Clacton school issues warning over ‘open’ WhatsApp group

Parents of school-age children have been warned about a WhatsApp group that is exposing pupils to inappropriate and sexually explicit material.

Clacton County High School in Essex advised parents to ensure their children do not participate in ‘Add Everyone’ or to block and report it if they do.

A widely shared Post on Facebook pageThe school says the WhatsApp group “can place young people in dangerous and vulnerable situations”.

The school told the BBC that “as far as we know no students have participated in this group” and that it was for awareness-raising purposes only.

The school’s post has been shared more than 1,000 times, including from parents who say their children have been affected; however, the BBC was unable to confirm which school their children attended.

One mother said: “Parents be careful; my son and many of his friends added to this recently. Luckily they all went and deleted it immediately. It’s absolutely disgusting and scary how easy it is for this to happen.”

Another shared: “My daughter was also added and when they asked which school she went to, she immediately came out. She said many kids from her school were also added.”

A similar warning to parents was also issued by Clacton Coastal Academy.

One Publish on XThe academy said “explicit images were shared in this (WhatsApp) group and were seen by students at other schools”, but added that “this was not reported at Clacton Coastal Academy”.

The BBC contacted the school for comment.

Essex Police said it wanted to clarify whether any schools had reported the Add Everyone group to police, but warned of the dangers of WhatsApp more generally.

A police spokesman said: “We are aware of a number of reports in Essex of people being added to groups and being sent illegal or abusive material.”

“WhatsApp can be a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. But it can be used by people all over the world to send unwanted and unsolicited criminal content.”

Police added that anyone who wants to report such content can do so. via their website.

Clacton County High School referred parents to: E-security section of the websiteIt includes advice on how to stay safe on platforms like WhatsApp and social media, including how to avoid being added to groups and block people.