Pastoral Care & Wellbeing

Online Safety: A special feature

Do you know what your son is doing online?

Over the past week, our College community has been confronted with the reality of how quickly online behaviour can affect the wellbeing of students and staff. It's a moment worth pausing on — not just as a single incident, but as a sign of how much the digital landscape our sons navigate has changed.

What happened this week?

An anonymous TikTok account posted offensive material targeting members of our student and staff community. The College reported the material to the eSafety Commissioner and TikTok, and notified Victoria Police, who are monitoring the situation.

Students were addressed at assembly. Wellbeing support is available for anyone affected, and the College is working to identify those involved.

A growing and more complex issue

This incident is unfortunately not isolated. Schools across Australia are seeing more frequent and more sophisticated misuse of social media and artificial intelligence — anonymous accounts, manipulated images, deepfakes and fake profiles designed to ridicule or humiliate. Many use images sourced from school websites, social media or personal accounts, altered in minutes using freely available AI tools.

In recent years, SPC has also supported a number of students and families through sextortion attempts. In every case, families have worked closely with the College and, where needed, with police, to support their son. Each situation is different, but together they show how much more complex these risks have become for this generation of young people.

What SPC is doing?

• Educating students on respectful relationships, digital citizenship and safe technology use through pastoral care, the Health curriculum, retreats and expert presenters.
• Reporting harmful content to eSafety, platforms and, where relevant, Victoria Police.
• Providing wellbeing and counselling support to any student or staff member affected.

The conversations start at home

Schools can't do this work alone. Here's how families can help tonight.

Why everyday moments matter

These conversations don't need to be formal. Some of the most effective moments happen around the dinner table, in the car on the way to sport, or sitting together watching TV. Research consistently shows that young people are far more likely to speak up early, before a situation escalates, when they feel they'll be listened to calmly rather than judged.

What parents can do this week

• Set expectations together about respectful online behaviour.
• Check privacy settings on devices and social media accounts as a family.
• Talk openly about the risks of sharing personal images or information.
• Remind your son that under Australian law, under-16s cannot hold accounts on age-restricted platforms including TikTok.
• Reinforce that liking, commenting on or forwarding harmful content adds to the harm — even without creating it.
• Let your son know that making a mistake or feeling unsafe online is never something to hide — help is always available.

If you see something concerning

• Don't share or forward the content further.
• Take a screenshot or note key details if it's safe to do so.
• Report it to the platform it appeared on.
• Let your Head of School or the Leadership Team know as soon as possible.

Further reading: