Discover the new device monitoring guidance just released!
Today, the Department for Education (UK) has released updated guidelines regarding the monitoring of devices in schools and colleges.
It emphasises the importance of safeguarding students and staff as they use digital technology, whilst being reinforced by existing guidance from important documents such as KCSIE (Keeping Children Safe in Education).
Understanding the new guidelines
The latest guidance focuses on the need for effective monitoring strategies in educational settings.
Unlike filtering, monitoring does not prevent access to online material but instead tracks user activity on school devices. This proactive approach is crucial to identify and address incidents related to safeguarding and online safety.
Key aspects of the guidelines include:
- Urgent identification of incidents through alerts or observations
- A comprehensive monitoring strategy informed by the filtering and monitoring review
- The involvement of both safeguarding and IT staff in managing monitoring systems
- Regular training to keep staff up to date with the latest monitoring methods.
How classroom.cloud enhances monitoring
At NetSupport, we understand the importance of protecting students as they learn online.
Our product, classroom.cloud, was co-created with teachers, safeguarding leads, schools and important bodies such as the Internet Watch Foundation to not only meet, but exceed the expectations set by the new monitoring guidelines. It does so in several ways:
- Real-time monitoring and alerts: classroom.cloud offers real-time monitoring capabilities. Teachers and IT staff can oversee student activities, ensuring that any concerning behaviour is identified and addressed immediately.
- Comprehensive and customisable monitoring: Our solution allows for customisable monitoring parameters, enabling schools to tailor the system according to their specific needs and risks.
- Training and support: NetSupport is committed to providing ongoing training and support. We offer resources and workshops to ensure that cloud users are fully equipped to use its classroom management, monitoring and safeguarding features effectively.
- Collaboration with safeguarding teams: classroom.cloud makes collaboration between IT and safeguarding teams easy, ensuring a unified approach to student safety. The seamless connectivity between classroom.cloud and tools such as CPOMS and MyConcern provides assurance for schools that no safeguarding concerns are missed.
- User-friendly interface: classroom.cloud’s intuitive design (often commented upon by customers and in feedback from judges in the many awards it has been recognised in) ensures that monitoring data is easily understandable and actionable by all staff members.
These updated device monitoring guidelines are a helpful step towards better online safety in educational online environments. We ensure that classroom.cloud not only meets these standards but provides a robust, user-friendly, and efficient tool for schools and colleges to safeguard young people as they use school technology.