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New school safeguarding guidance emphasises online safety duties

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Summary

The Department for Education (DfE) has issued updated keeping children safe in education guidance, which includes new guidance on filtering and monitoring online devices. This comes after the suicide of a pupil who accessed harmful material on a school iPad. The new guidance requires all school staff to undergo training on the filtering and monitoring of online devices, assigns roles and responsibilities to manage the systems, and requires schools to review the filtering and monitoring provision at least annually. It also states that shortlisted candidates for jobs should be informed that "online searches may be done as part of due diligence checks".

Q&As

What updates to safeguarding guidance have been published by the DfE?
The DfE has published updated keeping children safe in education guidance, which emphasises all school staff must undergo training on the filtering and monitoring of online devices, and specifies which roles and responsibilities are assigned to school staff in relation to filtering and monitoring systems.

What roles and responsibilities are assigned to school staff in relation to filtering and monitoring systems?
Roles and responsibilities assigned to school staff in relation to filtering and monitoring systems include identifying and assigning roles and responsibilities to manage filtering and monitoring systems, reviewing filtering and monitoring provision at least annually, blocking harmful and inappropriate content without unreasonably impacting teaching and learning, and having effective monitoring strategies in place that meet their safeguarding needs.

How should schools respond to allegations made against an outside organisation or individual using school premises?
Schools handling allegations made against an outside organisation or individual using school premises should “follow safeguarding policies and procedures” including informing the local authority designated officer.

How should schools inform jobseekers about online searches?
Schools should tell shortlisted candidates for jobs that “online searches may be done as part of due diligence checks”.

What standards has the DfE set for filtering and monitoring systems?
The DfE's standards for filtering and monitoring systems include that schools should assign a member of the senior leadership team and a governor to be responsible for ensuring the standards are met, procure filtering and monitoring systems, document decisions on what is blocked or allowed and why, review the effectiveness of their provision, and oversee reports.

AI Comments

👍 This new school safeguarding guidance is a positive step forward in emphasizing the importance of online safety duties for staff. It is also commendable that the DfE is including further advice for schools to ensure the standards of filtering and monitoring systems are met.

👎 It is concerning that the DfE is asking schools to tell jobseekers that online searches may be done as part of due diligence checks. This could lead to a lack of privacy for applicants which could be off-putting for potential hires.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about new school safeguarding guidance that emphasises online safety duties. It's following the suicide of a pupil who accessed harmful material on their school iPad.

Friend: That's really concerning. It seems like there needs to be more oversight of what students are accessing online.

Me: Absolutely. Schools need to ensure that students have appropriate filtering and monitoring systems in place. It's not just about blocking harmful content, but also ensuring that staff are trained to spot any potential safeguarding issues with students' online usage. They should also keep records of any attempts to access blocked sites and have effective monitoring strategies in place. Additionally, job applicants should be made aware that online searches may be done as part of due diligence checks.

Action items

Ensure all school staff undergo training on the filtering and monitoring of online devices.
Review filtering and monitoring provision at least annually.
Inform jobseekers that online searches may be done as part of due diligence checks.

Technical terms

Safeguarding: The act of protecting people from harm or abuse.
Filtering: The process of screening out unwanted content from a data stream.
Monitoring: The act of observing and recording data or activity.
Due Diligence: The process of researching and verifying information about a person or company.
Single Central Record: A record of all staff and volunteers who work in a school, including their qualifications, training and any relevant criminal record checks.
Designated Safeguarding Lead: A person responsible for safeguarding and child protection in a school.