What is the legal position if a class teacher shows children a film rated rated higher than their age without first obtaining parental permission?
As far as we are aware, it is not illegal for schools to show BBFC age restricted films to pupils. Merely showing an age restricted film to underaged persons – or allowing them to see one – is not in itself an offence. We would however strongly discourage such a practice unless the children in question are only a year or so below the age stated on the certificate, and there is some kind of serious educational purpose to showing the film (eg showing the ’15’ rated Macbeth to 14 year old GCSE English students). Even in those cases, we always recommend that the school should first obtain permission from parents or guardians.
