issue is how Scotland’s schools, councils, and teachers should respond in a way that reflects national values, local decision-making, and existing commitments to wellbeing, equity, and child-centred practice.

This piece reframes the current discussion by looking beyond policy headlines to the practical realities emerging in classrooms. Drawing on evidence from the UK, insights from other jurisdictions such as Australia, and the day-to-day experiences of teachers, it explores what this shift means for Scotland, and how the system can respond proactively, whatever direction the wider UK debate ultimately takes.

1. Where the debate currently stands

Scotland is closely observing the UK‑wide evidence‑gathering process, but Scottish councils face distinct considerations. Regardless of policy direction at UK level, there is widespread acknowledgment that young people across Scotland are experiencing increasing digital pressures:

• Digital wellbeing and distraction
• Exposure to harmful content
• Algorithm‑driven experiences that undermine safety
• The mismatch between home and school expectations

For Scotland, these issues intersect directly with Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), local authority safeguarding duties, and national commitments to wellbeing and equity.

This moment isn’t about “ban or not ban.” It is a system-wide interruption. With 91% of teachers using video to motivate students, YouTube is firmly embedded in classroom practice. Yet it remains a social media platform, subject to the same risks discussed across TikTok, X and Facebook.

2. Teachers are facing their own set of challenges

The debate often emphasises pupil access, but Scottish teachers face a digital environment that is just as complex, often more so.

Key realities emerging from the UK classrooms:

• Many councils, such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire have already made decisions about removing access to YouTube for pupils, however this does not mean classrooms are free from exposure to that and its inherent challenges.
• 73% of teachers report encountering unsafe, inappropriate or embarrassing content when using platforms like YouTube during lessons.
• Teachers report spending little or no time pre-vetting videos, not because of a lack of care or capability, but because workload pressures make this unrealistic in day-to-day classroom practice.
• As misinformation and AI-generated video increase the volume and variability of online material, the challenge is compounded. Teachers are being asked to navigate a rapidly deteriorating quality landscape, often within minutes, between lessons, or during live classroom moments.

These are not teacher failings; they are system issues rooted in platforms that were never designed for educational use.

With the rise of misinformation and AI‑generated “slop,” Scottish teachers are finding it harder than ever to source authoritative, trustworthy materials.

Given Scotland’s emphasis on high‑quality learning experiences, this raises important questions for councils about whether open platforms align with national aspirations for excellence.

3. What insights can Scotland gain from Australia

Examples from other jurisdictions, including Australia, are useful not as models to replicate, but as early signals of the tensions that emerge when digital access is reassessed within education systems.

Key takeaways relevant to Scotland:

• Even when student bans exist, teachers remain exposed to the “Wild West” of open platforms on school networks.
• Ethical questions emerge: If a platform is deemed inappropriate for pupils, should teachers be modelling its use?
• System leaders quickly realised they needed safer, structured alternatives suitable for teaching.
• AI‑driven misinformation made it harder for teachers to find accurate, curriculum‑aligned content.

These insights matter for Scotland, where councils already play a central role in shaping digital infrastructure and where consistency between home and school expectations is increasingly important.

Australia shows that restrictions (even limited ones) can trigger system‑wide reconsideration of teacher experience, not just pupil experience.

4. Scotland’s global position: Literacy, safety, and digital wellbeing

As expectations around digital safety and wellbeing continue to shift, Scotland’s challenge is less about predicting policy outcomes and more about ensuring schools are prepared for the realities already emerging.

At a strategic level, this raises three core questions:

• How can online‑safety education be strengthened within the Curriculum for Excellence in ways that go beyond awareness and into everyday classroom practice?
• How can pupils and teachers be better supported to navigate misinformation, persuasive algorithms, and AI‑generated content with confidence and critical judgement?
• What guardrails, guidance, and shared standards are needed to reduce reliance on ad‑hoc, “wild‑west” digital solutions, such as unvetted YouTube content, currently filling gaps in provision?
• How can time, space, and institutional support be built in to acknowledge the real workload involved in vetting digital content, rather than placing that responsibility solely on individual teachers?

5. Questions Scottish leaders should be asking now

This moment is a strategic opportunity for Scottish councils, digital leads, and headteachers.

A. What expectations are we setting for digital practice in schools, and why?

Given Scotland’s devolved decision‑making, councils should review whether current network permissions align with national values around wellbeing, safety, and equity.

B. What evidence do we have about the real classroom experience?

Data on teacher experiences, exposure incidents, workload, and reliance on open platforms will be critical for informed decision‑making.

Yet incidents are often difficult to anticipate or filter in advance. When inappropriate or distracting content appears mid-lesson, the priority is to remove it quickly, not formally report it. As a result, the true classroom impact may be under-recognised at the system level.

C. How are teachers being supported to meet these expectations in practice?

If teachers are expected to move away from open platforms, they need:

• Safe, ad‑free, curriculum‑aligned video resources
• Trusted, ready-to-use resources that reduce content checking time and workload pressure
• Clear digital‑learning guidance
• Training around safe digital practice
• High‑quality education-first alternatives to open platforms

D. What can Scotland learn from global peers?

Not to replicate policy decisions, but use as an interrupt moment to make sure local policy reflects the practice we want to see right now, whilst anticipating:

• Likely system impact
• Implementation challenges
• Teacher wellbeing implications
• Communications needs for families

Together, these questions shift the conversation beyond access to platforms and towards building coherent, values-led digital practice across Scottish education.

6. In summary: Why this matters for Scotland

The UK’s evolving approach to social media restrictions presents Scotland with a moment to reflect, realign, and plan.
It is an opportunity to:

• Strengthen Scotland’s commitment to digital safety and wellbeing
• Re‑examine what content is permitted on school networks, with particular attention to YouTube as the most widely used social media platform currently accessed in classrooms.
• Consider whether purpose-built, education-first video environments should play a greater role in supporting safe and consistent classroom practice.
• Understand the real impact on Scottish classrooms
• Reduce teacher burden and risk
• Provide safer, higher‑quality tools and guidance
• Learn from global systems already navigating these changes

Scotland has a chance to shape a proactive, values‑driven approach, one that protects pupils, empowers teachers, and strengthens the digital landscape of Scottish education.

As part of this wider conversation, platforms designed specifically for education, such as ClickView, demonstrate how safe, curriculum-aligned video can support schools to meet rising expectations around quality, consistency, and safeguarding.

If you are reviewing your approach to classroom video, we’re happy to share how other schools are thinking about safe, curriculum-aligned alternatives to open platforms such as YouTube. Request a conversation with our friendly ClickView team.

Sources

House of Commons Library. (2026, February 9). Proposals to ban social media for children (Research Briefing CBP‑10468).
UK Parliament. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10468/