19 August 2025

Scratch and Safeguarding: Navigating Access Challenges in UK Schools

Written by

Ben Davies

Scratch has long been a staple in UK classrooms for introducing children to coding. Its colourful, block-based interface makes programming accessible and fun, and its global community allows students to share and remix projects. But for some schools, this openness has become a double-edged sword.

Why are schools blocking Scratch?

In recent years, some UK schools have restricted or completely blocked access to Scratch due to safeguarding concerns around its online community. While Scratch is designed for educational use, it is not a closed platform. Students can:

View and comment on projects from users worldwide
Encounter inappropriate usernames, unmoderated comments, or unsuitable content
Share personal information through public profiles

Despite moderation efforts by the Scratch Foundation - including automated filters and human reviewers - the system relies heavily on community flagging. If inappropriate content isn’t reported, it may remain visible.

This potential risk has led to Scratch being blocked entirely by some schools, especially for younger pupils.

What is Scratch doing about it?

The Scratch Foundation has introduced several safety measures to support educators:

Community guidelines

Clear rules about what can and cannot be posted

Reporting tools

Users can report inappropriate content, although this is a reactive system

Teacher accounts

Lets educators create student logins, monitor activity, and manage visibility

Privacy advice

Students are encouraged to use anonymous usernames and avoid sharing personal details

However, these tools may not meet the safeguarding expectations of all schools - especially where moderation gaps still exist.

What can schools do?

Use Scratch offline- The Scratch offline editor can be downloaded and used without internet access, eliminating the risk of pupils encountering online content.
Create and manage teacher accounts - Use Scratch teacher accounts to set up and monitor student accounts.

Develop a School acceptable use policy - Make sure your AUP addresses how Scratch is used, what pupils are allowed to share, and how moderation will be handled.
Digital literacy opportunities - Use examples of inconsistent or inappropriate content as part of wider discussions on recognising AI-generated material, internet safety, and critical thinking.

In short...

Scratch remains a powerful and engaging tool for teaching coding and creativity, but its community-driven nature means that educators must be vigilant about how it’s used. With careful management, it can still play a valuable role in the classroom - but schools must assess whether the platform’s features align with their safeguarding policies.

Alternatives to Scratch

If your trust or local authority has already blocked access to Scratch within your school, here are some alternatives you can use while making the case to regain access to Scratch:

EduBlocks: Bridges block-based and text-based coding (Python), ideal for KS2 and KS3. https://edublocks.org/
PictoBlox: Based on Scratch but includes AI and hardware integration, with stronger classroom controls. https://pictoblox.ai/

These can all be used in place of Scratch with Barefoot (and Computing at School) resources, it will just look a little different. The examples below show the Barefoot resource in Scratch, PictoBlox and EduBlocks.