Son accessed porn at school- help!

[MiniMumMeltdown]

I’ve just had a phone call from my teenage son’s School. He is 15, nearly 16. Apparently today him and one of his friends thought it would be funny to access porn on one of their other friends, School accounts. The school are understandably furious about it, and I phoned me saying that they’re going to make a referral to social work because he has accessed pornographic content on the computer at school. I am so embarrassed.
I did ask the teacher if there was any malicious content within this porn, and she said as far as she was aware, it was just standard porn. There was nothing dark about it other than the fact that it was pornography and he’s only 15.
I did ask School how the boys managed to access it on a computer when it should have filters in place and she said the tech team at the school have no idea how the boys managed to bypass it. My son and the other boy are studying computer programming so it’s not out of the realms of possibility that they somehow managed to go outwith the schools filter.
I really don’t know how to approach my son to deal with it. he is at his dad’s at the moment and I’m going to go over and join them so that we can have a discussion about what’s happened. I don’t believe him and his friend had any malicious intent other than they thought they were playing a practical joke on their friend all three boys have a habit of ‘prankIng’ each other so I don’t want to come on too strong, but at the same time I want to make sure he is fully aware that this is not acceptable behaviour and for him to understand how much trouble he could get in if he did this with an employer, for example.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as right now I just feel like a shit mum after the conversation I’ve had with the School.

Kids can always override stuff at school ( 25 years a teacher) it’s serious, but not sure it needs a social worker.

The school will be reflecting upon the system they have to block inappropriate access. I think you should ask more about how robust this is - to reassure yourself that the access they suggest has happened had more to it than just a few clicks

If your son or his friends have deliberately circumnavigated the system in place to block such access then your approach does need to be ‘stronger’ - a chance for him to reflect upon his actions and the fallout with the staff, implications for workplace etc How he will make amends to staff etc to make good his name

If however the system was not robust then your approach will be different

In some jobs accessing porn on the work laptop can result in suspension and in one case I know the loss of the post. For example in teaching I knew one young teacher who had something on his reference. This had to be queried and the school considered withdrawing the job offer. He claimed his flat mate had used the laptop to access porn. It had been found when the IT technician was upgrading the laptop or something
Your son needs to know that such a prank or deliberate attempt to overcome the safety measures put in place by the school is not funny

I I feel for you - I would be really cross but there are questions to be asked first of the school. You are not a shit mum - they are teenagers.

I think it’s pretty easy to explain to them that what they thought was a funny prank is in fact very serious and has triggered social services investigation. The school has duty to safeguard. If they did this in a work place they’d be sacked. Etc etc.
They shouldn’t be unable to comprehend that they’ve made a big mistake here.

What is the school punishment? Whatever it is I’d support the school and double down (eg if it’s detention after school no lifts home after).
I’d also remove internet access for leisure use at home for a period of time.

It is illegal to distribute porn to a minor so if he accessed it in someone else's account as prank this could be seen as distribution. I would be thankful it is just social services they called as a safeguarding issue rather than the police.

So I have spoken to my son and it turns out that they cut and paste a picture of two men engaging in a sexual act from a forum called Reddit.

So they didn't download an image. They used images to create another one which they loaded onto the friends computer? Is that right?

Personally, I'd be coming down on him like a tonne of bricks. This is serious. It would be a sacking offence in any place I've ever worked.

Are all 3 of them equally involved with the 'pranks'? Or are they a little one sided?

No unsupervised internet, plus grounding. Support whatever consequences the school implement.

They went onto the school computer using their friends login and screen shot an image from the Reddit forum, it was a meme which had 2 men having sex on it ( I’m using my sons words to explain).
they saved this screenshot onto the desktop so when their friend logged in they would see it.
I have banned him from his laptop at home without supervision and restricted his internet on his phone too.
I intend to support the school consequences also and he will have to earn back the privilege of having internet access at home.
I had a look on Reddit tonight and while I am not making excuses for his actions I am shocked that the school even allow access to this form at school as it is completely unrestricted content. I will be passing this concern to the school on Monday.

