Introducing
Connect
The Next Smoothwall Release
Welcome to CONNECT
Smoothwall’s founding goal is to help educators provide the highest standard of student online safety and meet their statutory responsibilities.
That mission continues with CONNECT.
CONNECT is your next Smoothwall release and brings forward a step change in both student online safety and online safety management.
What is CONNECT?
Built for the realities of UK education, CONNECT is a single-access safeguarding system that brings your Smoothwall solutions into one clear, role-based experience.
It gives you:
One entry point across your Smoothwall solutions.
Shared modules, data and navigation.
A role-based experience for ITs, DSLs, leaders and teachers.
A consistent interface and language across all capabilities.
CONNECT is not a standalone product. It is the system through which your Smoothwall solutions are experienced — making safeguarding technology easier to access, easier to use and faster to act on.
One connected platform.
Better outcomes for every team.
CONNECT extends the benefits of a single platform to every stakeholder with a digital safeguarding responsibility.
Each stakeholder can better see and act on what matters to their role — improving student safety and student safety management.
ITs
Say goodbye to the frustration of system hopping, repetitive tasks, and ‘can you just ...’ requests.
Instead, they own, configure and manage their entire Smoothwall estate in one place, often with one action. And, with colleagues empowered to self-serve their own insights and reports, interruptions decrease and bottlenecks ease.
DSLs
Replace IT dependency with the ability to self-serve reports and evidence the moment they need them.
Faster access to information means earlier risk detection and more targeted and confident interventions. The potential for escalation reduces.
Leaders
Access reports more easily, giving them clearer oversight of duty of care without needing to check multiple systems or rely on several teams.
Joined-up safeguarding is easier to demonstrate, giving greater confidence during inspections, audits and critical incidents.
Teachers
Manage filter rules and control permissible online content for their classes.
This also includes safe AI tools, games, instructional apps, plus others — and all without needing to wait for IT. Changes can be made during lesson planning or in the moment during class, helping keep students on task, engaged and free from distraction.
The CONNECT ecosystem
As well as better manage the Smoothwall solutions you depend on today, CONNECT makes it easier to add new ones over time, strengthening your safeguarding without increasing complexity.
Filter
Safer searching and safer learning with 100% real-time, content-aware protection. Blocks content not sites to promote safe learning and eliminate overblocking. The number one filter in UK education chosen by 40% of schools.
Monitor
Visibility of at-risk students based on their digital behaviours. Monitor includes the largest human moderation team for proactive alerting and vital contextual insight enabling risk detection at the earliest opportunity.
Qustodio
Our best-in-class parental control capability. Qustodio integrates with Filter enabling schools to give parents trusted tools to manage their child’s online activity after school hours — creating more consistent protection across school and home.
Classwize
Gives teachers real-time visibility and control over students’ online activities in class. With the ability to adjust Filter rules themselves, either during lesson planning or even in class. Online distractions give way to more focused learning.
EdTech Insights
Gives ITs deeper visibility into their app estate including usage, licensing, costs, compliance, as well as hidden privacy and compliance risks. Provides evidence for more data driven decision making.
Why CONNECT and why now?
Digital safeguarding is changing. Responsibilities have expanded, risks have evolved, and schools, colleges and MATs are being asked to respond with less time and resource than ever before.
Statutory guidance makes clear that online safety is a whole-school responsibility. CONNECT supports this with role-based access to the tools and information each stakeholder needs.
Risks don’t only show up in a student’s browsing behaviour. CONNECT helps bring wider signals into a more joined-up experience so teams can see and act on concerns with greater clarity.
While disconnected solutions add complexity, CONNECT reduces the burden on overstretched teams by simplifying access, navigation and day-to-day management.
CONNECT helps your setting move from siloed systems to a more connected way of working — and faster paths to action.
And this is just the beginning
Every new Smoothwall product will be accessed via CONNECT. And unification across our entire ecosystem will continue to evolve bringing safeguarding insights closer together and helping teams build a 360 degree safety view of every student.
Next steps
CONNECT will be available from Autumn 2026
Existing customers:
We’ll be in touch with more information as your upgrade opportunity approaches. Please contact your Customer Success Manager with any questions in the meantime.
New customers:
For more information about moving to Smoothwall and CONNECT please get in touch at: enquiries@smoothwall.com