Filtering & monitoring
Schools should provide a safe environment to learn and work, including when online. Filtering and monitoring are both important parts of safeguarding pupils and staff from potentially harmful and inappropriate online material. Keeping Children Safe in Education updated in September 2023 states that schools should ensure that staff and governors understand how their schools' filtering and monitoring is managed to keep everyone safe.
Why do we need a filtering and monitoring system?
The internet is now used daily in education and has become fundamental. It acts as a key learning tool for children however, it can also be an area for concern due to the nature of potentially harmful content available online.
There are many reasons why filtering and monitoring are required. In school the purpose is to ensure that children do not access unsuitable/inappropriate content. One example is around radicalisation. The Prevent Duty is a statutory obligation for schools to keep children safe from the risk of radicalisation and extremism. As a school, we are aware of the risks posed by the online activity of extremist groups, and how social media is being used to encourage young people to travel to certain countries.
Content filtering works by applying specific parameters to content retrieved via the internet, restricting access to certain materials on websites, Apps, emails or other suspicious items. It can be a hardware or software solution and can often be part of a firewall setting.
Monitoring combined with content filtering alerts for any activities that need to be acted upon, but the information is also used to determine which sites and keywords need to be filtered out. For example, if a new craze appears, the monitoring and filtering system will help us know what associated terms the children are searching for, and what websites they are accessing.
To safeguard and promote the welfare of our children, we provide them with a safe environment in which they can learn and flourish, by ensuring that they are not exposed to any online risks associated with using the internet. We have comprehensive filtering and monitoring systems in place for all devices used in school, and regularly review their effectiveness.
We also use the Government recommended online safety review tool 360-degree-safe, to assess wider online safety policy and practice.
For more information on how to monitor and use filtering at home, click on the links below that discuss parental controls:
How do we do this?
The web filtering in Rolleston is provided through Capacity2learn by a UK based company (Censornet) that have a first class reputation and many years’ experience in this field. They are also on the list of suppliers on the SWGFL (South West Grid For Learning) website mentioned in links from KCSIE.
For all schools a setting is enabled called “Enforce Counter-Terrorism blocklist (UK Prevent Law)” which we can only be overridden with written consent of the Co-Heads and Chair of Governors. The contents of the list are non-negotiable and have to be blocked. For all schools we support, including Rolleston, it is active. In addition there any many categories (too many to list) that can be allowed or blocked. We review this regularly.
Any new website that is uncategorised is automatically blocked until categorised or we apply an override.
Different levels of internet access are in place for students, staff and SLT. All changes to these levels of access are approved by HT (or nominated deputy) in school before being actioned. Blocked sites are reviewed at least once per month and any concerns raised with HT or DHT.
How successful are we?
