A Practical Response to Schools Week’s Article: “Do You Know What Your Pupils are Viewing on School Technology.”

By Schools Broadband

The recent Schools Week article on the DfE’s Technology in Schools Survey 2024–25 raises issues that school and trust leaders rightly take seriously. Though as education becomes increasingly digital, expectations around safeguarding, accountability and risk management are rising just as fast.

At Schools Broadband, we recognise both the huge benefits of educational technology and the very real concerns voiced by parents, regulators and the media. However, the question is no longer whether schools should use technology, but how they can do so safely, proportionately and in line with statutory guidance.

What the DfE expects and why it matters

The DfE is clear. Schools and trusts are expected to have effective filtering and monitoring in place, as set out across: Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), The Filtering and Monitoring Standards for Schools and Colleges and The DfE Broadband Standards.

Crucially, the DfE does not treat filtering and monitoring as interchangeable. They serve different purposes and both are required. The Broadband Standards reinforce that schools must ensure internet access is safe, reliable and resilient; that safeguarding controls apply across school networks and solutions are appropriate for education and centrally manageable.

The Schools Week article highlights a gap that we see frequently in practice: filtering without effective monitoring.

Filtering and monitoring: what’s the difference?

Filtering is preventative. It blocks access to harmful or inappropriate content that should never be accessible on a school device or network such as: Pornography and explicit material; Extremism and radicalisation content; Gambling, self-harm and violence; Malware and unsafe websites.

Monitoring, by contrast, is observational and responsive. It identifies what risks may be emerging that staff need to know about such as: What users are actually searching for or viewing; Concerning patterns of behaviour over time; Safeguarding indicators that filtering alone cannot predict; Attempts to bypass controls or use devices inappropriately.

The DfE’s concern, echoed in the survey, is well founded. Filtering alone cannot tell you whether it is effective, nor can it identify low-level or cumulative safeguarding risks before harm occurs.

How Schools Broadband supports schools and trusts

Schools Broadband provides both filtering and monitoring as integrated, education-specific services, designed to work together and aligned to DfE guidance.

Education-Specific Filtering. Our filtering solutions are designed specifically for schools and MATs, ensuring consistent protection, whether a trust has five schools or fifty. Filtering is 1) Policy-driven and age-appropriate, 2) Can be centrally managed across trusts 3) is regularly updated to reflect emerging risks.

Active, Intelligent Monitoring. Importantly, monitoring is not about surveillance for its own sake. It is about early intervention, context, and professional judgement, which is exactly what KCSIE expects. That’s why the Schools Broadband monitoring solutions go beyond simple keyword alerts. They are designed to: Highlight concerning trends and behaviours; Support DSLs and safeguarding teams with timely visibility; Reduce noise while prioritising genuine risk and provide audit trails to support inspections and accountability.

Safeguarding Beyond the School Gates

One of the most significant risks highlighted in the Schools Week article, and in real-world incidents, is what happens when school devices leave the school site. And DfE expectations are clear: safeguarding responsibilities do not end at the school gate.

Schools Broadband supports: Filtering and monitoring on school-owned devices, even when used at home; Consistent safeguarding policies regardless of location and protection against the assumption that home networks are “safe enough.”

This is particularly critical for 1:1 device schemes; vulnerable learners; remote learning and homework and Trusts seeking consistency across varied home environments.

Affordability, Consistency and Review

The survey rightly points to financial pressure as a factor in safeguarding gaps; however, Schools Broadband was founded on the principle that cost should not be a barrier to compliance or safety. By combining connectivity, filtering and monitoring into a single education-focused service, we help schools and trusts to:

• Simplify procurement
• Reduce supplier sprawl
• Achieve better value for money
• Maintain consistent standards across all schools

Equally important is review. The DfE does not expect schools to “set and forget” safeguarding technology. Our services are designed to support regular policy review; Trust-wide oversight and evidence for Ofsted and safeguarding audits.

A Realistic Future

Calls to remove technology from schools entirely are understandable, but unrealistic. Digital tools are now embedded in teaching, assessment, inclusion and operations. The answer is not less technology, but better governance, better systems and better visibility.

