15.04.2024, LONDON: Education-focused ISP, Talk Straight has selected Smoothwall, the leading UK digital safeguarding specialist, to further strengthen its award-winning safeguarding and security offering, integrating Smoothwall’s best-of-breed digital monitoring solution into its strategic product portfolio.
Founded in 2007, Talk Straight has grown year on year, establishing itself as a leading EdTech provider under the Schools Broadband brand, specialising in connectivity, safeguarding and security services specifically designed for the education sector.
Smoothwall Monitor is a market-leading, human-moderated, digital monitoring solution that alerts school safeguarding staff to students suspected of being at risk due to their digital behaviour. When a suspected serious safeguarding incident is detected, human moderators will review and contact the school's designated staff if a child is deemed to be at genuine risk.
The software exceeds all the monitoring requirements outlined in KCSIE, giving DSLs and other safeguarding staff on the frontline of student safety the reassurance they need when it comes to meeting UK guidance.
Sophie Stocks, VP of Sales for Smoothwall, said:
“This exclusive partnership with Talk Straight is another string in the Smoothwall bow in our mission to optimise online safeguarding in schools. Being selected to strengthen the Talk Straight portfolio with our best-of-breed solution reinforces Smoothwall’s position as the market-leading digital monitoring provider.
We have already been impressed by the fantastic team at Talk Straight, and are looking forward to working together in delivering an important service for online safety and, ultimately, protecting children online.”
Talk Straight is launching the Smoothwall Monitor solution to their current customer base as a critical pillar in the safeguarding and security offering. The partnership marks an important milestone in the safeguarding space for education as it recognises digital safeguarding to be of critical importance.
Sean Donohoe, Talk Straight’s Chief Sales Officer, said:
“Following the updated KCSIE 2023 statutory guidance, we recognised the increasing importance and focus for schools and colleges, in ensuring devices and applications on devices are being monitored, in addition to the existing award-winning filtering and security services we currently provide.As a result, we conducted a full review of the market for device monitoring and quickly realised that the best of breed solution, to sit alongside our current safeguarding offering, was Smoothwall Monitor.
We are incredibly excited about the new partnership with Smoothwall and impressed by their flexibility to meet our customers’ and business needs for delivering a device monitoring solution.”
About Talk Straight
Talk Straight Group Ltd, parent company of Schools Broadband, is a leading Education-focused ISP providing ultrafast, low-cost, secure internet connections to schools and Multi Academy Trusts of all sizes across the UK.
Safeguarding and security is at the heart of what we do. Our advanced cloud-based platform delivers some of the world’s foremost safeguarding and security services, providing online protection to over 3,000 schools, 275 MATs and 1.5m pupils and staff, all year round.
About Smoothwall
Smoothwall, part of Qoria, is the leading provider of digital safeguarding solutions in UK education, offering the most comprehensive digital safety and wellbeing solutions in the world. Used by one in three schools, our solutions play a crucial role in helping over 12,500 UK schools protect their students online, every single day.
We're dedicated to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children in their digital lives. Working closely with school ITs, DSLs and senior leadership teams, we provide them with seamless support and protect children from online risks they might encounter - at school, at home, and everywhere in between.
