The online environment has become one of the most significant frontiers of risk to New Zealand children. New Zealand has year-on-year increases in online child sexual exploitation, rising sexual violence fueled by changing sexual norms, and a growing body of research linking heavy screen use to measurable harms in children's education, attention and executive functioning. The pace of technological change, from AI-generated abuse material to deepfakes and shifting sexual practices, partnered with a lack of targeted preventative policy, will leave another generation in harm's way if we don’t intervene urgently.

NZ school students in Aotearoa are navigating a world of both incredible learning opportunities and significant risks. While the internet can be a powerful educational tool, safeguarding is essential. There are significant gaps in terms of how NZ school leaders and educators are equipped to prevent and deal with this. They need more support, resources and strategic guidance to ensure the gaps are filled. The UN Rights of the Child states that children should be safe online at school, currently, we don’t believe this is the case.

We’re calling for a whole-school, systems-based approach to online safety

The policy ask: Mandate and resource the Ministry of Education to support a whole-school, systems-based approach to online safety - through policy,infrastructure, processes/systems, curriculum and professional development - grounded in evidence and research rather than convenience.

Infrastructure and systems that are child-centred

Investment should go into infrastructure and systems that are child-centred and safety-focused - not just firewalls and privacy. Safer online architecture involves a layered approach; school policy, device level safety measures, robust school network safety measures (device, app, site and platform level safety) that seamlessly works at school and at home with BYOD for current students.

Consistent, age-appropriate content filtering across the school network is an essential baseline protection.

Currently it falls below expectations. Where devices are required to be used at home for homework, the duty of care extends to the home environment: schools should ensure filtering and safety are prioritised there too, through network-level safety measures- currently this is not happening. Screentime management tools should be implemented to further support parents and student wellbeing - for example, devices that power down at 9pm to protect sleep. Again, currently this is not happening.

Ongoing, BYOD should be removed with a shift of focus to school managed devices to prioritise duty of care. Gaps need to be closed to prevent harm, eg YouTube is blocked at school, teachers can ‘whitelist’ videos that serve educational purpose, rather than full availability to YouTube during the school day (which cannot be filtered).

Evidence should guide what happens in classrooms

Decisions about technology in classrooms should be led by evidence about what is effective, not what is convenient to deploy. At present there is a real risk that children are being taught via whatever tools are readily available or what has been done before, rather than what the research shows supports learning with meaningful consequences for their development. The section below sets out two connected strands of work: managing screen use and device wellbeing (Part A), and equipping schools to respond to online harm (Part B). Australia's Best Practice Framework offers a ready model for delivering both.

Part A - Managing screen use and device wellbeing

What the evidence shows: The 2026 University of Auckland review of 58 global longitudinal studies found that 81 percent showed a negative link between screen use and executive function. Lead researcher Claire Reid summarised the pattern:

“Children's screen use is linked with later difficulties with skills such as attention, planning, and self-control.” Claire Reid, University of Auckland 2026

The review's eight neuroimaging studies were, in Reid's words, particularly concerning:

“Higher screen time was negatively affecting children's brain growth, and impacting on brain connectivity - how different areas of the brain were talking to each other. That does imply poorer brain function over time.”
Claire Reid, University of Auckland 2026

The authors are careful to note these studies show association rather than proof of causation. Even so, the consistency of the pattern across 58 studies - spanning Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America, all participants aged 18 or under - is a strong signal that warrants a precautionary, evidence-led response in schools (RNZ, May 2026).

Regarding learning outcomes, a 2024 study cited that “Specific to primary-aged students, more frequent device use had a clear negative relationship with testing outcomes (Bouygues, 2019; IEA, 2016). Nearly every measure of digital learning had a negative impact on reading performance, even digital literacy has declined in New Zealand amidst widespread adoption of device based learning. (Cullen, et.al, 2024).

Implement the existing MOE screentime guidelines

Research-based screentime guidelines were published by the Ministry of Education in 2025. Given the research cited above, these recommendations are light and don’t reflect the latest data on screentime impacts - research shows device based learning is not benefiting our children. Further to that, in our conversations with many school leaders, these have not been communicated or actioned at the leadership level. This leaves students exposed to the impacts of excessive screentime - a gap in the duty of care that comes from guidelines not being implemented effectively in classrooms. Removing individual devices out of primary schools will ensure safety, privacy and best education outcomes for our kids- we are seeing a global shift here.

Transparency and accountability on EdTech contracts

The Ministry of Education invests millions in Google and Microsoft products. Transparency about these contracts - the terms, the discussions behind them, and future strategy - is imperative so that school leaders and stakeholders (students and their parents/caregivers) can be confident in the services being invested in and the public understand where their tax dollars are spent. Where safety falls short (for example, online filtering provided by Network for Learning), questions should be asked, with accountability and demonstrable improvement in the process and the products. Additionally, more robust data needs to be shared with schools to understand their students online behaviours. For example, Apple have turned off screentime data for school ipads, parents and teachers can not see how much screentime their child has during the school day on their school issued or BYOD ipad. This is unacceptable.

Part B - Equipping schools to respond to online harm

Schools are a key frontline service

Schools are a key frontline service for young people experiencing online harm, and they report rising harms associated with pornography, objectionable content, non-consensual nudes, shifting sexual norms, deepfakes, and other forms of technology-facilitated sexual violence. They need more support. Pre-training surveys from The Light

Project reveal significant knowledge gaps, with many staff feeling unprepared to keep pace with digital trends or respond to complex harms; the majority of stakeholders surveyed identified a large gap in porn service provision and response in Aotearoa (The Light Project). Widespread, sector-level training is needed to offer support for schools dealing with these complex issues.

Specialised training for all teachers, with a focus on deans & health and RSE teachers

Sustained, ongoing professional development across the whole staff - not one-off sessions - is essential so that teachers can keep pace with digital trends and respond confidently to complex harms. Health teachers have a key role in educating young people about sexual harm and consent, and therefore require in-depth training on tech-facilitated sexual violence, image-based abuse (IBA), and the impact of pornography and sexualised media on youth development, attitudes and norms. Training should support the integration of online safety into Health Education - fostering critical thinking, countering harmful messages, and helping young people identify risks. This should be underpinned by evidence-based pedagogies such as ethical sexual citizenship, which encourage youth-centred, participatory, strengths-based learning.

A proven framework to build on

New Zealand does not need to start from scratch. Australia's eSafety Commissioner has developed a Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education, built by researchers from a rapid review of the international literature plus expert and sector consultation, a ready model NZ can adapt. It comprises five elements and 22 effective practices, and is explicitly designed around a whole-school approach - the underlying research is published in the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction. Notably, the evidence finds that fear tactics, zero-tolerance approaches and one-off presentations do not work; sustained, age-appropriate, whole-school programmes do.

See Estelles, M., Doyle A co-authored reports
Embracing co-governance: the policies and politics of online safety education

Managing digital citizens: Online safety and the rise of private actors in New Zealand schools

Who teaches digital citizenship? Private actors, educational resources and individualising discourses
From safeguarding to critical digital citizenship: A framework to understand educational responses to digital technologies