A School’s Guide to Navigating Video in The Classroom After the YouTube Ban

Video has become one of the most powerful tools in a teacher’s toolkit, helping to spark curiosity, simplify complex ideas, and bring real-world context into the classroom. But recent changes to how under-16s can access YouTube mean that schools now face fresh considerations when deciding how to incorporate video into lessons.

With the right strategies, schools can maintain the engagement benefits of video-based learning while protecting students and ensuring compliance with evolving digital guidelines.

Understanding What’s Changed
While students can still watch YouTube content shared with them by a teacher, the way they interact with it - and the awareness around its risks - have shifted. Students will no longer be able to log into personal YouTube accounts, so they will instead watch videos shared by educators as logged-out users. Without an account, students will lose the ability to save playlists, follow channels, or access personalised recommendations, although they will still be exposed to advertising, autoplay suggestions, and public comment sections - all of which can introduce distractions or content that is not appropriate for certain age groups.

These changes will shape not only how educational videos are accessed in the classroom, but also how students approach self-led learning at home. In announcing the YouTube restrictions, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant noted that the platform is a common source of online risks for young Australians, with nearly 37 per cent reporting negative experiences.

While these measures are intended to protect young people, they also mean some students may lose access to YouTube for study, research, and independent learning at home. This shift creates an important opportunity to explore safe, high-quality alternatives that support curiosity and learning beyond the classroom.

With this in mind, now is the time for schools to develop robust digital policies that govern best-practice use of video in the classroom.

Vetting Video Content
Reviewing video content before showing it in class has always been a part of an educator's role. But with a spotlight on safeguarding students and reducing exposure to inappropriate videos, the importance of careful content selection is more prominent than ever. For schools that continue using entertainment-first video platforms like YouTube, a strong vetting process is essential to ensure videos are relevant to the curriculum, factually accurate, and suitable for the intended age group. Teachers should preview material in full before using it, paying close attention to whether the source is credible and whether any advertising or sidebar suggestions could undermine the learning experience.

Embedding videos directly into presentations or learning management systems can be a practical way to limit exposure to distracting sidebars and comment sections, though it won’t eliminate pre-roll advertising or autoplay entirely. To make the process less time-consuming, schools might consider creating a shared content library that all teachers contribute to and draw from. This collaborative approach ensures consistency in quality and compliance while reducing the workload for individual educators.

Setting School-wide Guidelines
Clear, school-wide policies on video use can help teachers feel confident that they are meeting compliance and safeguarding requirements. These guidelines should outline which platforms are approved for classroom use, the criteria for selecting appropriate videos, and the steps for ensuring privacy and data protection. They should also emphasise the importance of avoiding platforms that collect unnecessary data or rely on targeted advertising.

Ongoing professional development for educators is another vital part of making these policies work in practice. Training sessions should go beyond showing staff how to use new tools and instead explain why certain platforms are chosen, how they align with the curriculum, and the ways they protect student privacy. Appointing a few experienced educators as ‘digital champions’ can also be a great way to engage faculty and ensure compliance. These champions can offer peer-to-peer support, share success stories, and help troubleshoot issues, making it easier for best practices to be used across the school.

Supporting Student-Centred Learning with Alternative Platforms
Videos are an invaluable tool for student-led learning, providing an engaging way to explore new topics and information outside of the school curriculum. However, with students no longer able to subscribe to education channels or create dedicated education playlists, concerns have been raised about the risk of encountering unsuitable or distracting material when browsing unvetted YouTube content. In many cases, parents may also ban access to YouTube at home entirely, meaning some students won’t be able to participate in crucial learning activities like research, homework, or self-led learning.

This is why many schools are turning to education-focused video platforms that provide safe, ad-free environments for students to explore topics at their own pace, both in the classroom and at home. The most effective platforms are those designed specifically for schools, offering curriculum-aligned content, robust search filters to ensure age-appropriate results, and tools that make it easy for teachers to curate collections of videos for different year levels or subjects.

Privacy compliance is another important factor. Any platform used should store data securely and avoid tracking or advertising practices that are inappropriate for children. Time-saving features are equally important, from simple search functions to seamless integration with lesson plans, so that teachers can focus more on teaching and less on navigating technology.

The YouTube changes for under-16s may alter how students and teachers interact with video, but they present a valuable opportunity to improve the quality and safety of content used in the classroom. With the right framework in place, video can continue to be a powerful tool for engagement, critical thinking, and independent exploration - all within a safe and structured environment.

Click here to have your say about what the YouTube ban will mean for students and teachers in the classroom.

Edward Filetti is the Chief Executive Officer of ClickView, Australia's leading educational video platform used by over 6,000 schools, 1 million teachers, and 5 million students globally.

Image by Szaboviktor