Web filters are recognised by the Department for Education as a vital tool within a school’s safeguarding provision. According to KCSIE, “It is essential that children are safeguarded from potentially harmful and inappropriate online material”, and effective web filtering plays a central role in achieving this. As a result, during an Ofsted inspection, you should be prepared to answer questions on the web filtering system(s) in place in your setting.
12 web filtering questions Ofsted may ask:
- How does your school/college/academy ensure that pupils can access and navigate the internet in an age-appropriate way?
- How often is your school/college/academy’s web filtering system reviewed? And what does this involve?
- Does your school/college/academy’s web filter protect students from harmful content such as:
- Terrorist and extremist material?
- Pornography?
- Violent material?
- Self-harm material?
- Discriminatory content and hate speech?
- Content displaying or promoting drugs/substance abuse?
- How do you ensure that your web filter does not unreasonably impact teaching and learning?
- Who is responsible for managing the web filtering system in place at your school/college/academy?
- What reporting mechanisms are in place in relation to web filtering?
- Do you ensure that all staff receive regular online safety training?
- Do your pupils understand the various risks associated with using technology (including grooming, bullying, online predators..etc.) and how to keep themselves and others safe online?
- What strategies are in place to achieve this?
- How do you assess their effectiveness?
- How are the risks of social media tackled within your school/college/academy?
- How does your school/college/academy protect vulnerable and/or SEND children from harmful or inappropriate online content?
- Does your school/college/academy have an acceptable use policy in place? How is it enforced?
- Do your governors understand how web filtering is used within the school/college/academy?
Why might Ofsted ask these questions?
Ofsted inspectors want to ensure that your organisation is effectively protecting students from inappropriate, harmful and illegal content.
All schools, colleges and MATs are required to have “appropriate filtering systems in place.” However, definitions of what is considered appropriate will vary from setting to setting. To prepare to answer the types of questions listed above, consider why Ofsted is asking them. When it comes to filtering, the School Inspection Handbook is largely informed by:
- Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE)
- Filtering and Monitoring Standards for Schools and Colleges (DfE)
- Prevent Duty (Home Office)
- Appropriate Filtering for Education Settings (UK SIC)
Within these guidelines, the following factors are of particular importance.
Established roles and responsibilities
The Filtering and Monitoring Standards for Schools and Colleges instructs organisations to “identify and assign roles and responsibilities to manage your filtering.” The day-to-day management of web filters is the remit of IT and DSL teams. IT managers are tasked with deployment and maintenance, as well as providing reports, while DSLs oversee web filtering reports and concerns as part of their wider digital safeguarding responsibilities.
At a strategic level, web filtering is the responsibility of governing bodies and proprietors. Their role is to procure web filters, review their effectiveness and ensure that all staff understand their duties in relation to web filtering.
Protecting students from potentially harmful content
Schools need to display a clear understanding of the type of online threats web filters are designed to mitigate. Keep in mind that such threats are constantly evolving and changing, so it’s important to regularly check the relevant guidelines.
The UK Safer Internet Centre’s definition of Appropriate Filtering for Education Settings is a useful resource that is routinely referenced by the Department for Education. It states that web filters should block illegal content and manage the following categories of inappropriate online content:
- Discrimination
- Drugs/substance abuse
- Extremism
- Gambling
- Hate speech
- Malware/Hacking
- Pornography
- Piracy and copyright theft
- Self-harm
- Violence
It should be noted that protecting students from extremist content is a legal requirement, as set out by the Prevent Duty.
To ensure that web filters continue to protect students from harmful content, their effectiveness should be reviewed “at least annually”, according to the Filtering and Monitoring Standards. A useful tool to use when initiating this process is the TestFiltering website, which will assess a web filter’s ability to block access to illegal child sexual abuse material, unlawful terrorist content and adult content.
Avoid underblocking and overblocking
Web filters need to strike a balance between blocking potentially harmful content and allowing students to have a productive digital learning experience. Web filters that don’t block enough harmful content put children at risk, but students also suffer when web filters “overblock”, by restricting access to material with educational potential.
KCSIE warns schools to “be careful that ‘over blocking’ does not lead to unreasonable restrictions as to what children can be taught with regard to online teaching and safeguarding.” Similarly, the Filtering and Monitoring Standards state that filters should block content “without unreasonably impacting teaching and learning.”
Students need to be exposed to a wide range of online content in order to develop key abilities including critical thinking, risk assessment and research skills.
Online safety training
No web filter is 100% effective, therefore maintaining a safe online learning environment requires the participation of staff and students. Ofsted inspectors will want to see evidence of well-communicated, school-wide policies and training in this area.
All staff and students should be aware of the school’s acceptable use policy in relation to digital technologies. Staff members and governors should also receive regular online safety training to enable them to stay informed of the latest online threats and know how to identify and report any web filtering concerns.
When it comes to students, the School Inspection Handbook directs Ofsted to evaluate how well a school “enables pupils to recognise online and offline risks to their well-being.” Inspectors may therefore enquire about how online safety lessons are incorporated into the school curriculum.
Important filtering features
Schools have a number of web filtering solutions to choose from, and not all of them are equipped to provide the level of protection school networks require.
The UK SIC guidelines highlight a number of features for schools to consider when deciding if a filter meets their safeguarding needs. This includes:
- Granular control - the option to apply different levels of filtering to different contexts, such as age groups or time of day
- Multiple language support - the ability to assess content in multiple languages
- Reporting - a function to generate reports on websites users have accessed or attempted to access
- Contextual content filtering - web filters that assess the actual content on a page, rather than the URL or domain name
- Real-time filtering - the ability to inspect online content at the point of request
Selecting web filtering provisions with these advanced capabilities puts schools in the best position to offer their students a safe and enriching online learning experience.