They went onto the school computer using their friends login

This is the bit I would mostly hit the roof about. It's a really nasty thing to do, with potential consequences for the friend.

I'm sympathetic as I also have a (nearly) 15 yo DS who has done various stupid things.

I think your approach is correct - fully support the school, consequences at home, a lot of talking & yes, I think the social services referral is no bad thing at all.

OP, I’ve got a DS15 and we’ve tried to forestall anything like this by discussing it - first, because I’m well aware just how stupid some undergraduates can be, and second, because he and a mate downloaded books on to a third child’s device when they were about 10 to the tune of £100 plus. It was Harry Potter etc so nothing worrying, but he clearly demonstrated zero respect for someone else’s property and was messing about in school time.

You’re handling this well. He needs to understand what he’s done and what the consequences would be if he is older - including at university where it could well lead to his studies being terminated.

Punishments need to be tech related.

Massive apology needed to the child whose account he used.

And yes, the school needs to think about how he was able to do it. He will need to be willing to explain exactly what he did.

15 year olds can be seriously trying. He needs to learn from this - hopefully he’ll have had a massive shock now he realises how much trouble he is in.

You’re focusing on the wrong thing if you’re complaining about the school allowing them access. Your son has a history of “pranks”. Sounds like an excuse for previous dubious behaviour. He has behaved really badly here. Focus on him understanding what he’s done wrong and ensuring he makes better choices in future.

I didn’t say I was ‘focusing’ on his access at school, I said it was something I will highlight to the school.
i have fully accepted that my son is at fault and I have given him consequences accordingly, will be supporting the actions that the school are taking and will be having discussions with him regarding pornography and this content.
I am also in my right to be concerned that he is able to access this at all from school computers and should highlight this to the school.
frankly it would be bizarre if I didn’t care what he was accessing via school devices imo.

Students generally have to sign an agreement about how they will use school tech. He must knows this is a massive breach of trust. Seriously don’t start by complaining they let him have access to dodgy material. He’s the one who went looking for it. I would brace yourself for some serious consequences. They may refuse to let him continue using school tech.

Technically accessing pornography under 18 is illegal. However, I'd be pressing the school on what they're putting in place to ensure their computer systems are robust. One of the DFE requirements is to ensure an adequate filtering system is in place. Social services will be informed but will probably have a quick chat with yourself and your son (Other children living at home with you as well). As a teacher, the school should never have allowed this to happen.

I can see you're not taking this lightly op but other than the accessing porn and the issues with the schools procedures in place I'd def be having a serious talk about what you class as pranking.
He used someone else's log on with the sole purpose of embarrassing/belittling them or trying to get them into trouble. This is just nasty behaviour not pranking and if he thinks it's ok to do this to others it doesn't bode well to the type of person he'll turn out to be

Depends how they screenshotted it. Was it on the school computer or did they use a phone and email it over to use as an image, for example, thereby bypassing the filters, it points to a lack of supervision and hopefully school will restrict their access in future. It was premeditated though and the boys involved all need to understand how unacceptable such behaviour is and what the potential consequences of viewing porn in a school/work environment might be

I think it's a good idea to watch him closely on the internet at home and check your filters too. He may be able to bypass them as well.

This is what I focused on as the primary tonight when I spoke to him, I’m less bothered about the picture and more concerned about him using the friends account to prank them. It’s not a prank, it’s a calculated and belittling thing to do to someone. I’m so disappointed in him. He seems genuinely upset and remorseful now he realises the impact of what he has done. Nevertheless, he has a tech ban at home and will have to earn trust back to gain his access to the internet back.
I have checked his phone and our home internet and filters/ parental settings are present and correct on his phone and his PC.
He assures me that they screen shot the image on the school computer so I tried to access Reddit on his phone and it won’t allow access.
Hes only recently got a smartphone as he had a basic Nokia before so I’m even more disappointed as I thought he was mature enough to not be involved in stuff like this.
im embarrassed and gutted.
I’ll feel better in the morning, once I’m not shattered and emotional.
for the most part he’s a really good lad so im just hoping this was a silly mistake that he will learn from.