Gangs of criminals are “actively targeting” schools by creating deepfake sexualised images of children from pictures on their social media and websites and using them to blackmail schools for ransom, experts have warned.

Nearly half of headteachers have reported pupil images being used as part of harmful acts including extortion or blackmail threats, according to a new report published on Tuesday. More than half of them also reported being concerned images on their school website could be vulnerable to AI misuse.

It comes amid what child safety experts called a “pandemic” of deepfake child sexual image abuse being created online, with safeguarding experts warning schools are being “exploited”.

The In Plain Sight report, commissioned by AI safeguarding tool Aidos, surveyed 500 primary and secondary school teachers in the UK. It found that 49 per cent of them had experienced an incident involving pupil image misuse, manipulation or an extortion attempt.

Additionally, 54 per cent said they have personal concerns that their school’s published images are vulnerable to AI misuse, and 45 per cent said their school has received a direct complaint from a parent about the misuse of a pupil’s image.

Speaking to , former national policing lead for child protection Simon Bailey said organised crime groups are “targeting school heads with a precise understanding of the pressure points”.

“They know that many school leaders will prioritise protecting their school's reputation above all else,” he said. “That instinct is entirely human and entirely understandable, but it is also a vulnerability, and it is being exploited.

“I strongly believe that many schools that have been targeted are, in many cases, not reporting it. They are managing it all behind closed doors, and the true picture continues to remain hidden.”

Aidos founder Carole Osborne said as well as gangs of criminals extorting them, schools are also experiencing paedophiles using their images to generate their own child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and children creating deepfake images of other children and of teachers.

“I always knew that this was happening more and more, but I didn't realise how much it was happening, and how many schools it had happened to,” Ms Osborne told . “So to hear that those numbers were as high as they are was a real shock to me.”

Ms Osborne said she believes a lot of schools are still in the mindset that it won’t happen to them. “I would say stop hoping that it doesn't happen because it is happening and actually put some some real kind of practical resources in place to stop it happening to your school,” she added.

It comes after parents were advised not to post pictures of their children online in a stark warning by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).

Dan Sexton, the IWF’s chief technology officer, told the paper he was “very uncomfortable” about telling parents not to put pictures of children on public display but felt there was no other option.

“I don’t know what else to say to parents,” he said. “I would be very cautious [about putting pictures of children online] because there is no protection.”