JOHN Swinney has told of his shock about the epidemic of boys secretly taking illegal sexual pictures of women teachers and girls without their knowledge in Scottish schools.

The education secretary said the abuse in Scotland's schools was “deeply concerning”. Swinney spoke out in response to a Sunday Herald investigation last weekend about the extent of the criminal behaviour - known in the classroom as 'upskirting' and 'downblousing' - in schools. Anyone found guilty of such an offence can be sentenced to a lengthy period in jail and placed on the sex offenders register.

Last week, the Sunday Herald revealed that hundreds of female teachers and schoolgirls are being photographed unwittingly by male pupils who then share the sexual images amongst each other and post them online.

The abuse, highlighted by the teaching union NASUWT, sparked calls for Holyrood to consider a ban on mobile phones in schools.

Swinney's comments came as the head of Girlguiding Scotland, which has 50,000 young members, said a phone ban in schools may be needed to protect female pupils and teachers.

Denise Spence, Girlguiding Scotland chief executive, said: "Banning or restricting the use of mobile phones while at school may help to reduce the prevalence of up-skirting, down-blousing and other forms of harassment – and we welcome calls to explore this issue.

“However sexual harassment isn’t restricted to one area of girls’ lives, one form of technology or one social media platform and ultimately requires a much wider cultural response that matches the scale of the problem.

"Without ensuring all young people have access to high-quality sex and relationships education, covering essential topics consent, harassment and healthy relationships, and without a change in attitudes across society too many girls and young women will continue to feel unsafe in their everyday lives.”

However, Swinney appeared to rule out a blanket ban despite calls from MSPs to investigate such a move.

He said that schools already have the “necessary controls” to curb the abusive practice. However, Swinney admitted that school children today face a “very different environment” due to the rise in mobile phone technology.

Swinney, who is also the deputy first minister, said: “The report in last week’s Sunday Herald about mobile phones being used in schools to secretly take sexual pictures of teachers and schoolgirls is deeply concerning.

“Everyone – whether they are a teacher, staff member or a pupil – has the right to go to school each day and be safe from harm. Kids going to school today learn in a very different environment than that which existed even five or ten years ago.

“As Education Secretary – and as a parent - I’m acutely aware of both the upsides and the downsides of rapidly changing technology in a learning environment.

“Clearly the learning experience of our young people can and does benefit from the extraordinary array of information that is available at their fingertips. And clearly technology is always going to feature in the lives of our young people – we cannot simply wish it away.

“But we absolutely must make sure that they are taught to use that technology appropriately and responsibly – whether they are inside the school grounds or outside.

"Ultimately, that is a job for all of us – and the necessary controls exist within schools to ensure this is the case.”