Mr. Philip Arneill:

Any kind of specialist support is going to be preferable but if it is a case of budget and there is that inability to roll that out to all schools then it could be done in a kind of cascading way by identifying, perhaps, a staff member. We have certainly pushed for this with digital skills, in general, by having a specialist within the staff who is trained up. Similarly, when it comes to the sort of issues that arise from bullying and cyberbullying, if a school does not have that specialist support in-house in the form of an educational psychologist or a counsellor, for example, it will have to upskill teachers with the knowledge and understanding to recognise these situations when they happen, by giving them the ability to mediate, and to be very clear as a staff as to what steps to follow in these instances.

It can be quite traumatic for teachers. Children brought phones to me with indecent images on them, for example, when I was teaching. It is shocking because one is immediately unsure as to how to react. Ensuring that there are very clear policy documents in place in all schools is very important and that all staff know where that policy is, can access it, and that they also know the steps to follow.

One example that comes to mind is of images of minors. By screenshotting those or sharing them with a colleague, even if this is done out of concern, teachers are then putting themselves into compromising positions. Having that specialist knowledge of how to deal with these situations and knowledge of the legal implications so that teachers are also protected is really essential. If the money is not there to roll that out in a wholescale way to all schools then identifying, perhaps, pioneer schools, where that information can be cascaded down through and identifying staff members then at a local level within individual schools who will be trained in that specialist knowledge is an option.