Principals say parents are failing the test at keeping porn from kids

TEENAGERS have a problem with porn and principals are blaming parents, as sex-crazed students use simple strategies to elude wi-fi filters and access explicit content.

School staff say parents need to take responsibility and stop kids accessing porn. Picture: Jason O'Brien

• Internet porn: Schools warn of dangers of adolescent ‘addiction’
• Online porn is giving teenage children the wrong sexual ed

TEENAGERS have a problem with porn and principals are blaming parents, as sex-crazed students use simple strategies to elude wi-fi filters and access explicit content.

The Porn Harms Kids health charity wants schools to teach students to deal with “porn pollution’’, as they are bombarded with X-rated images that pop up on innocent online searches.

But NSW Secondary Principals’ Council president Chris Presland said parents needed to do more to shield their kids from pornography.

Kids are increasingly being bombarded with “porn pollution” — X-rated images that pop up.

“It’s an area of our society where parents have really dropped the ball,’’ he said.

Mr Presland said although Education Department wi-fi was filtered, students could tether laptops to their mobile phones, using cellular data to access porn.

Kids are increasingly coming across porn on so-called “safe” sites, such as social media.

A NSW Education Department spokesman said internet filtering “minimises the risk of students being exposed to websites containing inappropriate material’’.

“Any student found with inappropriate content on a device at school will be disciplined,’’ he said.

The spokesman said that “safe and responsible online behaviour’’ was a part of the kindergarten to Year 10 syllabus for physical education.

But Porn Harms Kid chairwoman Liz Walker warned that too many children were getting their sex education from watching violent and non-consensual porn online.

Documentary ‘Hot Girls Wanted’ exposes behind the scenes look at amateur porn industry

“Schools are struggling to keep up with this and there are no policies in place,’’ she said.

Porn Harms Kids also wants the federal government to block violent porn websites. There have been many recent reports of sexualised behaviour among young students.