The Schools Week article is right to urge schools to reflect urgently. The following are useful checks for schools and MATs to carry out right now.

• Ensure both filtering and monitoring are in place
• Confirm they apply on-site and off-site
• Review effectiveness regularly, not just after incidents
• Align systems, policies and staff training
• Choose solutions designed specifically for education, not adapted from the consumer or enterprise world

At Schools Broadband, we believe safeguarding should be robust, proportionate and practical, supporting schools to protect pupils, reassure parents and meet statutory expectations with confidence.

Speak to us today for guidance on your school’s online safeguarding. info@schoolsbroadband.co.uk | 01133 222 333 or visit us on stand SH61 at Bett 21-23 Jan 2026

The UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) and the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) have updated guidance in relation to managing student images and videos on school websites. 

The guidance sets out best practices for schools and colleges to celebrate student achievements whilst ensuring their online presence remains safe, professional, and compliant with data protection regulations. The guidance supports a proactive approach for schools to manage images and videos helping to create a secure online environment for students, staff, and the wider school community. 

Access Managing Student Image and Video Content Guidance here 

The UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) and the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) are respected, expert-led organisations who produce advisory, best-practice guidance developed by working groups comprising professionals from education, safeguarding, law enforcement, and the tech sector. Their advice is highly regarded and often referenced by government bodies. 

Filtering and Monitoring in your school 
If you need advice about online safety, filtering and monitoring in your school, and how to meet the DfE’s ‘appropriate filtering and monitoring standards’ set out in the regulatory guidance “Keeping Children Safe in Education” (KCSiE), please contact us. We help over 3,000 schools protect over one million students online every single day. 

Digital Safeguarding – KCSiE Compliant Monitoring

A new privacy technology called Encrypted Client Hello (ECH) is on the horizon, and while it enhances online privacy for users, it could present challenges for schools when it comes to web filtering and safeguarding.

We’ve created a comprehensive guide to help you understand what ECH is, how it works, and most importantly, how it might impact your school’s ability to monitor and block inappropriate content in line with KCSiE and DfE requirements.

We explain how Schools Broadband continues to protect schools and outline simple steps you can take to prepare your systems to minimise any risks posed by ECH.

If you’re unsure whether your systems are ready or need guidance, our team is here to help.

The Department for Education’s Filtering and Monitoring Standards for Schools and Colleges were updated in October 2024 to reflect the changing digital landscape and provide greater clarity on some key issues.

In a nutshell, the standards are:

1. Identify and assign roles and responsibilities to manage your filtering and monitoring systems

2. Review your filtering and monitoring provision at least annually

3. Filtering systems should block harmful and inappropriate content, without unreasonably impacting teaching and learning

4. Have effective monitoring strategies that meet the safeguarding needs of your school or college

To help you get to grips with the changes to the standards and know how to meet them, we have created an in-depth guide. The guide has been created to help schools, colleges and MATs understand clearly how they should implement filtering and monitoring. It outlines the standards that organisations should already be meeting, a summary of the changes, and how to respond accordingly.

Choosing the right broadband provider

Choosing the right broadband provider

We are thrilled to announce that Schools Broadband has been named the winner of The Community Award for Medium Size Businesses at the Raising the Bar Awards, hosted by the West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. This is a testament to our company’s ongoing commitment to making a meaningful impact in our local community.

The Raising the Bar Awards celebrate businesses that go above and beyond in creating and sustaining social impact programs. Schools Broadband was recognised for our charity fundraising and volunteering.

The awards, which featured three categories based on company size (Small, Medium, and Corporate), saw over 250 companies from across the region enter, so we are honoured to be one of the nine businesses recognised with an award.

Our award win is a reflection of the incredible dedication of our entire team, who continue to work tirelessly in giving back to the communities we serve. Whether through our fundraising initiatives or hands-on volunteering, we remain committed to making a real difference in the lives of those in our region.

We are incredibly proud of this achievement and remain dedicated to expanding our efforts to make our communities stronger, safer, and more connected.

Thank you to the Raising the Bar Awards and the Chamber of Commerce for this recognition, and a huge congratulations to all the other winners!

Safeguarding for Schools – Making Filtering & Monitoring Software Work For You