Can a task include mature or sensitive content?
Turn on Allow mature / sensitive content for a task that needs to discuss topics such as war, crime or drug use. Wellbeing checks still work as normal.
Yes. Discussion and Defence Mode tasks have an Allow mature / sensitive content switch for subject matter such as war, crime, violence, death and drug use. It is off until you turn it on, and it only changes the task you turn it on for.
Turn it on when students need to discuss or analyse that material, such as a history task on war or a legal studies task on crime. It only changes how Thinking Mode treats the subject matter. Wellbeing checks still work as normal.
Turning it on
If the switch is off and the task’s wording mentions topics like these, Finalise asks “This task looks like it covers mature topics”. Allow mature content turns the switch on for you, and Not now leaves the task as it is. The question comes from a simple check of the wording, so it can also appear on tasks that aren’t sensitive.
Once the task has been saved with the switch changed, a history under the switch shows who turned it on or off, and when.
A copy of the task starts with the switch off. Turn it on again in the copy if it needs it.
What it changes
In the conversation, the tutor is told that the task covers this material. It discusses it factually, at a level that suits the year group, and doesn’t end the conversation just because a topic is grim. It still avoids graphic or gratuitous detail. Without the switch, the tutor can treat grim material as a safety concern and stop the conversation.
In a Defence Mode task, our check reads the work a student uploads. With the switch on, an upload that covers mature subject matter goes straight through. With it off, the upload is held: the student sees “Waiting for your teacher” and can’t start until you allow it, or until they choose Upload a different file.
What stays the same
Wellbeing checks. If a student writes something that suggests they are unsafe, the tutor still stops the conversation and alerts you. See A student was stopped for a wellbeing concern.
An upload flagged as a wellbeing concern is still refused, and the student is asked to upload a different one.
Mature uploads are still recorded in your Safety Centre, whichever way the switch is set.
The “Hang on!” check. Before a student’s message sends, they are warned if it contains a word on the language filter list or personal details such as a phone number. This switch doesn’t change that, and the student can still choose Continue this once.
If a student is already waiting
When a Defence Mode upload is held, a banner on the task overview names the students waiting and what our check found. If that material is expected for the task, choose Allow mature content for this task. This turns the switch on, and the students carry on without uploading again.
If “Hang on!” flags a word the task needs
If the check flags a word students genuinely need, such as an anatomical term in a health lesson, add it to the allowed words. Open Safety Centre from the Tools menu, go to Content filters, open Allowed words, add the word and choose Save allow list. A word on this list is never flagged by the language filter.
A teacher’s change applies to their own tasks. A coordinator’s change sets the default for the whole school. Once you save your own list, it replaces the school’s, so later changes your coordinator makes don’t reach your tasks. To follow the school’s list again, choose Reset to defaults.