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Sparklebox in nursery

8 replies

MrBond · 19/04/2021 09:12

My DD's nursery use resources from Sparklebox. I'm not sure whether I ought to ask them to stop- what do you think?

Sparklebox was founded by a convicted paedophile who, according to the website below, found himself in court again in 2020 due to his involvement in a paedophile ring and still owns a 75% stake in the company. If true, using the resources will be funding this man through the advertising revenue and that doesn't sit well with me. What do you think? Does anyone have any additional information to either support or refute the claims on here? If this is true, should I say something to the nursery? I imagine they don't know about it.

www.childrensnetwork.co.uk/news-and-updates

I'll paste the text into the comments to prevent a mammoth OP.

OP posts:
MrBond · 19/04/2021 09:15

From the above link:

'SPARKLEBOX owner in Court again for Child Sexual Abuse
March 02 2020

A former British teacher and suspected member of a paedophile ring accused of producing nine million child porn images is again on trial for child sexual abuse.

Samuel Kinge, 38, from Harlow, appeared in court in Dendermonde, Belgium, this week alongside three other alleged paedophiles in the country's largest ever child pornography case.

For those of you who may think this name is familiar - it is.

Kinge is the founder and owner of the teaching resource website - Sparklebox.

The disgraced former primary school teacher had previously been jailed for downloading child porn in 2010– five years after being jailed yet again for a similar offence when he was sacked from his job as a teacher.

After release the first time around, Kinge changed his name by deed poll from Daniel to Samuel Kinge and spent three years developing Sparklebox.

The parenting resource used by thousands of UK schools included a chat forum and gallery where pictures of children could be uploaded.

When news of the link between Kinge and Sparklebox was made known, officials responsible for internet security in the south west of England blocked access to the site – rated by one teaching website as the second-most visited learning resource on the web.

However, the company moved to disassociate themselves from the owner's actions by removing him as a Director. This allowed the block to be lifted and schools once again began to use the site to access resources.

Although Kinge may no longer be a Director he remains the owner - with a 75% shareholding stake. This is something that is not well known and many believed that he was no longer connected. Companies House in the UK still lists Samuel Kinge as a 'person with significant control' within the Company.

Files seized by police in the recent raid, detail the horrific log of their peadophile ring and evidenced how these men would rent out their own children for each other's sexual pleasure.

They have been described as very dangerous men who pose a continuing threat to children across the world.

The ring would regularly meet in public places for the children to be abused - Niels M brought his children to a playpark and wrote: 'But whoever wants to play with... children will have to pay'.

So is SPARKLEBOX safe? Well as a website yes it is. Ttheir resources are free to download and they generate money through extensive advertising on their site. This is a big plus for schools with cash strapped budgets. No other site had such a range of free materials that could be ready for use in a matter of seconds.

Primary school teachers are notoriously pressed for time. Anything that makes their job easier is welcomed with open arms, and SPARKLEBOX in particular will be embraced.

The question is whether schools should support the popularity of this site and allow it to continue to generate revenue through advertising that is then used, at least in part, to abuse children.'

OP posts:
Mysterian · 19/04/2021 09:17

All the nurseries I've worked in know about it and don't use Sparklebox. I also imagine they don't know the situation. Say something.

FelicityPike · 19/04/2021 09:17

We stopped using it when all this came out. Twinkl is better anyway.
But, no, I don’t think you can tell them to stop using the website. Maybe email them and say what you’ve said here and that you “just wondered if they were aware”.

Orchidflower1 · 19/04/2021 09:20

I have used sparkle box as there are some great SEND bits on there. I queried it about 18 months ago with my immediate superior who checked with our LA legal team- apparently the founder is no longer connected in any financial way.

Whinge · 19/04/2021 09:20

I would be surprised if no one in the nursery knew about it. I've worked in many different settings, from nurseries to schools and it's always been avoided. There's been plenty of Twinkl, but never any Sparklebox.

listershologram · 19/04/2021 09:22

I haven't seen it used in schools for years, most blocked it once the news broke and never went back to it.

RainbowCrayons · 19/04/2021 10:54

I remember as a TA having to tippex over all their branding on the master copies we had in folder after folder of worksheets. That was a fun few weeks. I agree twinkl is better but it isn't cheap.

MrBond · 20/04/2021 18:07

@Orchidflower1

I think he still owns 100% of the shares:

pomanda.com/company/06164228/sparklebox-teacher-resources-limited

If you scroll down, Samuel King owns all the shares, and I think Samuel King is what Daniel Kinge changed his name to- a Samuel King used to be the company director. I know Daniel changed to Samuel but I don't know if he knocked the e off his surname. Anyone know?

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