Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Deferred
Commission guidance and establish a kitemarking scheme for online educational apps and websites.
Conclusion
The next Government must commission guidance for parents and schools on the educational value of purported educational websites and apps within a year. They should also support a kitemarking scheme for educational resources found online in the first year of the new Parliament to enable parents to quickly identify the best educational resources online for their children. The next Government should engage with tech companies to encourage them to introduce standards for the use of educational labels and to remove apps which do not offer educational benefit. (Paragraph 62) Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing 49 Digital literacy curriculum
Government Response Summary
The government deflected, stating it is building evidence on online impacts and that Ofcom will report on app stores and age assurance regarding harmful content, but did not commit to commissioning guidance or supporting a kitemarking scheme for educational value.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
We will continue to do what is necessary to protect our children online. We live in a digital age and must strike the right balance so that children can access the benefits of being online and using smartphones while we continue to put their safety first. We acknowledge the importance of technology creators ensuring that their products are safe and not exploiting vulnerabilities. However, currently there is a lack of robust and causal evidence to support the banning of smartphones for under 16s. We are building the evidence on this matter, as there is a need for more detailed research on the impact of specific products on children. Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have a duty to publish a report on the role of app stores in children accessing harmful content on the apps of regulated services. To help build greater evidence about the types of harm available on and via different kinds of app stores, the report will consider a broad range of app stores, which could include those available on various devices. The report will also assess the use and effectiveness of age assurance on app stores and consider if the greater use of age assurance or other measures could protect children further. We are also monitoring and learning from wider developments internationally, including the Australian government’s legislation restricting under-16s from using certain social media websites and apps. We will use the UK-Australia online safety and security memorandum of understanding to share evidence and learn from each other’s experiences.