The Association of Directors of Children’s Services has said its members are against a complete social media ban for under-16s.

The stance has been taken despite calls for the ban from among others, children’s charities and MPs.

In its response to the Government’s Growing Up in the Online World consultation on the impact of social media on young people, the children’s services chiefs’ body says, ‘a blanket social media ban for under 16s is not the correct course of action’.

It is concerned there is ‘no evidence base to justify the age of 16 as a cut-off point’ and note that such a ban would ‘directly contradict’ other Government reforms such as lowering the voting age to 16.

Instead, the ADCS favours ‘more protective measures and greater enforcement for industry’ as well as ‘improved digital and media literacy for children, young people and their parents and carers’.

Avoiding a blanket ban ‘would ensure many of the benefits of social media could be realised, while focusing resources on equipping children with the skills to live and participate in an online world’, states the ADCS’s consultation response.

The ADCS does back making schools ‘phone free environments’ but admits that children’s time in education is a ‘relatively small proportion’ of their week.

Despite not calling for a social media ban for children, the ADCS’s response does acknowledge that ‘the scale and impact of the harms associated with being online are clearly evidenced’.

It notes that ‘trolling, bullying and the creation of deep fakes are all too common’ and social media’s ‘addictive features lead children to spend more time online than they would like and contribute to an overall sense of disempowerment’.

The ADCS adds that ‘these experiences can have a negative impact on children’s mental and physical health and cause lasting trauma’.

It also notes ‘an increase in safeguarding demands’ being reported by directors of children’s services because of young people’s online activity, including exploitation and radicalisation.

Among those calling for a ban are members of the House of Commons education committee. Its response to the consultation states there is a compelling case for an outright statutory ban’ to ‘arrest the current harm’.

Meanwhile, children’s charity Coram SCARF says a ban is needed as social media can ‘harm developing brains, particularly through algorithm-driven exposure to extreme content’.