The children’s commissioner’s latest report on children and pornography is one of the starkest yet.
It captures the national picture for young people in the final weeks before the protections of the Online Safety Act came into force in July.
What emerges is a picture of a generation for whom exposure to pornography is both routine and damaging, reshaping attitudes towards sex, relationships and self-image. For school leaders planning RSHE and pastoral provision, there are urgent lessons to draw.
1. The scale of and age at exposure demand earlier education
The report finds 70 per cent of young people had seen pornography online, an increase from 64 per cent in 2023 (p.9). The average age of first exposure remains 13, but more than a quarter (27 per cent) reported having seen pornography by age 11.
Girls in particular are more likely to encounter pornography while at primary school, with 30 per cent having done so compared to 25 per cent of boys (p.17).
Vulnerable children, including those with special educational needs or disability and those with a social worker, are disproportionately likely to be exposed early (p.18).
The clear message for schools is that conversations about pornography and healthy relationships cannot be delayed until mid-adolescence. RSHE programmes must address body image, consent and digital literacy before secondary school.
Schools should equip children with the tools to understand and resist harmful portrayals before they encounter them online.
2. Accidental exposure to porn is now the norm
Perhaps most striking is children are not usually actively seeking pornography; they stumble across it.
In 2025, 59 per cent reported encountering pornography by accident, up sharply from 38 per cent in 2023 (p.9). Eight of the top 10 sources of pornography for children are social media sites, with X (formerly Twitter) cited more often than dedicated pornography sites (45 per cent vs 35 per cent; p.20).
Platforms popular with younger children, such as Snapchat (29 per cent), TikTok (22 per cent) and YouTube (15 per cent), also featured heavily (p.20).
For schools, it underscores the importance of teaching students that exposure is not their fault, and that harmful content online, particularly via social media, seems designed to push inappropriate content their way.
RSHE lessons must provide reassurance as well as practical advice about reporting, blocking and seeking help when exposed.
3. Pornography is shaping harmful attitudes and undermining respect
The report demonstrates how exposure to pornography reshapes expectations of relationships.
Almost half (44 per cent) of respondents agreed that “girls may say no at first but then can be persuaded to have sex” (p.33).
However, exposure to pornography significantly increased the likelihood of agreeing with this statement, with 54 per cent of girls and 41 per cent of boys who had seen pornography agreeing, compared with 46 per cent of girls and 30 per cent of boys who had not seen pornography agreeing.
Such findings highlight the urgent need for schools to confront the way pornography distorts attitudes to consent and respect. RSHE should explicitly dismantle myths of persuasion or coercion as normal.
Schools must ensure that students understand refusal is final, and that pornography is a dangerous and misleading guide to real relationships. This is not just safeguarding; it is prevention of behaviours that contribute to wider violence against women and girls.
4. Girls bear the brunt of the harm - but boys are also trapped
The report documents the disproportionate harm borne by girls. Among older respondents, 58 per cent had seen pornography depicting strangulation, 57 per cent step-relations, and 44 per cent sex while asleep - the latter an explicit depiction of rape (p.27).
These depictions overwhelmingly featured women as the recipients of aggression (p.36). As one girl put it very depressingly in the report, “the perception of sex is kind of broken now” (p.33).
Boys also feel trapped into particular social roles, with 52 per cent saying they feel peer pressure to look at pornography to fit in with friends (p.32) and boys saying the pressure is part of proving their masculinity by viewing and discussing pornography.
It was also felt by many young people that the extreme sexual acts seen in pornography act as a pressure in themselves for boys to act in that way, thinking “I’m expected to do that”.
For schools, this reinforces that RSHE must make boys aware of these issues and tackle misogynistic stereotypes while also freeing boys from harmful expectations.
5. Pornography is warping self-esteem and body image
The report also finds 82 per cent of young people agreed pornography affects expectations of sex, and 75 per cent agreed it affects body image (p.31).
Girls were more likely than boys to feel this impact. Respondents exposed before age 11 reported lower self-esteem on average than those exposed later (p.36). Those who had seen self-generated sexual images also reported lower self-esteem than peers who had not (p.37).
For schools, this makes the link between digital culture and wellbeing undeniable. Pastoral systems must be proactive in supporting students whose self-worth is eroded by comparison with unrealistic, often degrading depictions.
RSHE should make space for honest conversations about body diversity, respect and emotional health.
Conclusion
The report from the children’s commissioner provides school leaders with a clear warning.
While the Online Safety Act represents a vital attempt to stem the tide, RSHE and pastoral care must be used to engage early, address harmful myths head-on and foster resilience in the face of online harms.
For headteachers and senior leaders, the message is clear: pornography is not a peripheral issue but a central challenge for education today.
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