Pupils able to access banned websites despite council claims

Wikipedia was one of the sites that Glasgow City Council said it had blocked

Pupils in Glasgow were left able to use school iPads to access websites and search engines that Glasgow City Council had previously told parents were blocked.

In August, the local authority stated in a response to a Freedom of Information request that search engines Yahoo and Brave, along with Wikipedia, could not be viewed on devices given to pupils.

However, BBC Scotland has seen images provided by concerned parents that show all three sites being accessed on school iPads.

The council is understood to be investigating whether a move to different filters earlier this year accidently left some sites accessible again.

Although none of the sites are by themselves harmful, violent or sexual content could be viewed through searching for certain topics or key words.

A source within the local authority told BBC Scotland one theory for how the sites became accessible was that the council recently changed over filters.

However, not everything was copied over, letting the likes of Wikipedia become viewable again.

Harry Amies of pupil safety campaign group Unplug.Scot told BBC Scotland unmodified adult products could have a harmful effect on children.

"Most major search engines provide no actual child protection at all. It can be toggled on and off by anyone, with no age verification," he said.

"Although a few search engines provide facilities for safe search to be enforced on controlled networks, it is not possible with most, including Yahoo."

Mr Amies, a father of two, said Wikipedia hosts a large number of explicit images and the site's design "is inherently unsafe for young children".

YouTube ban

After being questioned in August whether the sites were banned, the local authority responded that "we can confirm that all of the above sites are not accessible on council supplied children's devices."

Several pictures seen by BBC Scotland showed the sites being accessed in September, via council provided iPads.

All three sites have been once again blocked.

Glasgow City Council announced on Thursday it was blocking usage of YouTube, due to the amount of primary school pupils using it to watch violent videos.

A council spokeswoman said website filters on devices were worked out in collaboration with schools.

She added: "Schools will routinely flag up concerns and additional sites can be added to the list – parents and carers with any concerns should contact their child's school in the first instance.

"These concerns will be discussed with digital colleagues and the appropriate action taken."

In Glasgow, every pupil from P6 to S6 has been given their own device to keep, while other pupils have shared access at a ratio estimated to be one device for every five pupils.