Filtering and Monitoring

Parents can be reassured that at Higher Openshaw Community School we employ the highest quality filtering and monitoring systems to mitigate the risks of our children's online safety. The school uses Securly, as its filtering system, employing a continuously updated series of keywords and watchwords to filter the content of the internet from any of the machines within the school system. Although no system is perfect, this has provided the highest quality of control on internet provision in school. 

All school devices, including Ipads and Laptops which may be used for home learning, are part of the school's Monitoring program. The system monitors keyboard entry and reports key words and watch words as they are typed on any child's keyboard. This provides real time and highly effective monitoring of all users on the school system. This should provide parents and carers with confidence that their children's experience of the online world is safe and backed up by a broad curriculum of online safety guidance.

Children will be asked to explore an increasingly wide range of websites and digital content and will be required to use search engines to develop their skills as a digital citizen - using these systems of filtering and monitoring we feel secure in exploring the online world, giving us opportunities to learn about online risks as we progress through school. Internet safety is a huge part of our school curriculum and we challenge children to think about the key themes of content, contact, conduct and contract which form the four main areas for online safety. We believe that this gives them the best preparation for digital citizenship of the future.

Please remember to apply appropriate settings to children's devices when they are using the internet at home or on mobile devices. Please refer to advice and guidance to ensure children's devices are appropriately managed.

What Is web filtering?

Web filtering is a technology stops users from viewing certain URLs or websites by preventing their browsers from loading pages from these sites. Web filters are made in different ways and deliver various solutions for individual, family, institutional or enterprise use.

In general, Web filters work in two distinct ways. They can block content as determined by quality of the site, by consulting known lists which document and categorize popular pages across all genres of content. Or, they can evaluate the content of the page live and block it accordingly. Many Web filter tools work off of a constantly updated URL database that shows which websites and domains are associated with hosting malware, phishing, viruses or other tools for harmful activities.

On the surface, web filtering is pretty simple, but like all things, as you start to learn more, everything becomes more complex. With close to a billion active websites on the internet, there’s is no way that every website can be included on a web filtering programs exclusion lists.

What is Securly and how does it help us to protect our pupils?

Take a look at the enclosed video

For more E safety information refer to our full policy