We take our responsibility to keep children safe online very seriously. Our approach to filtering and monitoring is designed to help prevent access to harmful or inappropriate content, while supporting pupils’ safe use of digital tools, including where AI is involved. We embed filtering mechanisms within our systems so that protection is built in from the start, rather than added as an afterthought. This means pupils using our technology are effectively and reliably prevented from generating or accessing harmful or inappropriate content, with safeguards that remain active throughout a conversation or interaction.
Our arrangements are designed to be age-appropriate, risk-aware and responsive to need. Filtering is adjusted to reflect different levels of risk, age and context, including where pupils may have SEND or other additional needs. We also recognise that harmful content can appear in multiple forms, including across different languages, images, abbreviations and misspellings, so our moderation and filtering processes are designed to identify and block this content as comprehensively as possible. Where access is attempted and blocked, users receive a clear, real-time notification in age-appropriate language explaining why this has happened.
In line with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, we also maintain robust monitoring and logging procedures. We record input prompts and responses, analyse patterns and performance, and generate reports and trends that help identify attempted access to prohibited content and any other safeguarding concerns. Where appropriate, alerts are sent to the relevant local safeguarding lead or supervisor, including when disclosures suggest a possible safeguarding issue. This helps ensure concerns can be acted on promptly and in the best interests of the child.
We also recognise the safeguarding implications of AI. Our systems are designed to reduce the risk of harmful outputs, encourage safer use, and support staff oversight.
Responsibilities
- Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) carries out monthly checks to ensure that our filtering and monitoring systems are robust.
- All pupils and staff have individual log ins. This means that any monitoring alerts through our filtering and monitoring system (smoothwall) can be dealt with immediately.
Our school ICT team is responsible for:
- Setting up and maintaining filtering systems so they are active across school devices and networks
- Making sure monitoring tools are in place to identify concerning activity, such as attempts to access harmful content
- Keeping systems updated as new risks, websites, apps and online harms emerge
- Checking that filtering works across different devices, including laptops, tablets, BYOD devices and smartphones where relevant
By combining filtering, monitoring, logging and clear escalation routes, we aim to support schools in meeting their safeguarding responsibilities and creating a safer digital environment for children.
Our approach follows guidance from Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 and the DfE guidance on Generative AI; Product Safety Standards