COMPUTING & IT


Digital Safeguarding Support for Designated Safeguarding Leads


F


ew would argue against the fact the internet provides access to an exciting world of enhanced learning resources for school children and young people, however with this comes a growing challenge for schools to ensure pupils are protected from harmful content on their networks.


For years now schools have been required as part of The Department for Education’s statutory guidance (Keeping Children Safe in Education), to have appropriate filtering in place; that is a system that makes harmful content inaccessible. Recent updates however are further strengthening standards. 2021 updates stipulated that schools and colleges must appoint an appropriate staff member as their Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and the latest 2022 updates state that for monitoring systems to be effective, they must pick up on incidents urgently, usually through alerts or observations, allowing schools to take prompt action.


For some schools this is easier than for others, such as larger schools who have dedicated Safeguarding roles specifically for this purpose. However, with the number of devices now used in schools, even schools with dedicated resources will find it challenging to manage pupil internet activity. Online safeguarding involves a lot of work.


The difference between filtering and online safeguarding Filtering and online or digital safeguarding are two very different things. Filtering blocks content, whereas online safeguarding alerts staff to harmful content that children are attempting to look at. For example, if a pupil searches for information about suicide, self-harm, or terrorist-related activity, it must be highlighted immediately if time is of the essence. Many safeguarding solutions will flag the problem in a report days later, but the Schools Broadband Safeguarding Incident Management Platform sends alerts in real time, helping schools to integrate the management of their pupils’ digital behaviour with effective offline pastoral care.


“Safeguarding leads are now required to manage and respond to incidents in real time,” says David Tindall, CEO of Schools Broadband, “which is why our platform also recognises patterns and trends in search histories, enabling safeguarding leads to manage pupil behaviours, so preventing pupils from causing harm to themselves or others.”


If innocent search mistakes are made, the system can put a user’s internet activity into context and is able to identify mistyped searches thus preventing unnecessary safeguarding interventions. When an incident occurs, a digital auditing trail is available to highlight the action taken by the senior leadership team.


The platform works alongside the company’s existing content filtering solution and reporting engine, filtering by URL rather than simply blocking words which is more effective. With video and book-based training available on the Schools Broadband Moodle training platform, the Safeguarding Incident Management Platform can also provide online protection for pupils who are using school-enabled devices at home.


May 2023 www.education-today.co.uk 39


Webinar Dates


A series of webinars are being held this summer term. Thurs 11th May 2pm – 2.45pm Thurs 22nd June | 2pm – 2.45pm Thurs 6thJuly | 2pm – 2.45pm


Please register here if you would like to find out more. Hover over the QR Code for registration page or visit www.schoolsbroadband.co.uk/ webinar-safeguarding-incident-management/


Schools Broadband is a leading provider of broadband, filtering, and security, providing advanced hosted services to over 2000 schools and 275 multi academy trusts. Established in 2007 with six ISPA awards for cloud and security services, they are one of the most trusted and respected Internet Service Providers in the education field.


Our trail-blazing adoption of new technologies meant Schools Broadband was the first ISP in the industry to provide schools with cloud-hosted filtering and security services, meaning our schools were the first in the country not to have to purchase, store or maintain expensive onsite equipment. We were one of the first organisations ever to deliver VoIP phone services, first to deliver filtered 4G services in lockdown and first to provide ultrafast broadband, providing schools with the fastest ever speeds at the lowest ever prices.


To find out how Schools Broadband can help your school contact: info@schoolsbroadband.co.uk 01133 222 333 (Option 3)


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