Social media is behind an increase in violence in schools and should be banned for children under 15, Dutch education inspectors have said.

The number of reported incidents of physical and psychological violence in schools has gone up by 25% compared to 2024, while 6,248 pupils were suspended for violent behaviour, up 14%, according to the inspectorate’s annual report.

Most of the suspensions (2,754) were due to violent behaviour toward fellow pupils or threats of violence (1,099), including threats against school staff, the possession of weapons, vandalism and arson attempts.

Many of the fights among pupils could be linked to social media and are therefore “invisible” to teachers, chief inspector Rogier Oet told broadcaster NOS. “The signs only become obvious when the row escalates in a big way,” he said.

Reports of online rows that spill over into the classroom are common, school safety organisation School en Veiligheid spokeswoman Marijke van der Zalm said. “We see children as well as adults going beyond what is considered normal online. A nasty comment or a death threat is easily made,” she said.

A ban on social media use for children under 15 would increase their safety, Oet said.

Australia has already imposed a social media ban for younger teens and Spain, France, Britain, Austria and Greece have similar plans.

Junior digital economy minister Willemijn Aerdts has said she is in favour but wants to wait for a comprehensive European rule. “We don’t want a mishmash of rules and regulations that will confuse businesses, monitoring bodies and, especially, parents and children,” she said.

An age verification app, presented by the European Commission earlier this week, may well be adopted in the Netherlands, she said.

Two thirds of schools have a mobile phone ban in place, and in other schools they can only be used during breaks. Schools with a blanket ban reported fewer incidents of bullying and social media-related problems, the report showed.

Parents have a role

But more is needed, Oets said. “At the end of the school day, the online world continues and the online bullying continues with it,” he said.

Parents as well as teachers have a role to play in combating the fallout from social media, former teacher Lucelle Comvalius said.

“Your responsibility as a teacher  doesn’t stop at the school gates. We often say schools, pupils and parents have to work together and this is one of the areas in which that is necessary,” she said.

“Adults must strive for a better understanding of what their children are doing on platforms like Instagram and TikTok,” she said. “If we as teachers fail to do that because of a generation gap or only see the down sides, it is no wonder we don’t know what pupils see in them.”