VIEWS & OPINION
Protecting your school community from online harm Comment by AL KINGSLEY, Group CEO of NetSupport and Multi Academy Trust Chair
The 2023/24 academic year has rightfully seen an increase in conversations and awareness of the need for schools and educators to protect their students from coming into harms online. Arguably the most significant, the Online Safety Bill which continued to progress through parliament, will hold tech firms accountable for taking more responsibility for the content shared on their platforms when it enters into law. It is hoped that this will add further guardrails to protect children navigating the online world as well as charging tech companies with a duty of care for users. This comes alongside updated statutory guidance from the Department for Education on “Keeping children safe in education”, which includes further resources and advice on how schools can ensure that staff are equipped to safeguard their students in light of the increased use of digital technologies in the classroom.
The benefits of an education which embraces technology are clear; however, the risks are just as evident, ranging from disinformation, cyberbullying, upsetting content, and even cybersecurity breaches putting the personal information of staff and students in jeopardy. Having a robust, well-equipped IT infrastructure can help to minimise these dangers. This protection extends even further when supported by an EdTech solution that fits the specific needs of your learning community.
Every school IT system should have effective guardrails to prevent students and staff from coming across potentially harmful or inappropriate content online. Restricting access to certain materials and websites is an extremely important part of the process. However, it is equally important that staff members and schools remain fully aware of the latest potential harms lurking online to ensure that nothing is being missed; cross-collaboration with colleagues is essential here, as designated safeguarding leads should be working hand in hand with IT managers to keep the system operating effectively.
Filtering content can be done in conjunction with monitoring keyword alerts, which can identify and flag potential concerns either in online searches or conversations being had using devices on the school’s network. These keywords could include language around mental health, bullying, violence, or other potential safeguarding concerns. These concerning terms can be used for staff and caregivers to intervene where appropriate to offer further supports. EdTech solutions can provide further granular detail and levels of sophistication when setting these alerts up; some will provide an at- a-glance contextual keyword alert, as well as equipping schools with a continually updated database of safeguarding terms to make this process more effective, with some solutions even allowing schools to input their own key words as they become aware of them being used by students. This can also be used to produce reports for schools on the most commonly triggered terms, providing a detailed overview of key areas of concern within a school community.
Increasing the use of technology in the classroom can expand the possibilities for communication between teachers and students, particularly when it comes to communication when either party is not physically in the classroom. Chat and messaging functions can allow staff to check in with individual students and give the student in question the chance to express themselves in a more discreet
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way. EdTech can take this one step further; some solutions provide a ‘Report a concern’ function, giving students a space to confide their worries with staff. Teachers can also create surveys and polls as an opportunity to conduct student wellbeing checks. Furthermore, EdTech can help schools and designated safeguarding leads to track safeguarding issues in the longer term by creating their own specific concern categories and compiling these concerns in an historical log so that issues can be tracked over time.
When considering online safety, the importance of protecting the personal data of your staff and students cannot be overstated. Part of this puzzle comes in the form of implementing robust IT security procedures. One simple step could be to implement password authenticators,
using multi-factor authentication to safeguard the log-in process. Making your staff aware of the importance of safe storage of their passwords is also essential but in addition, sharing resources such as password management systems can support where staff may be struggling to recall numerous secure passwords. Reducing the likelihood of log-in details being compromised is hugely important in protecting the integrity of your IT network, keeping both data and valuable assets safe from prying eyes.
Another crucial factor, that can often go overlooked or dismissed is ensuring all devices and systems are up to date. This can help ensure that you are not missing out on updates designed to protect your network from the latest threats. The older a device and its software, the more likely it is that there will be failings in its ability to recognise and halt a threat in its tracks. Fraudsters and their methods of attack are ever evolving, and a network of topped-up, secure devices is a must for any school to guard against these threats. Whilst it can seem like a tedious, never-ending task, keeping your devices updated can be simplified. Devices’ operating systems often offer the capability of automating these system updates. Many EdTech solutions can make this even easier, allowing you to schedule them for a time convenient to your learning community – protecting precious learning time from disruption and equally, preventing individual users from overriding the update process.
One of the key things that EdTech can offer schools is versatility in its security. Due to the nature of the environment in which EdTech solutions are deployed, they can offer further enhanced protections in terms of cybersecurity, combining multiple avenues of security functions. Rather than having to purchase numerous costly security licenses, you may find that EdTech can offer a wider scope of capabilities, in the classroom and beyond.
As part of fostering the next generation of online citizens, as educators we should be doing the utmost to give our students the chance to explore everything digital technologies have to offer safely and securely. Putting into practice rigorous online protections across every school’s IT network forms a vital part of creating this safe environment. It should be a natural partner of a curriculum, encouraging students to remain curious and engaged with their education whilst developing the requisite digital skills to be happy, confident and capable learners.
November 2023
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